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                   "Wine bottle sizes"

The older French wine bottles most likely hold 0.80 liters, a common measure for Burgundy, Champagne and Rhone before 1945. The newer ones hold 0.75 liters. That's the measure used for Bordeaux and most Californian wines too.

WINE BOTTLE SIZES
    Wine is made in casks or tanks and then filled into bottles. One would think there is a norm, a common standard for bottle sizes used all over the world. There is not, at least not yet. Looking at the bottle can give the consumer an indication where a certain wine was bottled. With German wines, if it's in a round short bottle, a so-called Bocksbeutel, its a Frankenwine. One can safely assume that Moselwine is not sold in brown bottles with long necks and Rhine wine not in green bottles. With the French wines one can be sure that Bordeaux wines are never bottled in Burgundy shape bottles and Burgundy wine growers would never think of offering their wine in Bordeaux style bottles.
    So far about bottle shapes. Now about sizes: Most German wine bottles are 0.70 liters. Some bottles from Alsace are 0.72 liters.
    The older French wine bottles most likely hold 0.80 liters, a common measure for Burgundy, Champagne and Rhone before 1945. The newer ones hold 0.75 liters. That's the measure used for Bordeaux and most Californian wines too.
    There are other common measures like the liter bottle and the 0.70 liter bottle. If unsure look underneath the bottle, it usually states the size on the bottom. Now about the bigger sizes, usually these are show bottles and more decorative than practical and I suggest always check the bottom of the bottle to know exactly what you have if you want to know the bottle's size.
    The table below is nothing but a quick reference guide to the names of larger than usual bottles:
 

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updated 01/03/09