Standards of fill

Choosing a size

On this page10

Is it on the list Does the trade recognise it What does it cost to ship Can you actually buy it 250 mL is the interesting one here Though not in glass Lead with one size And the second size is usually smaller Large formats are a gift business References

The legal question is a list. The other three are a business.

Is it on the list

Binary, and the first filter. Twenty-five sizes below three litres and even litres at four and above.

Does the trade recognise it

750 mL and 1.5 L everywhere, 375 mL widely, 250 mL increasingly. Anything else needs explaining in every conversation with a distributor for the life of the product.

What does it cost to ship

Glass is heavy and wine is heavy. A case of twelve 750 mL bottles is close to 18 kilograms, and the shipping cost per bottle is a real part of whether a direct-to-consumer model works.

Can you actually buy it

Which is where this catalog is honest. Our shelf has one container at 750 mL, six at 500 mL and thirteen at 250 mL. For a classic wine bottle the supplier is a glass house.

250 mL is the interesting one here

Single-serve wine is a growing format, it is an authorized standard of fill, and it is the one size where this catalog has real depth at thirteen containers.

Though not in glass

Those thirteen are predominantly PET. For a wine that is a real decision about oxygen barrier and shelf life rather than only about perception, and it is one the format has been having for years.

Lead with one size

Each size is a bottle, a label layout, a case count and a listing. A first release is one size and the second is a decision made after the first one sells.

And the second size is usually smaller

A 375 mL half bottle or a 250 mL single serve gets a cautious customer to try a wine they will then buy at full size. That works better in this category than a larger format at a discount.

Large formats are a gift business

A 1.5 litre magnum sells on occasion rather than on value, which means it needs presentation, a box and a reason. It is a different product from the same wine at 750 mL.

References

27 CFR 4.72, metric standards of fill for wine. Twenty-five authorized sizes from 3 litres down to 50 millilitres, including 3 L, 2.25 L, 1.8 L, 1.5 L, 1 L and 750 mL. Above that: "Wine may be bottled or packed in containers of 4 liters or larger if the containers are filled and labeled in quantities of even liters (4 liters, 5 liters, 6 liters, etc.)." law.cornell.edu

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 18 October 2026. The wine shelf is 328 rows: 145 containers and 183 closures, 124 PET and 21 glass, from 250 to 976 mL with a median of 473. Twenty of the 145 sit at an authorized standard of fill: 13 at 250 mL, 6 at 500 mL and 1 at 750 mL. No cork finish, no crown finish and no capsules.

Written from 27 CFR 4.32, 4.39 and 4.72, and from the catalog as it stood on 18 October 2026. Wine is federally permitted, separately regulated by every state, and subject to label approval; permits, formula approval and appellation determinations are outside what these pages cover.