By Monica Sabbatucci
Is bigger always better? The age old question that is always up for debate no matter the subject! With champagne the answer is always yes - bigger bottle = more champagne. It is not a hard answer. May it be magnums, jeroboams, methuzelahs and all the way up to nabuchadnezzars (15 litres!), who wouldn’t want to splurge a little bit more and taste a little bit more for that special occasion?
As the bottles get bigger, you will notice the unusual names. In fact, these bottles are aptly named after Biblical kings who ruled in Ancient times. Someone was doing something right when naming these bottles like us here at Emperor, they believed champagne rules too!
Here are five excellent reasons why you should opt for larger bottles of bubbly next time you are entertaining:
- They look impressive! Just imagine your guests arriving at your house, gasping at those magnums, jeroboams or even methuselahs beautifully presented on the dinner table or bar. What will they think? ‘Holy %$#@ that’s a big bottle of champagne!’ Will no doubt be their first response! Complete with ‘Wow that’s amazing!’ Or ‘Our wonderful host must’ve gone to great lengths to get those bottles at our party!’. Either way you look at it, you come out looking pretty darn good as a host.
- The quality of wine is inherently better. Although in the end purchasing a larger bottle may not be the cheaper option, it is what’s inside that truly makes up for it! The larger the bottle, the less exposure the wine has to oxygen. Oxidisation is good for wine, however too much can ruin that beautifully crafted cuvée. Larger bottles like magnums or balthazars keep the wines fresher and younger than a standard 750ml bottle.
- They make great keepsakes. Pinterest has many ideas for leftover magnum bottles - candles, lamps, vases, you name it! Keeping these beauties once empty will always remind you of that wonderful night.
- They look good. Those likes on Instagram and Facebook will just roll in with the desirable aesthetic of a larger bottle in your posts. Your followers will have champagne envy!
- They are perfect and practical for parties. It avoids you having to leave the table or head to the fridge to retrieve another bottle and risk missing out on conversation and any moment. Use this guide below to work out which bottle suits your next event. (Make sure your servers have strong muscles! These guys can get huge!)
Bottle (750ml) = 6 glasses
Magnum (1.5L) = 12 glasses
Jereboam (3L) = 24 glasses
Rehoboam (4.5L) = 36 glasses
Methuselah (6L) = 48 glasses
Salmanazar (9L) = 72 glasses
Balthazar (12L) = 96 glasses
Nabuchadnezzar (15L) = 120 glasses
We have a beautiful range of bigger bottles in stock at Emperor, so when you are on the lookout for supplies for your next event, think bigger!
Magnums- The Next Step Up
Magnums contain the same volume in both regions, 1.5 litres. Magnums of wine are efficient for larger gatherings, are aesthetically elegant, and impressive to your guests.
Magnums are the perfect size bottle for parties of as little as four and most respectable wine shops and restaurants carry a decent selection. They are inherently festive and tend to keep wine younger and fresher. Magnums of wine age better and slower in this size of bottle and taste consistently better than when matured in normal size bottles.
The proportion of exposed wine to unexposed wine decreases exponentially as the bottle size increases which means that larger bottles (like Magnums) have less exposure to the effects of oxygen, which are beneficial but eventually turn wine into vinegar. Not surprisingly, the ageing process of wine in a Magnum takes around 1.5 times longer than in a 750ml bottle, one more reason to seek out a Mag over a traditional 750.
The important point to reiterate is that the larger wine surface area of a magnum or jeroboam allows for the optimum balance of freshness and flavour intensity so prized by wine lovers.
