When is a Case not a Case????

WINE TALK
1

When is a case of wine not a case??? When you’re in Italy, I guess.
In the USofA, the standard case of wine is 12 btls. When I visited wnrys in Italy, I noticed that most all
of them put their wines up in 6-btl cases. You only see that here in very expensive wines.
Any idea why the standard in Italy is 6-btl cases (or is it?). Are those effete/wussy Italians not able
to manhandle our 12-btl cases?? [stirthepothal.gif] Do they put them up in 12-btl cases for wines destined to the US market?
Just curious.
Tom

2

In the US, a case is generally considered 9L, so 12-750ml or 24-375ml or 6-1.5L magnums. How 9L became the “standard”, I have no idea, but it is probably just as arbitrary to be 6 750ml bottles somewhere else.

3

Could it be as simple as many of the bottles come to the winery packed 6 to a box?

4

Must be the same 6 750ml bottles per case for some French wines too. Seen plenty of them.

5

Those short cases must be “Troy cases.”

Things can get pretty crazy.

A bought a pound of gold from the Swiss and only got 373.24 g.

I said, “Hey! You owe me about 80 more grams,” and they said, “No, we don’t.”

Now, a case of wine only gets me six bottles? A “Troy case” should be 9 bottles, I figure.

6

It’s worse. There is some disquiet over here of the recent concept of a ‘3 bottle case’ - which almost exclusively applies to Burgundy, and it’s argued that the move aids price inflation, or perhaps just makes them sound slightly more affordable.

7

Screwed myself self importing an Italian ‘case’ once because of that. Wasn’t the magical price differential that I initially thought it was. I didn’t have a man in Beaune to warn me about that.

8

Pretty much all over Europe, a “case” is a wooden box or carton with 6 bottles in it: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal. There are 12 bottle boxes and cartons, but they’re the exception rather than the rule.

9

Most producers in Portugal have switched to 6 pack cases. Or 3 packs for their very high end stuff. 12 Packs still are the standard for lower prices stuff.

From a distribution and retailer view it’s easier to deal with when it comes to more expensive upper end wines. Especially where quantities are limited.

10

The Case of the Case That Was Not a Case
by The Hill That Was Not a Hill

11

In Ontario, if you wish to buy a wine directly from the agency that represents them and not through LCBO retail you must purchase by the case. I know agents will regularly request that wineries pack in 6-packs to make smaller purchases easier for the end consumer. It can’t be Ontario alone (though the LCBO is reportedly the largest wine buyer in the world). Perhaps the same concept exists in other markets?

12

Yes it does, hence my answer above. Increasingly for the more expensive stuff 6 or 3 packs are quickly becoming more common.

13

I like 6 bottle cases. These days I generally do not want 12 of a single wine.

14

Same here.

Although I was once misquoted the per bottle price of Pichot Les Larmes de Bacchus because the retailer thought a case was 12 bottles, but it was really 6. Still bought it though.

15

Me too, especially in a market with a case break up charge from many wholesalers.

16

And I don’t want to lift 12 bottles at once. This getting old stuff sucks, LOL

17

That, too. That, too…