[USMA:46204] Wine casks

[Harry Wyeth]

I was visiting a small local winery recently and noticed a large 
stainless steel vat in the work area.  On the side was a vertical 
measurement guide in cm and mm, and it topped out at around 1.3 m.  At 
the very top was a "1000" label. The cask looked to be around 1 m in 
diameter.  I asked the winemaker where it came from, and he said Italy.

The volume of this cask must have been exactly 1 cubic meter/1000 L, 
according to the formula for the volume of a cylinder.  The cask 
visually appeared /big/, and it gave a good impression of just how much 
volume is in a cubic meter, and how much larger it is than a cubic yard.

Another example of the beauty and simplicity of the metric system!  But 
go figure why the wineries produce wine in liters, bottle in liters, and 
the wine industry supplies statistics in gallons.

HARRY WYETH