(TDB) - Just who were the Biblical kings and prophets of ancient Israel, Judah, Assyria and Babylon whose names grace the large format bottles of wine that dominate tables and collections today?

There’s always been a question mark as to why large format wine bottles have the names they do. Why were the names chosen? Who chose them? When did it happen? Well, unfortunately, this piece will not and can not answer those questions – for now anyway.

There must be more information somewhere but, barring a dramatic discovery, we shall have to consider the reasons largely lost to history. There is a suggestion, however, that the name Jeroboam came to be associated with a large bottle size in Bordeaux in around 1725.

It was apparently created, along with the now classic ‘Bordelaise‘ bottle shape by the royal glassmaker in the city, Pierre Mitchell. After that the trail goes cold and even why Mitchell might have plumped for ‘Jeroboam’ as a name is mysterious itself. There were two kings of ancient Israel who went by that name, the first, as we shall see, was a rebel against the House of David, who turned away from God and set up false idols – hardly the model Hebrew king, while the second, who ruled some time later merits barely three verses in 2 Kings. More recent archaeology has shown that Jeroboam II probably ruled over Israel at a time in the 8th century BC when it was flourishing because of its production of and trade in olive oil and wine. But this would not have been known in the 18th century. So, why?