Varying bottle sizes provide more than a convenient amount of wine: size also affects the way wine ages. Wine matures faster in a smaller bottle and slower in a larger one — a point well worth remembering when buying wine. This is due to the amount of oxygen available to fuel the reductive processes. Many wine lovers find that a magnum (1.5 litres, or two normal bottles) provides optimum ageing conditions.
Champagne
The champagne pint is virtually extinct.
Pint |
40cl |
|
Magnum |
1.5 litres |
2 bottles |
Jeroboam |
3 litres |
4 bottles |
Rehoboam |
4.5 litres |
6 bottles |
Methuselah |
6 litres |
8 bottles |
Salmanazar |
9 litres |
12 bottles |
Balthazar |
12 litres |
16 bottles |
Nebuchadnezzar |
15 litres |
20 bottles |
Bordeaux
(Note that a Bordeaux Jeroboam differs from that of Champagne.)
Magnum |
1.5 litres |
2 bottles |
Marie-Jeanne |
2.5 litres |
3 bottles |
Double-magnum |
3 litres |
4 bottles |
Jeroboam |
4.5 litres |
6 bottles |
Imperial |
6 litres |
8 bottles |
Port
Here, a Jeroboam is the Champagne size.
Magnum |
1.5 litres |
2 bottles |
TappitHen |
2.25 litres |
3 bottles |
Jeroboam |
3 litres |
4 bottles |
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