and how often do you open them? And for what kind of occasion?
Looking through my inventory, I realized how many I have, and how seldom I open them. Wine lovers enjoy variety, so I tend to open fifths when I bring wine, at most, magnums when it is a large gathering. Over the last two years, I have opened two Imperials and one double magnum, before that, the last I opened a large format bottle was seven years ago.
Yes I buy them, I don’t open them often though. We drink a double mag at a summer family event each year, we did a 6l last summer.
I never bring them into the UAE though, so there’s a limit on access.
Admittedly it’s hard to think when I will open the 2013 Fritz Haag BJS GK double mags that Oliver Haag bottled specially for me.
Whah?!?!? A double mag is just 4 bottles of wine. If you have 8 people it’s not enough.
I do and wish I had more. I was at a party on Saturday with well over 50 serious wine people and I wished I had a 6L.
why didn’t you bring this to Hack’s soiree?
When you pour a big bottle for wine geeks everyone takes their glass and three minutes later wants to move onto something else. When you pour a big bottle for non-wine geeks everyone takes their glass and nurses it for the next three hours. In both cases you end up dumping most of the bottle.
I do when I want the wine to be more youthful and/ or viable and also to have on hand for groups larger than 4. That happens monthly.
Don’t let details get in the way.
There is a large demo of folks who like good wine but don’t obsess about it. They’ll finish a glass of something good before their ADD demands they taste something else.
I agree with Roberto. If I put out a 3L among my work friends, it would be finished in no time flat. Brought 3 mags to dinner once for 7 of us. Needed more wine off the wine list.
Sorry, got distracted by a squirrel. Think I’ll check out another thread now.
I have one double mag of Beaucastel from our wedding year to be opened on our 30th and one 6L of Sauternes from my daughter’s birth year to be opened for her wedding.
I rarely even buy mags because for the size group we usually have (6 or 8), I’d rather have more different wines than more glasses of the same.
I think if you brought a 3L of that stuff in your avatar, there would be no problem finishing it.
I worry about corked bottles to be honest. I’ve never had a large format be corked, but I can only imagine the pain of pouring a 3L+ down the drain. At least w/ 750’s if one is bad you can move on and just open another.
I will say, they are pretty cool sitting on the table at a party though.
that’s more along my thinking. I have one 3L and i’m considering selling it as I’m too worried what will happen if the wine is bad.
Got a smattering, especially fun if it’s not very pricey vino. Got a couple of expensive ones too.
A friend has a big bottle (Double mags or larger) party every year. Depending on what size bottle you bring, you are allowed to invite a certain number of guests. Party is catered and you chip in for the food. That’s one way to get a bunch of those bottles opened.
When I was in the restaurant biz I found that, by putting a big ol’ growler on the list priced to INCLUDE a nice dinner matched to the wine for the appropriate number of folks, people could get their head around the concept instead of just assuming that you would need 20 people to finish a 3 ltr bottle. Sold those dinners like crazy…
I have too many mags. I almost invariably prefer variety – though there are a handful of wines that I am especially looking forward to see evolve in the mags.
I used to but now limit myself to buying occasional mags. Just too limited in use for my gatherings where variety is prized more. I also worry abiut the corkage issue.