What is "wine gallon"

A wine gallon is a unit of capacity that was used routinely in England as far back as the 14th century, and by statute under Queen Anne since 1707. Britain abandoned the wine gallon in 1826 when it adopted imperial units for measurement. The 1707 wine gallon is the basis of the United States' gallon, as well as other measures.

Some research concludes that the wine gallon was originally meant to hold 8 troy pounds of wine. The 1707 British statute defines the wine gallon as – e.g. a cylinder in diameter and high, c. 3.785 litre – and was used to measure the volume of wine and other commercial liquids such as cooking oils and honey. A 14th-century barrel of wine contained 31.5 gallons, which equals one-eighth of the tun of 252 gallons.