Large Format Fun Facts

by Heidi Chan

Image: Vinepair

750ml as One Standard Drink?

When we shop for a bottle of wine, we would simply pick a 750ml bottle as this is the most common bottle size available on product shelves. The pre-set consumption volume has become the 'norm' for most wines in most part of the world

There may be no definite answer as to how much drinking is too much, but this was being referenced to part of the standardisation undertaken in France during the Napoleonic times. Back then a 750ml portion was considered the right amount of wine for a person to drink at one meal, it was so that there was not quite enough wine to share when you bring along a companion to the dining table.

Other people introduced a different perspective. A 750ml was taken as an equivalent of the average lung capacity that a glassblower can give to create a bottle of that size in one breath, not two, as the size and shape of the bottle have to be just right with one single attempt. 

The Larger The Better?

There are many others who agreed to the comment that, by high demand and superior craftsmanship, larger bottles connote a sense of above-average quality, there is a 'feel good' factor in drinking from these wine bottles.

In fact, producers make larger-format bottles than the typical bottles for some very valid reasons. An equally large, perhaps lesser-known reason for such 'large preference' is based on the convincing demonstration that pricier wines in larger bottling tend to age more gracefully, and might be just plain better than the regular over longer periods of time. It is not uncommon that many top-notch wines are bottled in large formats only for exceptional vintages.

Plus, larger formats usually come in thicker layer (sometimes coloured) of glass that forms a temperature resistance protective, providing an ideal environment where constant and stable temperature can help wine age more evenly.

There are much more interesting facts about wine bottle sizes, shapes as well as their own unique naming conventions, a handful of various sources on the internet provide some good references. Read on by clicking on the above links should you are keen to find out more!

Discover our Magnums and more Large Formats offerings with us, you may click on the bottle terms (volume) below to view availability for each respective category:  

1.5L Magnum (=2 x 750ml bottle)
3L Double Magnum / Jeroboam (=4 x 750ml bottle)
6L Imperial - still wine / Methuselah - champagne / sparkling wine (=8 x 750ml bottle)
9L Salamanazar (=12 x 750ml bottle)