| Whereas it isn't really necessary to have any | | | | Other regions of France, Europe, and the New World |
| knowledge of wine bottles in order to appreciate wine, | | | | also bottle some wine in large formats, particularly |
| the bottles are vitally important. A glass bottle, sealed | | | | magnums. For larger bottling, most tend to follow the |
| with a cork or other device, is undoubtedly preferable | | | | Burgundy terminology, and consequently some |
| for the storage and transport of wine than the | | | | Jéroboams (four bottles) may be found. The |
| alternatives, which once included wooden barrels, | | | | Bordeaux terminology seems quite restricted to that |
| amphorae or even animal skins. Glass is inert, and | | | | region alone. Large format bottles are popular with |
| together with the cork seal (putting aside the terrible | | | | Bordeaux collectors, particularly the eight-bottle |
| problem of cork taint just for one moment) it provides | | | | Impériale. This is because the small amount of air in |
| an excellent environment for the long ageing that | | | | the bottle (between the cork and the wine) and a large |
| some wines demand. The coloring of the glass also | | | | amount of wine results in a small air: wine ratio and this |
| aids, in a small way, in the protection of the wine from | | | | would seem to favor slow development of the wine |
| potentially damaging light, although of course there's no | | | | when compared with smaller formats. The same |
| substitute for storing your wine in a cool, dark cellar. | | | | cannot be said of large format bottles of Champagne, |
| As well as the traditional (in many cases, legally | | | | as these are really only for show, and in general, other |
| required) 750ml bottle (the standard size to be found | | | | than the commonly encountered magnums, they are |
| on supermarket and wine merchants shelves), and the | | | | filled using wine poured from single 750ml bottles prior |
| useful half-bottle (containing 375ml of wine), there are | | | | to sale. |
| a number of legally permitted 'large format' bottles. | | | | There are a few other beverage glass bottle sizes |
| Many of these are named after biblical kings (I've | | | | permitted, although none have individual names, unlike |
| never found out why that is). Most confusingly, | | | | the formats above. The only other commonly |
| however, the same name may be used to refer to | | | | encountered size is the 500ml bottle, used for some |
| different size glass bottles in different regions of | | | | Ports designed for drinking young, and Tokay, the |
| France. Here are the large format bottling commonly | | | | famous sweet wine of Hungary. |
| referred to. | | | | |