Champagne bottles

Champagne (which used to be part of the Duchy of Burgundy and which is therefore made of the Burgundian grapes of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) uses a Burgundy-style bottle. However, because the pressure inside the bottle can be 90 psi (three times the pressure of a normal car tire), the glass needs to be extra thick. Also, the punt is more pronounced, enabling the riddler to turn the bottle in the rack. Most Champagne is bottled in green glass, but pink or rose Champagne is bottled in clear glass to show off the color.

In addition to the standard 750 ml bottle, Champagne also comes in larger bottles—though I suspect the benefits are more visual than gustatory:

• Magnum – 1.5 liters (two regular bottles)
• Jeroboam (a.k.a. Double Magnum) – 3 liters (four bottles)
• Rehoboam - 4.5 liters (six bottles)
• Methuselah – 6 liters (eight bottles)
• Salmanazar – 9 liters (twelve bottles)
• Balthazar – 12 liters (sixteen bottles)
• Nebuchadnezzar – 15 liters (twenty bottles)
• Solomon – 18 liters (twenty-four bottles)
• Goliath – 27 liters (thirty-six bottles)
• Melchizedek or Midas – 30 liters (forty regular bottles)

Winegrowers in Burgundy and Bordeaux also produce large format bottles with similarly Biblical names—but not to the extent found in Champagne.