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 |