Alright, I suppose I could've titled this post "a textbook case of crying wolf". No, the kid's not here, but she's very close (maybe this week). For that reason, it's been a whirlwind the past couple weeks to get everything put together, creating a proper environment for our new arrival (and, as much as I feel we'll never get the house quite right, a Monday marathon of "Hoarders" has set my mind at ease that we're in better shape than we think).

Of course, as part of the welcome-wagon preparation, a proper bottle of Champagne has been deemed crucial to the celebration. While I talked a big game a while back about Jeroboams and such, the winner ended up being a magnum of Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Blue Top Champagne NV. Not necessarily my first choice, but I'm confident it will be darn good. Yeah, I know it's a blue top for a girl, but forgive me if I refuse to bow to your gender stereotypes. I'm progressive, alright??

As far as going with the magnum over the double-magnum (aka "Jeroboam"), practicality forced my hand. Here's the thought process:

1) Finding a double mag was damn near impossible (more on that later)

2) a 1.5 liter bottle will yield about 12 glasses of Champagne. Let's be honest: do the wife and I really want more than 12 people in hospital room with our sleep-deprived shells of humanity?

3) referring to #2, I suppose we could drink more than one glass, but I feel like the hospital's a bad place to be drunk, unless there's half a beer bottle sticking out of my head and there are no newborn babies to speak of.

Now, on the issue of the brand (knowing I wanted a bigger bottle), I was really surprised at the limited offering in large formats. Sure, I found Veuve Clicquot (overrated?), Dom Perignon (too expensive. Overrated too?), and some lower-end bubbly. I saw a bottle of Bollinger in a magnum, but it was far-too "James Bond" for a little girl. In the end, I really have to tip my cap to Anthony at The Vineyard Wine Market in Atlanta. He worked with his distributors to give me some options, and we ultimately landed on the Heidsieck. I'm ultimately very pleased, and I'm confident the bottle will serve as a terrific celebratory gesture to our (and our daughter's) big day.