Wednesday, August 3, 2011

The 7 Most Popular Wine Crate Sizes List

The advent of wine crates began mankind's attempt at mass advertising, and they are the first product packaging method made for the consumer. Thousands of years later they are still crafted for this purpose.

There are 7 main sizes for wine crates. The list is from most popular to most rare:

12 bottle wine crates:

Most commonly made by: Bordeaux wineries

Average dimensions: 19 1/2" L X 13" W X 7" H

Additional details: 12 bottle crates are made to hold (12) 750 ML wine bottles. They are mostly branded on the front sides (the 13" W part). Many of the logo designs of Bordeaux crates are timeless and highly artistic. Below is the front branded side of a 12 bottle wine crate:



Below is the inside of a 12 bottle wine crate. The dividers inside the crate are called inserts and they are designed to keep the bottles inside the crate secure. Inserts are made with either wood or cardboard. The inserts in the below picture are cardboard:




6 bottle wine crates:

Most commonly made by: Italian, Spanish and Californian wineries

Average dimensions: 13" L X 11" W X 7" H - These sizes often vary

Additional details: 6 bottle crates are made to hold (6) 750 ML wine bottles. They are mostly branded on both the front and back sides (the 13" L parts). Italian wineries tend to have a more "old world look" whereas Californian and Spanish crates tend to be more moden looking. Below are three 6 bottle crates for your review:

ZD Wines 6 bottle crate from Napa Valley, California


Sassicaia 6 bottle crate from Tuscany, Italy



Numanthia El Toro 6 bottle crate from Spain


Single bottle crates:


Most commonly made by: Italian wineries

Average dimensions: Varied based on bottle size

Additional details: There are a variety of different single bottle crates. The most common are:

Single (750 ML): 13" L X 4" W X 4" H

Magnum (1500 ML): 15" L X 5" W X 5" H

Double magnum (3000 ML): 19 1/2" L X 6" W X 6" H

Imperial (6000 ML): 21 1/2" L X 7" W X 7" H - *These are the gigantic bottles you may see in the window of a fine wine store.

These types of crates come in a variety of styles such as slide-top and flip-top lids. They are usually branded on multiple sides, and their sizes often vary based on the winery. Below are a few pictures of single bottle crates:

Magnum crates:


Double magnum (Very rare Screaming Eagle):


Imperial (Very rare Chateau Petrus):



6 bottle flat crates:

Most commonly made by: Italian and Californian wineries

Average dimensions: 20" L X 13" W X 4" H


Additional details: Flat crates are generally made to hold 6 bottles across the crate, not three on top of three like regular 6 bottle crates. Flat crates are almost twice the size length-wise of regular 6 bottle crates, but they are about half as tall.

Most flat crates are often engraved on multiple sides, with very high detail designs on the lid.

Opus One flat 6 bottle crate:



Winter 6 bottle flat crate:



3 bottle crates:


Most commonly made by: Californian wineries

Average dimensions: 14" L X 4" W X 4" H

Additional details: 3 bottle crates are generally made to be gift box/artwork/wine crates wrapped into one. One of my favorite 3 bottle crate is the Hundred Acre by Kayli Morgan:

Hundred Acre 3 bottle crate


Colgin 3 bottle crate:



The Hundred Acre is very thick and heavy. It has dovetailed corners and is engraved on all four sides, as well as on both sides of the lid. The top of the inserts are engraved as well!

The Colgin is engraved on all four sides and both sides of the lid as well.

6 bottle magnum crate:

Most commonly made by: Bordeaux wineries

Average dimensions: 15" L X 14" W X 9" H

Additional details: 6 bottle magnums are in the shape of a square. They are crafted to hold (6) magnum sized bottles. They are usually engraved on one side, but the engraving is especially large in comparison to a regular 12 bottle crate. Most wineries only make a few hundred of these at best per vintage year so they are quite rare.

Chateau La Fleur 6 bottle magnum crate:


Rol Valentin and Chateau Monbousquet 6 bottle magnum crates; one on top of the other:


24 1/2 bottle crates:

Most commonly made by: Bordeaux wineries


Average dimensions: 22" L X 10 1/2" W X 9" H


Additional details: This is the rarest crate type because most wineries don't produce 1/2 bottles every year. When they do it's for only a few dozen cases.

 Half bottles are named as such because they are 375 ML. This is "half" the size of a regular 750 ML bottle which is the most common. This crate type holds a total of 24 half bottles.

24 1/2 bottle crates are very long and tall, but are thinner than any other type of crate because the bottles are shorter. Also, their wooden inserts come in sets of 8 so they are a little more difficult to manage. 24 1/2 bottle logo designs are however very large so this makes up for it a bit.

Chateau D'escurac and Chateau Senejac 24 1/2 bottle crates; one on top of the other 



What do you think? Any questions? Please let me know

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6 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this very useful information. I used to work at a fine wine store, but now have moved on to a desk job. As I used to stand and walk around a lot, I don't like sitting for long periods so I'm designing a stand-up desk. The crates will work well for elevating my keyboard and mouse since I can put together a 12-crate and a 6-crate matching the 13" sides.

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  2. That sounds great. I'm glad the info came in handy. Feel free to let me know if you need any additional wine boxes or crates for the project.

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  3. Hi Patrick,
    I made my keyboard and mouse stand and many coworkers came around to admire the standup desk and wine crates. I love the smell of the wood, but don't know what type of wood it is when they ask. I'm using an Opus One and a Groth crate. Would you know?
    Thanks, Vin

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    Replies
    1. Hey Vin. Yes, both the Opus and Groth are made of pine. I don't know the species of pine, but most of the time Napa's are made from wood indigenous to the region. Hope this helps.

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  4. I am looking for some single bottle wine crates to repurpose into a hanging herb garden. Does anyone know where I can find some? Thank you.
    forcommentingonblogs@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes. Feel free to visit www.winepine.com under original wine crates. The small single bottle ones should work well.

    ReplyDelete