Bottle Sizes
Small, Medium, Large, X-Large: A chart we all know well, whether it be for clothes, carpets or an American approach to food portioning (in which case another 'X' will likely be added to 'XL'), it pretty much covers all bases. Well…except for wine, where logic, in all and any form, has given up and taken refuge in those sensible industries that play by the book and think that ‘creativity’ is a dirty word, only to be associated with the arty-types.
It’s true that there is a little in the way of rhyme or reason when it comes to the wine bottle size chart, but I think it’s exactly this quirkiness that adds to the charm. Others might see it as yet another display of the industries pomposity…olddly enough though, slightly out of place biblical references can give that impression, so on this one I can't really say I blame them!
It’s true that there is a little in the way of rhyme or reason when it comes to the wine bottle size chart, but I think it’s exactly this quirkiness that adds to the charm. Others might see it as yet another display of the industries pomposity…olddly enough though, slightly out of place biblical references can give that impression, so on this one I can't really say I blame them!
Image courtesy of Majestic Wine.
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Piccolo or Split: 187.5 ml – which is basically a single serving of Champagne (so I’m not really sure why you’d bother.
Demi or Half: 375 ml – clue is in the name really, it’s half a standard bottle of wine. Standard: 750 ml – the Average Joe of the wine bottle world… Magnum: 1.5 L – double the standard bottle size Double Magnum: 3.0 L – getting pretty serious now, but clue is once again in the name: twice the size of a magnum. Jeroboam: 4.5 L – only for still wine: equivalent of 6 standard bottles. ‘Jeroboam’ was also the first king of Northern Kingdom according to the Bible. Rehoboam: 4.5 L – only for sparkling wine: equivalent of 6 standard bottles. ‘Rehoboam’ was also a king, but of Judea. Imperial: 6.0 L – moving into Slightly Ridiculous Territory now, this is 8 of your standard 750 ml bottles, in other words it’s two Double Magnums. Salmanazar: 9.0 L – this is a full case of wine in one bottle! Firmly in Ridiculous Territory. ‘Salmanazar’ was apparently the oldest living man according to the Bible. Balthazar: 12.0 L – now moving into Fully Ridiculous Territory: 16 standard bottles of wine. And surprise, surprise is another biblical king, this time of Assyria. ‘Balthazar’ is actually also a biblical character I’m sure you’re all familiar with – he was one of the 3 wise men to give baby Jesus a gift. Nebuchadnezzar: 15.0 L – fairly certain you’d need a fork lift to pour one of these bad boys it’s 78cm tall and weighs an impressive 14kg. It is the equivalent of twenty standard bottles. Another bottle, another king; the King of Babylon to be precise. After this we’re moving out of Fully Ridiculous and into Just Plain Silly. Melchoir: 18.0 L – 24 standard bottles. ‘Melchoir’ was also buds with ‘Balthazar’ because he was on of the other 3 wise men. Solomon: 20.0 L – pretty much only used for Champagnes: 26 standard bottles. ‘Soloman’ was also a pretty big deal in his own right as the Son of David and the King of Israel. Sovereign: 25.0 L – 33.3 standard bottles. This bottle was reportedly created by Tattinger in 1988, to celebrate the launch of what was then the world’s largest cruise liner ‘Soveriegn of the Seas’. Primat or Goliath: 27 L – 36 standard bottles. We all know that ‘Goliath’ was the little guy that killed the giant (as the Bible dictates, of course), however ‘Primat’ is actually Latin (primas) for ‘noble’ or ‘chief’. Melchizedek: 30 L – 28kg or 40 standard bottles, I don’t think you’d go far wrong in employing a crane to help pouring. Hardly surprising, but also another biblical reference, this time to the King of Salem. Maximus: 130 L – i.e 184 bottles or15 cases (!!!), created by Beringer out of their 2001 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon for a charity auction. |
