Welcome to the final post of my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series. To view the previous posts, click here for post one, here for post two, here for post three, and here for post four.
During the time that I have been working on my Storing Wine In Your Kitchen Series, I happened to have dinner at Giovanni’s- which happens to be my favorite restaurant in Nashville. With wine storage options on my mind, I was drawn to the enormous wine bottles on display in the bar (see photo below-note in front are regular size bottles of wine to give you a visual comparison). I asked Giovanni if I could take a photo as he rattled off the names of the bottles and told me there are some that are even larger. I had seen a Jerobaum which is 4.5 liters and assumed that was the largest size. Little did I know. What about you, did you know there is a size called a Sovereign which is 25 liters and it pours 125 glasses of wine? I could barely lift the largest one in the photo below and in comparison it is half the size of the Sovereign. I cannot imagine anyone trying to lift and pour the Sovereign. I will ask Giovanni if it is used purely for display and if not, how is it poured and report back with the answer.
From the back row right-to-left is Nebuchadnezzar, Balthazar, Salmanazar, and the last two on the left are both Methuselah. It appears the second to last is larger due to the height but both are 6 liters. The diameter of the bottle on the left is extends higher to counter for the height. I placed standard bottles of wine in front of these monsters to give you an idea of the size of these bottles of wine.
Giovanni’s is located close to Vanderbilt University and Music Row.
Giovanni came to the United States from Northern Italy in the mid-seventies making New York City his new home. He learned to speak English and in 1982, he opened his first restaurant in New York City. In 1994, he moved to 55th between 5th and 6th in 1994 and remained at that location until closing the doors this year. He opened Giovanni’s in Nashville in November 2008. Many Nashvillians were customers in his New York restaurant and became friends of Giovanni and his lovely wife, Nieda. In fact, he and Nieda, have had an apartment in Nashville for sixteen years. They now call Nashville their home.
Below is a list of 19 bottle sizes which gives you the name of the bottle, size, and number of glasses it will pour.
Bottle
Size
Number of Glasses
Comments
Mignonette
5cl to 25cl
-
Is used as a sample
Piccolo
20cl
1
1/4 of a standard bottle
Chopine
25cl
1.25
1/3 of a standard bottle
Half bottle (or demi)
37.5cl
1.875
Also known as Split or Tenth
Fillette
37.5cl
1.875
Same as Half
In Loire Valley only
Bottle
75cl
3.75
Standard bottle
Magnum
1.5l
7.5
2 standard bottles
Marie-Jeanne or Dame-Jeanne
2.25l
11.25
In some areas it can contain 3l
Double Magnum
3l
15
4 standard bottles
Jeroboam
4.5l
22.5
In Bordeaux
In Burgundy and Champagne, Jeroboam is 3l
First king of Israel
Rehoboam
4.5l
22.5
In Burgundy and Champagne
Son of Solomon and King of Judah
Imperial
6l
30
In Bordeaux
8 standard bottles
Methuselah or Mathusalem
6l
30
In Burgundy and Champagne
Patriarch in the Bible
Salmanazar
9l
45
12 standard bottles
King of Assyria
Balthazar
12l
60
16 standard bottles
Regent of Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar or Nabuchodonosor
15l
75
In Burgundy and Champagne
20 standard bottles
King of Babylon
Melchior
18l
90
In Burgundy and Champagne
24 standard bottles
Solomon
20l
100
Very rare
Sovereign
25l
125
In Champagne, rare
A glass is 20cl of wine (0.21 US quart / 0.42 pint / 6.75 oz)
Liquid measurements
1 liter = 0.26 US gallon / 1.05 US quart / 2.11 pint / 33.8 oz
1 standard bottle (75cl) = 0.2 US gallon / 0.8 US quart / 1.58 pint / 25.35 oz
Source:: Terrior-France website
Thank you for visiting my blog. I would love to hear from you in a comment! Blessings. …susan
