Wine by the pint?

[Lootman]

But why not? It would provide another choice of size for buying bottles of wine. And many older people like me still "think" in pints (and pounds) rather than metric.

And wine by the glass could then be sold in half pint sizes as well, that being a little more than the current largest glass - 250 ml.

I doubt you have ever thought of buying a pint of wine in a glass. That sounds pretty obscene to me, and owuld take some getting used to. I think 250mm is quite gross to start with, and I believe this was just a con to get us to drink more in restaurants.

I cannot recall ever wanting to buy a pint of wine. Although I have certainly drank an entire bottle of wine at a single sitting and that is more than a pint. I probably would not drink wine out of a pint glass unless that was the only glass I had. And the weakest wines are about the same alcohol level as the strongest beers.

But then again there is nothing magical or special about 750 ml, 500 ml or any other particular measure. And going into a shop and having a choice of sizes would be better than one size fits all. So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

[swill453]

So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

I don't think anyone's objecting to having more choice.

In this country we have to accept that HMG does mandate the sizes of bottles that pre-packaged wine comes in. You may object but that ship has sailed.

Prior to the proposed new law change, wine could be sold in bottle sizes of 187ml, 375ml, 500ml, 750ml, 1 litre, and then multiples of 750ml. Seems to cover most needs.

To go to the effort of adding a spurious 568ml size, when there's no demonstrated demand for it, just seems a waste of time and money, pandering to the Brexit loons.

Scott.

[Lootman]

So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

To go to the effort of adding a spurious 568ml size, when there's no demonstrated demand for it, just seems a waste of time and money, pandering to the Brexit loons.

I could equally argue that lobbying to not offer that extra option is pandering to the Remainer loons. The market can then decide rather than a politician or civil servant.

Removing a layer of regulations and restrictions was clearly a majority desire in 2016. To then not take advantage of that freedom is a folly.

[Arborbridge]

To go to the effort of adding a spurious 568ml size, when there's no demonstrated demand for it, just seems a waste of time and money, pandering to the Brexit loons.

I could equally argue that lobbying to not offer that extra option is pandering to the Remainer loons. The market can then decide rather than a politician or civil servant.

Removing a layer of regulations and restrictions was clearly a majority desire in 2016. To then not take advantage of that freedom is a folly.

Well, that all sounds reasonable, except that I doubt there's much of a demand so companies will be running wasting effort. One can have too much choice - vide supermarkets crammed with 30 different types of tomato so it takes about 20 minutes to select one type

And BTW, there are no Remainer loons - Remainers were the boring rational ones - only Leaver loons, as I remember, generally characterised as "swivel eyed" who let their emotions get the better of them

[88V8]

So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

Prior to the proposed new law change, wine could be sold in bottle sizes of 187ml, 375ml, 500ml, 750ml, 1 litre, and then multiples of 750ml. Seems to cover most needs.
To go to the effort of adding a spurious 568ml size, when there's no demonstrated demand for it, just seems a waste of time and money, pandering to the Brexit loons.

We have a decent home-grown wine industry in the UK now, so the logical development will be that wine can be sold only in pint, half-pint and gill measures.
None of this foreign stuff!!

V8

[MuddyBoots]

But then again there is nothing magical or special about 750 ml, 500 ml or any other particular measure. And going into a shop and having a choice of sizes would be better than one size fits all. So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

One thing I find a bit useful with bottle size is measuring my weekly units, currently the recommended limit in the UK is 14 units per week.

So at a typical 12% proof, a pint works out at 6.8 units, and 2 pints per week is 13.6 units, a good rule of thumb (if I'm only drinking wine!).

Translating into French, 1.5 bottles of 750 cc at 12% equals 13.5 units, also an easy guide to remember.

[Lootman]

But then again there is nothing magical or special about 750 ml, 500 ml or any other particular measure. And going into a shop and having a choice of sizes would be better than one size fits all. So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

One thing I find a bit useful with bottle size is measuring my weekly units, currently the recommended limit in the UK is 14 units per week.

So at a typical 12% proof, a pint works out at 6.8 units, and 2 pints per week is 13.6 units, a good rule of thumb (if I'm only drinking wine!).

Translating into French, 1.5 bottles of 750 cc at 12% equals 13.5 units, also an easy guide to remember.

12% proof is actually 6% ABV. So wine is typically 24% proof.

But I know what you mean.

I have been known to consume 14 units in a day. But not every day.

[swill453]

One thing I find a bit useful with bottle size is measuring my weekly units, currently the recommended limit in the UK is 14 units per week.

So at a typical 12% proof, a pint works out at 6.8 units, and 2 pints per week is 13.6 units, a good rule of thumb (if I'm only drinking wine!).

Translating into French, 1.5 bottles of 750 cc at 12% equals 13.5 units, also an easy guide to remember.

12% proof is actually 6% ABV. So wine is typically 24% proof.

But I know what you mean.

You're both wrong, "12% proof" is nonsense, it would be 12 degrees proof for 6% ABV.

Scott.

[Lootman]

12% proof is actually 6% ABV. So wine is typically 24% proof.

