Color can sometimes make a difference. Reds are normally bottled in Green or Dark/Smoke green. Whites usually in clear or light green (like a chardonnay), but I've also seen them in dark brown or even in bottles that are painted black. Rose wines that I've seen are almost always in clear bottles.
The reasoning behind this is that wine should not be exposed to light while aging. Light, in any form, (flourescent, incandescent, sunlight, etc, etc, etc) can bleach the color of red wines and can turn some whites a little 'brownish'. Many believe it can also affect the taste.
The shapes of bottles don't really matter, but commercial wines of certain varieties are almost always put in bottles with certain shapes, but since we're only talking about color here we'll leave this subject for another time.
In the end, if you have a good dark area to store your wines, just put them in whatever bottle you think looks the best. Go with your instinct and have fun! I've never had anyone ask after recieving a bottle of wine from me, "why did you use this bottle?" Instead, they will usually they say "Cool! You MADE this??"
Edited by: whino-wino
