Explanation, Guide to all Large Format Wine Bottles, Sizes and Shapes bottles of wine in sizes1 Explanation, Guide to all Large Format Wine Bottles, Sizes and Shapes When Size Matters… An explanation and complete guide for all the different Wine Bottle sizes and shapes, along with the most important details for all the large format wine bottle sizes used for Bordeaux wine, California wine, Rhone wine and other wines ranging from tiny bottles all the way up to the largest format we know of, which holds the equivalent of a whopping 40 bottles! Wines come in a myriad of styles from big, full bodied and fortified, to light and petit. Bordeaux wine and bottles for other wines are produced in an equally wide array of wine bottle sizes and shapes too. Larger wine bottle sizes are well suited to longer aging of Bordeaux wine or other wines. It is a known fact that wine from larger format wine bottles age more slowly, and possibly even develop more complexity and nuances than wines from smaller wine bottle sies. This is due to the smaller amount of air that resides between the cork and the wine. Interestingly, you will note that many of the unique names for wine bottle sizes were named after Biblical characters. For example: -Jeroboam: “First King of The Kingdom” -Methuselah: “Oldest Man” -Salmanzar: “Assyrian King” -Balthazar: “One of The Wise Men” -Nebuchadnezzar: “King of Babylon” -Solomon: “King Solomon, the wisest of all men, built the Temple in Jerusalem” -Melchizede: “Name of several priesthoods in different religions including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” Other wine bottle sizes like 1000 ml 500 ml and 250 ml are some of the unique wine bottle sizes available. It is important to know, some wine bottle sizes, usually larger formats are only used for the production of Champagne. In fact Champagne is famous for creating numerous wine bottle sizes used only for Champagne. The most unique Champagne bottle size earned the nickname of the Winston Churchill. The special bottle was made by Pol Roger for Winston Churchill and held exactly 20 ounces of Champagne, which was considered the perfect amount by Churchill for the morning. This is a list of the most frequently used wine bottle sizes and an explanation of each size and shape: -Quarter Bottle: 187ml Also known as Piccolo. (1/4 bottle) 1 glass of wine -Half Bottle, Demi or Split: 375ml (1/2 bottle) 2 glasses of wine -Standard: 750ml, 25.4 oz – The most popular sized wine bottle offers 4 to 6 glasses of wine -Magnum: 1.5 Liters (2 bottles) -Jeroboam or Double Magnum: 3 Liters (4 bottles) -Rehoboam: 4.5 Liters (6 bottles) -American Jeroboam: 5 liters (6.75 bottles) -Imperial: 8 liters (8 bottles) -Methuselah: 8 Liters (8 bottles) -Salmanzar: 9 Liters (12 bottles) -Balthazar: 12 Liters (16 bottles) -Nebuchanezzar: 15 Liters (20 bottles) -Melchoir: 18 Liters (24 bottles) -Solomon: 20 Liters (26 bottles) -Sovereign: 25 Liters (33.3 bottles) -Goliath or Primat: 30 Liters (36 bottles) -Melchizedek: 30 Liters (40 bottles) It’s not only large format wine bottles that vary in size, there are smaller wine bottles that come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes as well. Some of the other more obscure wine bottle sizes and shapes that are not commonly seen or used: Cylinder: 100ml: Used mostly for single, test tube bottles with 3.3 ounce servings of Sauternes, this size is also used from some bottles of Essencia from the Tokaji region in Hungary. Chopine: 250ml – 1/3 bottle 250ml (1 ¼ glass) Used more often in France. Clavelin half: 310ml Used for Vin Juane, the yellow wine of the Jura region of France. Tenth: 378ml Jennie: 500ml – This uncommon wine bottle size is used most often for sweet, dessert styled wines from Tokaji, Sauternes and its surrounding areas or Jerez. Clavelin Full: 620ml This seldom seen wine bottle size is used for Vin Juane, the yellow wine of the Jura region of France. Liter 1000ml This little wine bottle size holds the middle ground between a full bottle and magnum. It is popularized in California by Grace Family Vineyards. Marie Jeanne: 2.25 Liters This is equal to 3 standard bottles, or one magnum and one bottle. Port producers often refer to this unique bottle as a Tregnum or Tappit Hen bottle. It’s not just wine bottle sizes that vary widely. There are numerous different shapes that wine is often bottled in as well. When wine was first bottled, bottles were not standard in shape or size. The reason for this is, at the time, all wine bottles were manufactured one bottle at a time by glass blowers. If you think today’s bottles look odd, check out the first glass bottles that were called onion shaped bottles, due to their round shape. These were not easy to stack or cellar! Read more: thewinecellarinsider/wine-topics/wine-educational-questions/size-matters-explanation-large-bottle-formats/#ixzz2wIQAi8Ja
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 07:13:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015