Butt (unit)

Butt (unit)

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 1707. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon. The major wine producing countries, both new and old world use barrels extensively and have developed standards at variance with the traditional English volumes. Hogshead (300 L), barrique (220 L - Bordeaux, 225 L Australia, 230 L Burgundy) and puncheon (465 litres) are commonly used in the wine and wine cooperage industries.