But I know what you mean.

You're both wrong, "12% proof" is nonsense, it would be 12 degrees proof for 6% ABV.

The "degrees" part is often dropped in normal conversation, as here.

But in any event the term is mostly only used for spirits. Nobody goes into a pub and asks for a half litre of 8 degrees proof beer.

[ReformedCharacter]

12% proof is actually 6% ABV. So wine is typically 24% proof.

But I know what you mean.

You're both wrong, "12% proof" is nonsense, it would be 12 degrees proof for 6% ABV.

Scott.

Depends where you live:

British vs American Proof

In the 19th century, they set the threshold for high alcohol content at 57.06 percent by volume and considered it equivalent to 100 proof. Precisely measuring the gravity and density of a spirit determined whether it contained more or less alcohol than 57.06%. Those that were more than 100 proof were taxed at a higher rate.

The more scientific methodology stuck. To this day, to get the proof for any spirit in the U.K., you multiply the alcohol-by-volume by 1.75. A bottle of vodka with 40% ABV is 70 proof in England. But don’t go assuming that the British system is equivalent to the U.S. one. That would be far too easy.

In the U.S., proof is two times the percentage of alcohol by volume of a spirit. ABV is doubled to get its proof or, more specifically, the 40% ABV vodka that was 70 proof in the U.K. is 80 proof in the U.S.

https://www.alcoholprofessor.com/blog-posts/what-does-proof-mean-in-alcohol

When I used to make poitin, I reckoned we were getting the run right when you could dilute the output with an equal part of water, pour a little on the table and set light to it

RC

[MuddyBoots]

You're both wrong, "12% proof" is nonsense, it would be 12 degrees proof for 6% ABV.

The "degrees" part is often dropped in normal conversation, as here.

But in any event the term is mostly only used for spirits. Nobody goes into a pub and asks for a half litre of 8 degrees proof beer.

Oh dear, I have inadvertently opened another can of worms with the word 'proof', because it varies around the world. US proof is as you say Lootman but UK proof is more complicated historically, ending up at ABV x 7/4. (I had to look that up).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_proof

[swill453]

My point was that "percent proof" is not a valid measure.

Scott.

[doolally]

I fail to see why anyone would object to having more choice. Must be a Remainer thing.

Will it actually increase choice? Having more different size bottles of each wine will reduce the choice of different wines since there is limited shelf space in the supermarkets. Unless they take over the shelf space used by cereals, in which case I have a more limited choice of cereals.
doolally

[Lootman]

I fail to see why anyone would object to having more choice. Must be a Remainer thing.

Will it actually increase choice? Having more different size bottles of each wine will reduce the choice of different wines since there is limited shelf space in the supermarkets. Unless they take over the shelf space used by cereals, in which case I have a more limited choice of cereals.
doolally

Maybe but I do not need the government to decide that for me by arbitrarily restricting choice. Let the market decide.

[XFool]

But then again there is nothing magical or special about 750 ml, 500 ml or any other particular measure. And going into a shop and having a choice of sizes would be better than one size fits all. So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

Genuine choice, OK. Continuous proliferation of spurious "more choice" nonsense - I choose "No!"

[Lootman]

But then again there is nothing magical or special about 750 ml, 500 ml or any other particular measure. And going into a shop and having a choice of sizes would be better than one size fits all. So again I ask the question - why would anyone object to having more choice?

Genuine choice, OK. Continuous proliferation of spurious "more choice" nonsense - I choose "No!"

You object to other people having a choice that you personally have no interest in?

How would you be harmed by that? Scott/Swill ran away when I asked him that question, but perhaps you will not?

[UncleEbenezer]

Why is it any business of government what size wine bottles are sold? Why shouldn't it be sold in whatever size someone wants to? Government should just insist that whatever the size, the labelling should be clear and accurate, and provide for enforcement where necessary.

I suspect the answer lies in historical deceptive practices. A wine bottle might've been 750ml, but it might also have been 700ml and looked just as big, with a bottom shaped to reduce it. And perhaps other short-change tricks.

As for pint bottles, did they ever exist for wine? I think I'd avoid them, just as I've long avoided canned or bottled beers smaller than 500ml, and like I avoid those fruit juices that short-change you by selling 900ml or 750ml instead of the full litre.

Of course, nothing wrong with the pint. The pint is a good measure for beer or tea, and I buy milk by the 2-pints.

[UncleEbenezer]

You object to other people having a choice that you personally have no interest in?

I like choice. But not pseudo-choice by government diktat.

[Lootman]

You object to other people having a choice that you personally have no interest in?

I like choice. But not pseudo-choice by government diktat.

I think we agree. The government should not restrict choice, but could perhaps ensure that labelling shows the price in unit terms to facilitate price transparency.

[UncleEbenezer]

I like choice. But not pseudo-choice by government diktat.

I think we agree. The government should not restrict choice, but could perhaps ensure that labelling shows the price in unit terms to facilitate price transparency.

Indeed. That would make sense not just for wine, but for every drink you buy by the bottle, can, or carton.