ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Alternate formats

Both big bottles and little bottles offer options for wine consumers beyond the standard 750ml model. From the small single serve 187ml up to 3, 6 and even 9-liter bottles fill many needs, many of us though have found over the last year or two that they are increasingly difficult to find. The reasons for the dearth of these alternative formats are many, some of them likely to mitigate, others maybe not.

The much-heralded supply chain problems many industries have encountered and continue to deal with are a big part of the issue. While wineries keep a big stock of the standard 750ml bottles that they package the lion’s share of their wine in, the big or small bottles they use less frequently and in smaller quantities are not stocked as well. Similarly, manufacturers of wine bottles simply make more of the standard size. When the usual transport and manufacturing systems are disrupted then these less used sizes of bottles are the first to suffer.

As the global economy emerged from all of the pandemic related closures all bottling components were tough to come by. From foils to corks, to Stelvin closures, cardboard case boxes and of course bottles all faced supply challenges. We heard frequently of wineries big and small, domestically based and those from overseas that could not get glass bottles and other supplies. Specifically, the small 187ml bottles that many Champagne producers use for the single serve bottlings were nearly impossible to get. These supply problems have gradually eased although some still exist, and as they have, we have seen many of these big and small bottles reappear for all of us to buy.

The other reasons for the absence of “littles and bigs” may be more enduring resulting in longer lasting holes in supply of these alternatives. Whenever the wine industry faces economic changes the big bottles and small bottles are the first to go. There is not as much demand for all of the bottles beyond the standard size and there are substantial costs to bottling in these different sizes. Since the bottles are not in as much demand the glass itself is more expensive. When wineries are bottling and they make the decision to bottle half bottles or larger formats they first need to stop “the line” and recalibrate for the new sizes. Those running bottling may even stop using the line altogether and bottle the other sizes by hand. Both approaches add costs, so when we are in uncertain economic times like right now, with raging inflation and the chance of a recession coming from the Federal Reserve’s fight against it, many wineries simply stop offering the other sizes as options.

There is another major factor lurking over wineries’ desire to bottle big and small bottles that are more appellation specific and that is the supply of wine. Burgundy and Champagne have had several recent vintages where little or no wine was produced due to hard spring freezes and other weather-related challenges that are endemic in the industry. California, especially Northern California have had years where production was drastically reduced due to wide ranging fires that have severely smoke tainted the grapes. In 2020 there was virtually no red wine produced in the vital counties of Napa, Sonoma and Lake Counties the smoke was so severe and the fires started so early in the growing season. There have been other impacts across the global wine industry that have reduced supplies including fires in Australia, storms and cold snaps across Europe, drought, and even frosts that wiped out parts of the North Coast appellation in California as recently as 2022.

While all of these challenges are frequently occurring, and the wine industry has become adept at dealing with them, they still have restricted supply in many cases. When supply of finished wine is down for any of these reasons, the wine that remains is used in the standard bottling size, there simply is not any held back to put in the larger or smaller formats.

Big bottles are great for entertaining with larger groups. Small bottles are perfect for those who desire just a glass or two, or for couples where tastes vary and both want to have something they really enjoy. The small bottles allow all to have what they like without the remainder of a full 750ml bottle spoiling when it doesn’t get fully consumed. As the current lack of these bottles continues though many of us will be facing a future without those choices. We will keep all of you posted on the supplies of the alternate formats as the wine industry makes their call on whether to bottle them, or not.

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George Balling is co-owner with his wife, Mary Lancaster, of The Dinner Party, a wine and gift shop in Coeur d’Alene by Costco. The Dinner Party has won the award for best wine shop in North Idaho twice, including for 2018.

George is also published in several other publications around the country. After working in wineries in California and judging many wine competitions, he moved to Coeur d’Alene with Mary more than 10 years ago to open the shop.

You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop or visit www.thedinnerpartyshop.com.