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A porron (Catalan: porró in the singular, porrons in the plural) is a traditional glass wine pitcher, which holds 0.75 litres, typical of many regions of Spain like Castile, Catalonia and Aragon. It resembles a cross between a wine bottle and a watering can. The top of the bottle is narrow and can be sealed off with a cork. Stemming upwards from the bottom of the pitcher is a spout that gradually tapers off to a small opening. It is shaped such that the wine stored inside it will have minimal contact with the air, while being ready to be used at all times. Until the mid-twentieth century it was very common in homes, but the tradition is now being lost. The idea originated as a replacement to bota bags. Porrons are most commonly filled with regular wines, either white or red, but are also used to drink Cava, and a smaller version filled with a sweet, dessert wine (typically Grenache) is also common in Catalan restaurants. The lack of contact with the lips allows a group of people to share the same vessel without offending their sense of hygiene.
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Drinking from a porron
To drink from a porron, a beginner starts by bringing the spout very close to his mouth and tilts it forward slowly so the beak points towards the teeth. Once the liquid starts coming out, the porron is pulled away from the face while the drinker looks up. To finish drinking, a beginner lowers the porron and brings it back down and closer to the mouth again before stopping, quickly tilting the spout up at the last moment so there is no spillage. A regular user can start and stop drinking from the porron with the spout held at a distance without spilling a drop.
Although drinking from porrons has been largely replaced with bottles and glasses, they are still a feature of Catalan/Spanish-themed restaurants, mainly as a novelty for diners to test their skills.
The porron in literature
George Orwell described a porron in Homage to Catalonia: