🍷 Bota bag
A Spanish leather wine flask you drink from in a thin stream.
The bota is a Spanish leather flask for wine. One drinks from it in a stream: the flask is raised and the wine is directed into the mouth, without the lips touching the spout. It is an old way, familiar to shepherds and travellers. Inside, the bota is coated with resin so that the wine does not soak into the leather and take on its taste. The outside is natural leather, and modern ones often have a plastic lining inside. The spout is closed with a stopper or screw cap. The bota is soft, and wine is easy to carry in it on the road and outdoors. Alongside the bota, Spain knows the porrón (a glass pitcher with a spout, also drunk from in a stream) and the wineskin, a large bag for wine. The bota is a small version of the wineskin. The skill of drinking without contact is hygienic: a company can share one flask. By comparison, a leather flask was also used in other countries, including for milk. The bota remains a symbol of the Spanish table, festivals and bullfighting. Today it is more often given as a souvenir, but in villages it is also used in earnest.
Links
- Part of
- 🍷 Wineskin
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Porrón
- Wine and milk
- 🫙 Milk can
Frequently asked questions
What is a bota?
A Spanish leather flask for wine, drunk from in a thin stream.
Why does the wine not smell of leather?
The inside is coated with resin, so the wine does not touch the leather.
How is a bota different from a porrón?
The bota is leather, while the porrón is a glass pitcher with a spout. Both are drunk from in a stream.