Numerous terms used for the different bottle sizes are of biblical origin or borrowed from mythical stories. However, there is no longer any evidence in the literature as to how these terms came about. In addition, one term can even stand for different bottle sizes depending on the region.
This also applies to the term jeroboam. First mentioned in writing in Bordeaux in 1725, the term jeroboam has been used in the southwest of France since around 1978 to refer to a 5-liter bottle. In Burgundy and Champagne, as well as in the canton of Valais, the term jeroboam refers to a 3-liter bottle, often referred to as a double magnum (also in Bordeaux). It holds the contents of four standard 0.75 liter bottles.
The names for oversized bottles are not protected by origin and can therefore be used for both sparkling wines and wines as desired. As large bottles are no longer produced industrially, the production costs are correspondingly high and often exceed the price of their contents many times over. In addition, these bottles are not filled and corked by machine but exclusively by hand.
As mentioned at the beginning, the name Jeroboam is derived from the biblical context. Jeroboam I was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel with multiple reigns in the 10th century BC. The best Swiss winemaker of the decade, Diego Mathier, also has five award-winning wines in the Jeroboam bottle size in its range: the Pinot Noir Lucifer, the Cuvée Madame Rosmarie Mathier rouge, the Syrah Diego Mathier, the Merlot Nadia Mathier and the L‘Ambassadeur de Domain Diego Mathier rouge.