Bottle sizes - A brief guide

[Roy Hersh]

Bottle Sizes

Most bottle sizes are traditional and are clear, but Port bottles are typically black, green, in rare cases brown and even less often clear. However, Jeroboams present an unusual problem. Traditionally, in Bordeaux a Jeroboam contained six bottles, or 4.5 liters, and in Burgundy, a Jeroboam contained four bottles or 3.0 liters. So-called Jeroboams originating in other growing areas come in a range of sizes. We report the size reported by the auction house. Port sizes vary too, ultra-rare bottles can be found in full 1 liter size, but there are odd ball sizes like tregnums. Here are some typical wine bottle sizes ... not necessarily aimed at Port wine.

Size Name - ML - Abbreviation
Misc - 250 - MISC
Half Bottle - 375 - HB
Two Thirds Bottle - 500 - 2/3
Misc - 700 - MISC
Bottle - 750 - B
Misc - 800 - Misc
Fiascho - 1000 - F
Magnum - 1500 - M
Tappet - 2000 - T
Marie-Jeanne - 2250 - MJ
Double Magnum - 3000 - DM
Jeroboam (Burgundy) - 3000 - JY
Jeroboam (Italian) - 3000 - MISC
Misc - 3780 - MISC
Dame-Jeanne - 3875 - DJ
Jeroboam (Bordeaux) - 4000 - JX
Jeroboam (Bordeaux) - 4500 - JZ
Jeroboam (California) - 5000 - JC
Misc - 5000 - Misc
Rheoboam - 5000 - R5
Rheoboam - 6000 - R6
Imperial - 6000 - I
Methuselah - 6000 - ME
Misc - 6000 - Misc
Misc - 9000 - Misc
Salmanazar - 9000 - S
Balthazar - 12000 - BA
Misc - 12000 - Misc
Misc - 12600 - Misc
Misc - 12750 - Misc
Misc - 13000 - Misc
Nebuchadnezzar - 13500 - N13
Nebuchadnezzar - 15000 - N
Melchior - 18000 - MR
Sovereign - 26000 - SN

[Glenn E.]

Wikipedia also has a good list, which can be found here.

[Eric Ifune]

A split is 187 ml.

[Eric Menchen]

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

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[Andy Velebil]

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

So have I, though it's an incorrect use of the term. Usually by people at a restaurant that don't know better.

[Bradley Bogdan]

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

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Ditto


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[Glenn E.]

I've heard a 375 referred to as a split, but always thought that was supposed to refer to a 187. A 375 has always been a half to me.

[Eric Ifune]

A 375 is a half bottle. The correct term in the trade is 187 for a split.

[Roy Hersh]

Eric Menchen wrote:

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

Andy V. wrote:

So have I, though it's an incorrect use of the term. Usually by people at a restaurant that don't know better.

Having worked in the restaurant industry, I call the above nonsense. I learned what a split was early on in the restaurant biz and saw it in practice dozens of dozens of times since ... in restaurants where it was made clear that the 187 ml bottle was a split. You can find them on airplanes too, but it used to be something that even in airport lounges and buffets, splits of Sparkling wine, whites and reds were all available in splits. It used to be far more commonplace in just about every species of eatery; especially on restaurant wine lists ... ordered frequently by business class folks dining alone. There were some very weak wines and conversely, many very good producers who bottled in this size back in the day. Most but not all, had screw caps.

[Andy Velebil]

Eric Menchen wrote:

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

Andy V. wrote:

So have I, though it's an incorrect use of the term. Usually by people at a restaurant that don't know better.

Having worked in the restaurant industry, I call the above nonsense. I learned what a split was early on in the restaurant biz and saw it in practice dozens of dozens of times since ... in restaurants where it was made clear that the 187 ml bottle was a split. You can find them on airplanes too, but it used to be something that even in airport lounges and buffets, splits of Sparkling wine, whites and reds were all available in splits. It used to be far more commonplace in just about every species of eatery; especially on restaurant wine lists ... ordered frequently by business class folks dining alone. There were some very weak wines and conversely, many very good producers who bottled in this size back in the day. Most but not all, had screw caps.

I've lost track of how many times a waiter/waitress arrives tableside with a 1/2 bottle and proceeds to call it a split. I've never corrected one, but it is amusing when it happens. Of course, these tend to be the places that aren't big on wine, don't have a Somm., and the waitstaff is young and not knowledgeable about wine.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Eric Menchen wrote:

I've heard a 375 ml referred to as a split.

Andy V. wrote:

So have I, though it's an incorrect use of the term. Usually by people at a restaurant that don't know better.

Having worked in the restaurant industry, I call the above nonsense. I learned what a split was early on in the restaurant biz and saw it in practice dozens of dozens of times since ... in restaurants where it was made clear that the 187 ml bottle was a split. You can find them on airplanes too, but it used to be something that even in airport lounges and buffets, splits of Sparkling wine, whites and reds were all available in splits. It used to be far more commonplace in just about every species of eatery; especially on restaurant wine lists ... ordered frequently by business class folks dining alone. There were some very weak wines and conversely, many very good producers who bottled in this size back in the day. Most but not all, had screw caps.

I've lost track of how many times a waiter/waitress arrives tableside with a 1/2 bottle and proceeds to call it a split. I've never corrected one, but it is amusing when it happens. Of course, these tend to be the places that aren't big on wine, don't have a Somm., and the waitstaff is young and not knowledgeable about wine.

It's happened to me in shops too, where folks seem to mix up the 4-pack splits with halves and use the terms interchangeably. Not saying it's right, but like Eric said, it definitely happens with less knowledgable employees.


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[Al B.]

I've seen the following sizes of bottle used for port from the last couple of hundred years. Some of the bottle sizes I can name, but some I just have no idea what they are called:

50ml - miniature
187ml - split
200ml
375ml - half
500ml - imp
568ml - pint
700ml
750ml - bottle
758ml - six to the (Imperial) gallon
1000ml - litre
1500ml - magnum
2000ml - tappit hen
2100ml - tappit hen
2250ml - tappit hen or tregnum
3000ml - double magnum
4500ml - jeroboam
6000ml - imperial
9000ml
12000ml

Are there any other bottle sizes out there for port, current or historic? Any other names for the bottles?

[Eric Menchen]

I've seen the following sizes of bottle used for port from the last couple of hundred years. Some of the bottle sizes I can name, but some I just have no idea what they are called ... Any other names for the bottles?

Not Port specific, but there are a lot of names here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_bottle
Sorry for the repeat. I now see Glenn already posted this.

[Eric Ifune]

757 was a fifth. 1/5 of a US gallon sometimes listed on bottles as 4/5 of a quart.

[Tom Archer]

A few additional sizes to add to AHB's list:

650mL - used by Ramos Pinto in the 1920s
5600mL - Imperial (8 x the old bottle size of 70cL) I have an empty bottle with the name Sandeman applied to the shoulder.
15000mL - used by the Symingtons for some 1994 bottlings - possibly other years also.
30000mL - a single bottle of this is known to have been filled with T63 by the Deinhard family. After sale at auction it was shipped to Brazil.

9000mL has no official Port name, but I use the Champagne name Salmanazar. Ditto 15000mL which is a Nebuchadnezzar

I keep waiting for someone to fill some 100mL bottles, and market it as Air-Port..