Do not know the names of wine bottles by size? Do not worry, we are here for you. Thanks to this article, you will know the name and size of wine bottles by heart. You will be able to use this professional vocabulary in wine bars and never again be lost during your wine tastings.
The names of the different wine bottle sizes
What are the names of wine bottles by size? Here is a question we answer. Some bottles are very small and little known: the Piccola (0.20 liters), the Chopine (0.25 liters), or the Fillette (0.375 liters). Beyond these formats, we reach the classic 0.75-liter bottle. Sizes can then increase with the Magnum (1.5 liters) and the Jeroboam (3 liters). Past these formats, we move on to exceptional, enormously large ones! Next you can find a Rehoboam (4.5 liters) and a Methuselah (6 liters). Then comes the Salmanazar (9 liters). Finally come the last three: Balthazar (12 liters), Nebuchadnezzar (15 liters) and Melchior (18 liters). For comparison, a Melchior-format bottle is the equivalent of 24 bottles of wine! Finally, much less well known, you can find the Melchizedek, with a capacity of 30 liters, the equivalent of 40 bottles of wine.
Wine bottle sizes: the equivalents
To find your way around wine bottle sizes, here is a short list to help. With it, you will never again be lost when trying to recall the sizes of the various bottles:
- Jeroboam: 3 L (4 bottles)
- Rehoboam: 4.5 L (6 bottles)
- Methuselah: 6 L (8 bottles)
- Salmanazar: 9 L (12 bottles)
- Balthazar: 12 L (16 bottles)
- Nebuchadnezzar: 15 L (20 bottles)
- Melchior: 18 L (24 bottles).
!Name and size of wine bottles
Poster on wine bottle sizes
Our friends at The Wine Galaxy have created a superb poster on wine bottle sizes. It is up to you to put it up in your living room, your office, your kitchen, or even take it along to your fine tastings. !wine bottle sizes poster
Buy the poster on wine bottle sizes
Summary table of wine bottle names by size
To make things easier to read, we have also created a table with the names of wine bottles by size. You no longer have any excuse not to use the right name!
| Name of the wine bottle | Bottle capacity |
| Piccola | 0.20 liters |
| Chopine | 0.25 liters |
| Fillette | 0.375 liters |
| Bottle | 0.75 liters |
| Magnum | 1.50 liters |
| Jeroboam | 3 liters |
| Rehoboam | 4.50 liters |
| Methuselah | 6.00 liters |
| Salmanazar | 9.00 liters |
| Balthazar | 12.00 liters |
| Nebuchadnezzar | 15.00 liters |
| Melchior | 18.00 liters |
In real life, to really get a sense of wine bottle sizes, here is a photo taken in the cellars of Champagne Taittinger in Reims. !Wine bottle size
