Nowadays wine bottles come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Are you concerned that some of your wine bottles are too large for a rack or cooler? Here is a rough guide on wine bottle sizes.
Generally speaking, wine racks and wine coolers are designed to nicely fit a standard size bottle of Bordeaux. ‘Nicely fit’ means that it is easy to put in and take out, and there is ample room around the bottle so that the label will not be scratched when taking the bottle out.
So what does this mean? Well a ‘standard’ size for a bottle of Bordeaux (750ml) is 2 7/8″ – 3″W and 11 1/2″L. Common reds are generally this size. There are some larger (mostly just wider) 750ml varietals. For example, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Shiraz and Boutique wines can be a bit wider at 3 1/4″W – 3 3/8″W. Generally speaking the length is still about 11.5″.
For white wine bottles, you will generally find sweet wines and Rieslings to be longer, but thinner. A bottle of Chardonnay may be wider than a bottle of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, but not likely bigger than the wider 750ml reds.
Of course Champagne is a whole other story. These bottles are usually wider and oftentimes longer. These bottles will give you the hardest time fitting in a cooler or rack.
375 ml
Desert wines, splits
2 3/8″W
7″ – 9 1/2″L
750 ml
Bordeaux, Cabernet, most common reds – pretty much standard size
2 7/8″W
11 1/2″L
750 ml (larger 750ml varietals)
Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Shiraz, Boutique wines, smaller bottle champagne
3 1/4″W – 3 3/8″W
11 1/2″L
1.5 L (Magnums)
Magnums, larger Champagne (may need special housing)
3 7/8″W – 4″W
13 1/2″L