English wine cask units

Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units.

The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1706. In the United Kingdom and its colonies, the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system in 1826, whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US gallon in 1836.

The major wine producing countries use barrels extensively and have developed standards at variance with the traditional English volumes: examples include a hogshead of 300 L (66 imp gal; 79 US gal), a barrique of 220 L (48 imp gal; 58 US gal) (Bordeaux), a barrel of 225 L (49 imp gal; 59 US gal) (Australia), a barrel of 230 L (51 imp gal; 61 US gal) (Burgundy) and a puncheon of 465 L (102 imp gal; 123 US gal).

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