Adi Werner's Wine Shop

at the Arlberg Hospiz in St. Christoph am Arlberg

Since the beginning of the 80s, Adolf Werner has been having Bordeaux wines bottled in large 12, 15 and 18 litre bottles. Until then, Bordeaux wines were only available in sizes up to Imperial bottles and special bottlings for the Russian imperial family at the end of the nineteenth century. For the first bottling run, Adolf Werner even had to have the tools to produce the corks made specially.

Since then, we have sold countless numbers of these large bottles all over Europe or drunk them at the Hospiz. Every one of these wines was an extraordinary pleasure.

Today, our range includes several thousand large bottles, from Cru Bourgeois with prices to match to the Premiers Grands Crus, a real trophy for collectors.

Why large bottles?

Wine in large bottles ages more slowly, stays at its peak for longer and tastes significantly better than wine in normal 0.75 l bottles. That is the consistent finding of those lucky people who get to enjoy wines from large bottles.

Wine can be aged in barrels, large bottles and small bottles. The ageing process in barrels is significantly faster than in bottles, because large amounts of oxygen react with the wine through the wood and age it.

During the bottling process, wine comes into contact with a large amount of oxygen. This, and the oxygen which permeates the cork to reach the wine over time, continue to age the wine in the bottle. This bottle ageing is much slower, which is particularly important for wines which are to be kept for a long time. Wine which is left in the barrels oxidises before it starts to age.

This is why wine in large bottles ages and oxidises significantly better than wine in normal bottles. During the bottling process, comparatively little oxygen enters the bottle in relation to the amount of wine. Large bottles also have a significantly smaller neck and cork in relation to the amount of wine. With large, 19 litre Melchior bottles, the ratio can be up to 20 times smaller than with normal bottles. The result is that the wine can age more slowly and oxidise significantly slower due to the quantity of oxygen present. In other words, it takes much longer to mature, without losing elements of bouquet and flavour due to oxidation and becoming undrinkable over time.

Irrespective of these scientific reasons, enjoying a large bottle with friends is an unforgettable experience.

Jeroboam II  was King of Jerusalem during the foundation of Rome in 753 BC.

Rehoboam, a son of King Solomon, became King of Judea in 933 BC.

Methuselah was a patriarch from the time before the Great Flood who, according to the Old Testament, lived to be 969 years old and thus became a synonym for very old ages.

Salmanazar was an Assyrian monarch who reigned around 1250 BC.

Balthazar and Melchior were two of the three Wise Men from the East who, together with Caspar, brought gifts to the baby Jesus.

Nebuchadnezzar was King of the Chaldean empire (today’s Iraq) in 604 BC.