The Wine Bottle
Wine is a
beautiful thing. It starts great conversations and often times leaves you
pondering its very existence and craft. There is such glamour in uncorking a
fresh bottle, even if its just in the comfort of your home. The pop of a cork,
the elegant way, your Sommelier describes it and the way it matches with food
like no other drink can.
Undoubtedly
you might have noticed that there are as many bootle types as there are wine
styles. Perhaps that is the best way to approach this topic; from a stylistic
point. Sparkling wines and Champagnes, Rieslings ans sweet wines, fortified
wines, each comes in a differently shaped bottle. Why? Can't they all be held
in one?
If you
think about it, uniformity, in anything can end up being very mundane. Wine
makers aren't just looking at the aesthetics, rather functionality. Each bottle
of wine serves a unique purpose, yet some are key markers on the region that
the wine is coming from.
Usual things
like the Punt (that indent at the base of the bottle) have been theorized to
serve numerous functions like giving sediment a place to 'collect' so that it
is much easier when you decant.
Bottle types.
Like we
mentioned, there are various bottle types, however, in this article, we look at
the most common. The Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace and Champagne bottles. Now not
only used in their regional/traditional wines but are a good way of letting you
know what style New World wines achieved for that specific bottle.
Bordeaux Bottles. Mostly
used for red wines. Bordeaux bottles come from their namesake region in France.
Traditionally, they held the full bodied infamous 'Claret' which is a blend of
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and some bit of Petite Verdot. In
this broad-shouldered narrow-bottom wine bottle, you can expect to find New
World Wines of the same varietals or even other bolder grapes.
Burgundy Bottles. Broader
bases and slightly curved shoulders are clear markers of this bottle. Traditionally
trusted to hold Chablis, Beaujolais and Pinot Noir from the Burgundy region,
New World wines will deliver some of the same varietals and styles.
Alsace Bottles bear in them the marvel that is
Riesling.Thinner, longer versions of this bottle hold sweet wines and late
harvest.
Size matters.
Wine has a
rich intertwining history with religion and medicine. It is therefore no
surprise that most of these bottle sizes are named after kings of the Old
Testament.
Knowing
the sizes of your wine bottles will prove vital when planing an adequate
cellar. You can fit pigeon holes or crevasses to accommodate each size that
takes you fancy. Do remember that each bottle will vary uniquely to their
winemaker and that their heights might differ as well.
Here are
the various wine bottle types.
- Half
(Topette) Quarter: They come in varying sizes from the smallest
holding about a quarter of a wine glass to the largest with the girth for
one hundred and fifty bottles!
- Quarter(Piccolo)
Bottle: 187ml (1/4 bottle)(1 glass of wine)
- Half
Bottle: Demi or Split: 375ml (1/2 bottle)(2 glasses of
wine)
- Standard:
750ml(4-6 glasses of wine)
- Magnum:
1.5 Liters(2 bottles)
- Jeroboam
or Double Magnum: 3 Liters(4 bottles)
- Champagne*
Rehoboam: 4.5 Liters (6 bottles)
- Bordeaux
Jeroboam: 5 Liters (6.75 bottles)
- Old
Bordeaux Jeroboam: was 4.45 liters(5 bottles)
- Imperial:
6 Liters (8 bottles)
- Methuselah:
6 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)
- Primat
or Goliath: 27 Liters (36 bottles)
- Melchizedek:
30 Liters (40 bottles)
- The
Beringer Maximus: 130 Liters (184 bottles, 15 cases)
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