The perfect material for wine -- A brief history of wine : storing and drinking wine before glass -- A brief history of glass and how it came to dominate wine appreciation -- Modern winemaking : a role for materials other than glass and ceramics -- Ceramics around the winery : alternatives to oak and stainless steel -- Glass around the winery : from barrel to lab -- Perfection through fire : modern glass making -- Beauty of a random nature : glass structure on the atomic scale -- The heel of Achilles : why glass breaks -- Let it be perfectly clear : why glass is transparent -- The shape of things I : why bottles look the way they do -- The shape of things II : the rise (and fall?) of varietal-specific stemware -- The controversy over cork : glass stoppers to the rescue? -- Perfection through air : glass for aerating and decanting wine -- The glass of wine : now and forever?