How much wine was opened at La Fête du Champagne?
by Max Goldberg Liu
November 7, 2024
With La Fête du Champagne in the rear view mirror, it is always fun to look back at our records from the Gala Dinner to see just how much wine was opened.
We had a full house of 385 guests, and everyone came to party.
Total amount of Champagne at the Gala Dinner
283 bottles
149 magnums
10 jeroboams
4 half bottles
…which is the equivalent of 623 bottles or more than 1.6 bottles per person. Hats off to our amazing team of sommeliers for keeping everything organized and the bubbles flowing!
Most common producers
Krug was very well represented with a total of 32 bottles, 4 half bottles, 7 magnums, and 2 jeroboams
Next was Dom Pérignon, with 16 bottles, 8 magnums, and 1 jeroboam
In third place, Louis Roederer with 13 bottles, 5 magnums, and 1 jeroboam
House/Grower balance
Incredibly, the breakdown between House and Grower was nearly EXACTLY 50/50 - 224 bottles from houses and 222 bottles from growers - a perfect reflection of La Fête’s philosophy!
Oldest wine
A bottle of Louis Roederer Vintage Brut 1928 - did any of you taste it?
Other rare older wines included a bottle of Salon 1955 (!!!), Billecart-Salmon Brut 1966, Dom Pérignon Oenothèque 1969, two magnums of DP 1970, and a jeroboam of Bollinger RD 1979.
Most common vintages
2008: 23 bottles - highlights included a great bottle from the now retired Marie-Noëlle Ledru, multiple bottles of Cristal 2008, and magnums of Billecart-Salmon Elisabeth Salmon
1996: 20 bottles - highlights included Jacques Selosse Millésime, magnums of Tarlant Cuvée Louis from the estate, and Krug Clos du Mesnil
Non-bubbles
Alongside magnums of Burgundy brought by our visiting winemaker friends Antoine Jobard, Thibaud Clerget, Anne Morey, and Marc Bachelet, guests also brought bottles of Sauternes, Sake, and Chartreuse as a change of pace from all the Champagne.
The rest of La Fête
It was an intense week leading up to the Gala Dinner, and at this largest-ever edition of La Fête, we opened a grand total of:
32 Jeroboams
294 Magnums
1,227 Bottles
If you were there with us, you know no one went thirsty. We are now eager for some red wine - on to La Tablée!