How many cases of wine are in a barrel? How many bottles of wine will an acre of grapes produce? These are some of the questions from consumers visiting tasting rooms, touring vineyards, or attending wine events. Consumers buying wine for large gatherings want to know the number of servings per case of wine. These various units of analysis are also critical in calculating production costs for wineries and of course for wine researchers.
How many cases of wine are in a barrel?
There are 12 bottles in a standard case of wine and the common wine bottle size is 750 milliliters (ml). Therefore, a case of wine holds a total of 9 liters. To convert liters to gallons, divide by 3.785, which results in 2.378 gallons of wine per case. The standard wine barrel is 60 gallons, therefore there are about 25 cases of wine in one barrel or 300 bottles of wine.
How many bottles of wine will an acre of grapes produce?
The number of bottles per acre depends on many variables, such as grape variety, vine spacing, seasonal climate conditions, and age of the grapes. It has been calculated that vineyards usually produce between 2 to 10 tons of grapes per acre. One ton of grapes usually produces a little more than two barrels of wine. A barrel holds 60 gallons, 25 cases, or 300 bottles. Therefore, a ton of grapes has been estimated to yield about 60 cases or 720 bottles.
How many cases of wine are needed for an event?
The number of cases for wine events or gatherings is based on the standard pour of 5 ounces. A 750 ml bottle of wine is equal to 25.36 ounces, so the number of glass servings per bottle is 5. A case of wine will provide 60 servings. The industry determines that the average alcohol drinker at an event consumes two drinks in the first hour, and one drink per hour afterward. If you are having a 4-hour event for 36 people, you will need 36 bottles of wine or 3 cases if your guests are average drinkers.
What are the various wine bottle sizes?
The 750 ml or standard size wine bottle is the most common but there are different sized wine bottles. The Half or Demi bottle contains 375 ml or 2.5 glasses of wine. They are great for one person, or if you just want to share a glass with someone. The Magnum bottles are 1.5 liters, making it the equivalent of two standard-sized wine bottles. Magnums are often used for small-batch vintages and premium wines.
Here are some of the other sizes:
- Split or Picollo – Smallest size bottle at 187.5 ml or one glass of wine
- Half-liter or Jennie – Contains 500 ml or 3 glasses. The size is often used for sweet wines
- Liter – Translates to 1000 ml or 7 glasses. A popular size bottle for value wines
- Double Magnum or Jeroboam – Size of two magnum bottles, or 20 glasses of wine
There are several larger size bottles with the Solomon being the largest. It holds 24 standard-size bottles.
Glass has been used for wine bottles since the 1600s but it wasn’t until 1975 that European legislation standardized bottle sizes, with 750 ml becoming the favored size. Up to that point, the United States used “one-fifth of a gallon,” which is 757 ml. To move toward the metric system and to make importing and exporting easier, the United States adopted the 750 ml bottle (27 Code of Federal Regulations §4.37) in 1979.
For those working with wine consumers, knowing these basic wine volume numbers is important.
