A Comprehensive Guide to Wine Bottle Sizes

How big is a bottle of wine?

As big as you want, pretty much. And although ‘wine-bottle-size’ is formally defined as containing 75 centilitres, here we’re going to refer to ‘bottle’ in the more abstract sense. In the ‘vessel’ sense, if you will. Which ultimately means that this ‘bottle’ can be as ‘big’ as 30 litres, if you really want -- as you’ll soon find out.

Wine bottle sizes names

What’s more, these vessels have their own special names. Some, of biblical proportions:

Split, Demi, Standard. Litre, Magnum, Double Magnum, Jeroboam. Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar, Nebuchadnezzar. Melchior, Solomon, Sovereign, Goliath.

Melchizedek.

A Methuselah is a.k.a. an ‘Imperial.’ A Goliath a ‘Primat,’ and Melchizedek a ‘Midas’.

So there you have it. In so many names, all the vessels you need for consuming the world of wine.

Wine bottle dimensions

Except now you're wondering what these terms mean by way of liquid volumes and how many servings they distribute upon pouring.

Ready?

• 187.5 ml Piccolo or Split: For Champagne, mostly, and mostly for those who routinely risk dying of thirst.
• 375 ml Demi or Half: Holds one-half of the standard 750 ml bottle size. Common for Champagne but also still wines. Also for those who routinely risk dying of thirst.
• How many mls in a bottle of wine? As already cited, 750 ml. Standard. Your classic bottle format. Here, less of the above risk is run.
• 1 L Litre: You get the idea. Preferable to a bottle by 250ml.
• 1.5 L Magnum: What’s a magnum bottle size? Two standard 750ml bottles make one. No thirst here.
• 3.0 L Double Magnum: As it says on the tin; two magnums or 4 x 750 ml bottles.
• 4.5 L Jeroboam: Now you’re getting this party started. How many bottles in a jeroboam? It’s equal to three magnums or six standard 750 ml bottles.

Champagne bottle sizes names

But for some mysterious reason, a Jeroboam of champagne/sparkling wine is only 3 litres (or a double magnum), whereas a 4.5 L vessel of fizz is called a Rehoboam instead, and is in this case what holds 6 x 750 ml bottles.

When bottles get really big

This is where the ‘biblical’ part comes in. For which well attended social events are required:

• 6.0 L Methuselah: Equivalent to eight standard 750 ml bottles or two double magnums. Again, a methuselah bottle is also known as an Imperial.
• 9.0 L Salmanazar: Impress the room with a dozen x 750 ml bottles in one vessel. A full case of wine in a bottle.
• 12.0 L Balthazar: Add four more bottles to get one of these. Sixteen x 750 ml bottles or two Imperials.
• 15.0 L Nebuchadnezzar: Formidable. A nebuchadnezzar bottle size is equal to twenty x 750 ml bottles.
• 18.0 L Solomon: (a.k.a. Melchoir) King sized. Finally, a single, insuperable, full-twenty-four-750ml- bottles – i.e. two cases of wine.
• 25 L Sovereign: Whoah, Daddy… Thirty-three standard bottles. Gargantuan.
• 27 L Goliath (a.k.a. Primat): No Davids round here. Add three more to the above. 36 x 750 millilitres to get through. Should’ve hired a small crane.
• 30 L Melchizedek (a.k.a. Midas): Hopefully, this’ll suffice. The big four-o. Forty bottles. You’re gonna need a bigger crane.

Pours per capita

I know what else you’re wondering, so allow me the maths: one midas will pour just over one 175ml glass for each of your 171 closest friends.

Goliath – 154 buddies. Solomon – 137. Nebuchadnezzar – a mere 68. And so on.

Bigger bottle, better maturation

And here’s the other thing about big formats: the larger the vessel, the longer its wine takes to mature. This owes to the lack of oxygen ingress relative to liquid volume. In other words, as there’s more wine in there than oxygen can get to at the normal rate, that salmanazar of top-end Pauillac turning up in Grandad’s will might even see you pushing up daisies before it’s ready to give up its cork.

Monumental

But above all, it’s the ‘wow!’ factor: their sheer stature is mightily impressive in any socio-culinary setting. In fact, venture deeper into jeroboam country and that ‘wow!’ factor soon becomes a ‘whoa!’ factor. For what could look more inviting, or more strongly signal impending conviviality than this greater glass vessel in our midst? Good times will roll.

And so will they roll at your next social event, once you explore and select from Mr.Wheeler’s monumental range of magnums and large formats.

Choose from (mostly) magnums, double-magnums, jeroboams and a methuselah, then give your guests plenty to party about.

– David Adamick, Mr.Wheeler Wine