🍷 Methuselah
A 6-litre bottle, equal to eight standard ones.
A Methuselah is a wine bottle of 6 litres, equal to eight standard 0.75-litre bottles. The name comes from the Bible: Methuselah is the longest-lived figure in the Old Testament. Large bottles received such biblical names: Jeroboam (3 litres), Rehoboam (4.5 litres), Methuselah (6 litres) and others.
Bottles of this size are most often made for Champagne and sparkling wines, but they exist for still wines too. Wine develops more slowly in them because there is less air relative to the total volume. That is why large formats are valued by collectors for ageing more gracefully. They are usually filled by hand and cost more than the same volume in ordinary bottles.
A Methuselah belongs to wine bottle sizes. The usual size is 0.75 litres, a half bottle is 0.375, a magnum 1.5. A Methuselah is heavy, and it is better to open it with two people. Such bottles are bought for big celebrations and for collections, and they make serving wine a spectacle.
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Frequently asked questions
How many litres is a Methuselah?
Six litres, equal to eight standard bottles.
Where does the name come from?
From the biblical Methuselah, the longest-lived figure of the Old Testament.
Why does wine age slower in big bottles?
There is relatively less air compared with the volume of wine.
Similar
🍷 Half bottle (0.375 l) · 🍷 Jeroboam · 🍷 Salmanazar · 🍷 Balthazar · 🍷 Nebuchadnezzar · 🍷 Magnum