When were wine coasters invented?
Once known as wine “slides,” coasters became popular during the 18th century, especially among men who used them to pass (or really, slide) wine bottles around a dinner table. Bottles for serious drinking would usually be brought out after the women had “retired” and the dinner table was cleared of its cloth. Coasters were constructed of smoothly polished wooden- or fabric-covered plinths that glided across a table without scratching its surface. The coaster was also fitted with a gallery (often of silver) that held the bottle more or less upright while it “coasted” from one person to another. When leaving the tablecloth on the table after the meal became commonplace, the coaster evolved from a handy serving device to a way to protect the linen from wine spills.