Is size important? A guide to wine bottle sizes

The answer to this question for many people will undoubtedly be yes but when it comes to wine, let’s not be too hasty. Our Regional Account Manager Nick, explores wine bottle sizes below:  

After a recent discussion, that soon turned into an argument between myself and a fellow wine enthusiast regarding the names of different sizes of wine bottles, I decided to do a little research to answer the point of contention.

For some strange reason, large format wine bottles seem to be named after biblical kings but stranger still, depending on the wine region, bottles with the same name may have a different volume of wine inside. I had a smug sense of satisfaction when I was vindicated in confirming that a Jeroboam in Champagne is 3L (4 bottles) in size but my adversary was equally correct in arguing that a Jeroboam in Bordeaux is 4.5L (6 bottles).
 

So, is bigger better?

If you are throwing a party and want to impress your guests, a larger bottle can be fun with only one cork to pull but you will pay a premium for it. Also, the really big bottles are incredibly heavy and difficult to pour so you could find yourself soaking your guests in the process!

I would suggest that the only real benefit of a larger bottle, namely the Magnum (2 bottles) is for ageing purposes. Because a Magnum is double the size of a regular bottle but has the same sized cork, there is a smaller amount of air in the neck of the bottle proportionally, meaning that it matures more slowly and gives a better flavour profile in the long run. It is natural to assume therefore that the bigger the bottle the better but this is not the case. It is widely agreed that the Magnum is the optimum size for the maturation of wine which I suppose is due to the ratio of the volume of wine to available oxygen. If there are any scientists out there who can answer this conundrum, please feel free to chip-in!

The list below may not be 100% complete and must admit I came across some that were new to me but never the less, I think you will find it interesting.

At House of Townend we carry a wide range of wines in varying bottle sizes. If you want to know more, please don't hesitate to get in touch! 

  Back to blog