Champagne has a special place in the heart of almost all wine connoisseurs. It is surrounded by a culture of class and very specific guidelines to ensure that only real champagne is classified thus and the same seems to apply to the botting of the premium sparkling wine, with a full classification of names for bottles of all sizes and shapes. Here we’re looking at the many different sizes of champagne bottle and the right name for each.
The standard Champagne bottle contains 75cl of Champagne and this provides around 6-8 glasses of the drink, dependent on the size of the glass of course but bigger bottles are available and often just the thing for special events and big occasions. The biggest Champagne bottles have been named after figures from the Bible and are made up of Champagne which has been fermented in your standard bottles to ensure the same distinct flavour. Champagne can be enjoyed in monumentally sized bottles as well as very small ones, perfect as an individual present for someone special.
The smallest size of Champagne bottle is known as the Piccolo and this measures a tiny 18.75cl and is the equivalent of a quarter of a standard bottle and then, slightly bigger, there is the Demi which measures 37.5cl.
When it comes to the larger sizes they start with the Magnum, probably the best known size after the standard bottle. A Magnum of Champagne contains 150cl of Champagne, so is double your regular bottle size. Next up is the Jeroboam which doubles up the size of the Magnum and contains 300cl of Champagne and is followed again by another double-sized bottle, the Methuselah, which contains 600cl of Champagne and will serve as many as 48 guests. From here on in the sizes get quite ginormous with the Salmanazar contains 900cl of Champagne, the equivalent of 12 standard bottles and the Balthazar containing 1200cl of Champagne, equals 16 standard bottles. The largest of the lot is the Nebuchadnezzar which contains a huge 1500cl of Champagne which is the equivalent of 20 standard bottes and is a wonderful centrepiece or show element for a huge party.
The culture that surrounds Champagne further enhances its premium reputation and the classification of the bottles with their unique and grand sounding names makes it even more grand and memorable when you choose to buy big for a special occasion.
