Standard vs. Oversized
A standard bottle is 750ml. Everything else is a multiple of that.
The Big Bottles
- Magnum: 1.5 L (2 bottles)
- Jeroboam: 3.0 L (4 bottles)
- Methuselah: 6.0 L (8 bottles)
- Salmanazar: 9.0 L (12 bottles)
- Nebuchadnezzar: 15.0 L (20 bottles!)
Why Use Big Bottles?
Wine ages more slowly in larger bottles because there is less oxygen surface area relative to the volume of liquid. This is why collectors pay a premium for Magnums.
Key Takeaways
- Most large bottles are named after biblical kings
- A Nebuchadnezzar weighs about 80 pounds when full
- Large formats are rare and often hand-filled