The Champagne bottle

Jeroboam, Methuselah, Nebuchadnezzar… These names may already ring a bell, but do you know where they come from? Most of them come from the Bible: this tradition was started by the Champagne Houses back in the 19th century. It was then embraced by other wine-growing regions. But alas, no one knows why! Historians have been unable to find an explanation for this practice, which remains one of the mysteries of the history of Champagne.
 

The jeroboam is named after two kings of Israel, the first of whom was considered to be the kingdom’s founder.
 

The methuselah (mathusalem in French) obviously gets its name from the biblical patriarch whom the book of Genesis says lived to the age of 969 years. His grandson was Noah, the man who survived the Flood, and who would have been fully deserving of having a bottle named after him as he is credited with planting the very first vines.
 

The Salmanzasar owes its name to the surname Shalmaneser of five Assyrian kings. The most famous was Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC) who did not manage to defeat the Aramean kings, but went down in history as a great builder.
 

The origin of the name balthazar is more uncertain. This is typically believed to have been one of the three wise men (the Magi) who came to pay their respects to Jesus of Nazareth at his birth. But there is no proof of this, as the Bible provides no names. The Western tradition of their names arose several centuries later. That said, in the Bible, "Belshazzar" was the last King of Babylon (539 BC), defeated by Cyrus the King of Persia as he feasted during the siege. "Belshazzar's Feast" was a famous painting by Rembrandt and the title has also entered the musical mainstream too.
 

The nebuchadnezzar (nabuchodonosor in French) owes its name to Nebuchadnezzar II, the greatest king of the Chaldean dynasty from 605 to 562 BC. Under his rule, Babylon became the capital of the Western world and the population of Jerusalem was exiled after the city was captured under his orders. Verdi based his opera Nabucco on this historical event.

• - The word ‘Champagne’ (clearly displayed),

• - The style of wine as defined by level of sweetness or dosage (Brut, Demi-Sec, Sec...),

• - The brand of Champagne,

• - Percentage of alcohol by volume (% vol),

• - Bottle capacity (l, cl or ml),

• - Name of the producer or company name, followed by the name of the commune where that producer is registered (plus the trading address, if different) and the country of origin (France),

• - The registration and code number issued by the Comité Champagne, preceded by two initials that indicate the category of producer (NM for Négociant-Manipulant, RM for Récoltant Manipulant, CM for Coopérative de Manipulation, RC for Récoltant-Coopérateur, SR for Société de Récoltants, ND for Négociant Distributeur, MA for Marque d’Acheteur),

• - Batch code (sometimes stamped on the bottle itself),

• - Allergen content (eg sulphur dioxide, sulphites, etc – sometimes mentioned on the back label),

• - The warning ‘Drinking even small amounts of alcohol when pregnant can harm your unborn child’ or the symbol (required by certain countries),

• - Where appropriate, the vintage and specific details relating to the type of cuvee (whether Blanc de Blancs, Rosé, Blanc de Noirs, etc.),
• Optional information included at the producer’s discretion (the varietals used, date of disgorgement, sensory characteristics, suggested food-and-wine pairings, etc).

The categories of producer are as follows:

NM - Négociant manipulant: Individual or company who buys grapes, grape must or wine to make Champagne on their own premises and market it under their own label. All of the big Champagne Houses belong in this category.

RM - Récoltant manipulant: Grower who makes and markets own-label Champagne, from grapes exclusively sourced from their own vineyards and processed on their own premises.

RC - Récoltant-coopérateur: Co-op grower who markets co-op-produced Champagne under their own label

CM - Coopérative de manipulation: Wine co-op that markets Champagne made on co-op premises from members grapes.

ND - Négociant distributeur: Distributor who buys in finished bottles of Champagne and labels them in their own name, on their own premises prior to release.

MA - Marque d'acheteur: Brand of Champagne owned by a third party who is not the producer, for instance supermarket own-brand Champagne (finished Champagne sourced from various producers then sold under the supermarket’s own label).

The history of the Champagne bottle is still being written to this day. To limit the environmental impact particularly during the transportation of bottles, Champagne producers have sought to streamline them without undermining the quality of the Champagne or increasing the risk of breakage.

Switching from a 900g bottle to a 835g bottle allows a carbon footprint reduction of 11,200 tons of CO2 in glass manufacturing and 5,800 tons of CO2 in transportation, totaling 17,000 saved tons of CO2. This is equivalent to a fleet of 6,300 cars or the annual emissions of 1,700 French persons. 

This is further evidence of the region’s collective drive for continued progress.

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