When Wine Bottle Size Matters Explanation of Large Format Wine Bottles

When Size Matters… An explanation Wine Bottle Sizes and a detailed look at large format wine bottles of various wine bottle sizes for Bordeaux wine, California wine, Rhone wine and other wines ranging from tiny bottles 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 a wide array of wine bottle sizes and shapes too. 

 

Larger bottle sizes are well suited to longer aging of Bordeaux wine or other wines.  It is a known fact that wine from larger formats age more slowly and possibly even develop more complexity and nuances than wines from smaller bottles. 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”

 

This is a list of the most frequently used wine bottle sizes.  Other sizes like 1000 ml 500 ml and 250 ml are some of the unique sizes available. It is important to know, some wine bottle sizes, usually larger formats are only used for Champagne.