You didn't know by heart the name of the wine bottles by size ? How many glasses to serve with a bottle ? Discover it with the wine blog Beaux-Vins…
Thanks to this article, which is the most complete on the web, you'll have all the keys to know the names and sizes of wine bottles. All you have to do is make it yours and use it when you have wine tastings.
What are the names and sizes of wine bottles ?
| Bottle name | Bottle capacity |
|---|---|
| Small | 0,20 Liters |
| Quarter | 0,25 Liters |
| Half or Girl | 0,375 Liters |
| Medium | 0,50 Liters |
| Bottle | 0,75 Liters |
| Magnum | 1,5 Liters |
| Jeroboam | 3 Liters |
| Rehoboam | 4,5 Liters |
| Methuselah | 6 Liters |
| Salmanazar | 9 Liters |
| Balthazar | 12 Liters |
| Nebuchadnezzar | 15 Liters |
| Melchior or Salomon | 18 Liters |
| Sovereign | 26,25 Liters |
| Primate | 27 Liters |
| Midas or Melchiesedech | 30 Liters |
Some special cases of bottles name
Because a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a small summary of the size and countenance of wine bottles.
Since Bordeaux don't like to do what everyone else does, there are a few subtleties not to be forgotten :
- Marie-Jeanne : 2,5 liters
- Double Magnum : 3 liters
- Jeroboam : 4,5 liters
- Imperial : 6 liters
Finally, there are a few exceptions from other regions :
- Pot Lyonnais : 46 Centilitres
- la Désirée Suisse : 50 centilitres — and with the accent ! —
- Clavelin Jurassien for yellow wines : 62 Centilitres
- the Grosse Panse de Liège : 1,28 liter once
How to remember the order of wine bottle names ?
To help you remember the name and order of the most common bottles, remember this sentence…
« Stay Quiet Half Boy, Michael Jackson Really Makes Small Boys Nervous ”.
If you are thinking that this sentence makes no sense, it's normal. Yet, it is a mnemotechnical rule to memorize the sizes of bottles in the increasing order of countenance.
Each word corresponds to a countenance in its order of appearance : Small, Quarter, Half, Bottle, Magnum, Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, Nebuchadnezzar.
How many glass contains a bottle of wine or champagne ?
Whatever event drives you to uncork a bottle of wine or champagne : a wedding, a birthday, a meal… it's important to ask yourself how many bottles are needed so you don't run out.
A bottle of wine or champagne allows to serve 6 glasses.
I tend to recommend a bottle to serve 6 glasses. Of course, this value is indicative and may vary depending on the size of the glass ! It may be worth a few more bottles. They won't be lost and it would be frustrating to run out of drinks to offer your guests or not to be able to replace a wine with a defect…
What role does the size of the wine bottle play? ?
It is often said that it is not the size that counts. Yet, in the world of wine this sentence is not quite true. Indeed, it is often recommended to put forward the magnum for prolonged wine preservation. It keeps and evolves better than a wine in a classic bottle.
Two reasons help to explain this phenomenon :
- Principle of thermal inertia
One of the causes of poor wine ageing are temperature shocks. The outside temperature is transmitted to the wine through the glass of the bottle. The greater the capacity of your bottle is, the longer it will take for the liquid to be at the same temperature.
- Gas exchange principle
The cork used to seal the wine bottle allows a positive exchange of air between the wine and the outside. Excessive oxygenation causes wine to age at an accelerated pace. For an equal exchange surface in the neck, the magnum seems to be a more suitable format for a long storage of your precious wine.
What is the size of the biggest wine bottle ?
Of course, The size of the bottles does not stop at 18 litres and larger containers exist. The world record for the largest bottle of wine — synthetic and not glass — of the Guinness World Records is owned by a Chinese company. Wang Chen Wines' 1,850-litre bottle measures 4,5 metres high holds the new world record for the largest bottle of wine since 2011.
A remark or question about what you just read ? You haven't found an answer to your question ? Don't hesitate to leave me a comment below ! You can also follow your wine blog with Instagram.
what are the events that marked the bottles of champagne
no luck… search for names of bt sizes of wines ….and patatras, the display of black bottles, their name, their capacity does not correspond to the table which seems more precise just below …. original !
Hello Hervé,
in reality, it was two pieces of information that were as accurate as they were complementary. You did not dream !
There are many bottles with the same name and with different capacities. Specified below in the article, the people of Bordeaux are little jokers whose jeroboams are bottles with a capacity of 5 liters. In Champagne and Burgundy, jeroboam only contains 3.
Realizing that reading this article too quickly can lead to misunderstanding, So I decided to remove the visual.