All about the wine magnum!

Wine lover or not, you have probably already heard of wine magnums! But do you know exactly what a magnum of wine is? Do you know what its features and benefits are? No? Then this article is for you! We explain everything about the wine magnum and the different bottle formats.

What is a magnum of wine?

The wine magnum is a larger bottle format than the classic 75 cl wine bottle. The wine magnum is the bottle format above the classic wine bottle. The wine magnum is not the only large format for wine. There are other even more impressive wine bottle formats that we will see in the rest of this article.

How much does a magnum of wine contain?

A magnum of wine contains 150 cl, the equivalent of 2 bottles of classic wine (75 cl). This is the most common format after the classic wine bottle.

Where does the wine magnum come from?

If for some the term "magnum" evokes floral shirts and big mustache, for others, it will mean wine in a big way!

Indeed, magnum comes from the Latin MAGNUS, meaning "great", rightly for wine because it is often synonymous with great conviviality, great events but also great guarding !

Although glass shaping is very old (glass blowing dates back to Roman times, 1 century BC), the first bottles of wine to see the light of day date from the 17th century, and were made in England. It was not until the 19th century that the wine magnum was officially recognized in France as a measuring tool. Indeed, at the time, a case of 6 bottles of magnum represented 4.5 L which corresponded to one gallon of the British system, the English being the largest importers of wine at the time. 

What wines are found in magnum?

The magnum has become a popular universal format for many wine lovers. That's why you can now find all alcohols in magnum format. Whether it is wine with champagne magnums, rosé wine magnums, red wine magnums or white wine magnums, or spirits with whisky magnums, gin magnums, brandy magnums or liquor magnums, the magnum format can accommodate all alcohols. Note that the magnums of spirits are not necessarily 1.5L but rather correspond to double the usual format. Thus a magnum of apricot liqueur will be 1L, the "normal" bottle being 50cl.

Why is wine magnum more expensive?

As we have seen, a magnum contains the equivalent of 2 bottles of classic wine or 150 cl, so the bottle is bigger. This format means more shaping work and therefore represents a higher manufacturing cost. For winegrowers, it also requires special attention: filling is often not automatic, so setting is done manually, but also labeling. Finally, most of the time, to make them even more attractive, the corks are waxed by hand! All this explains why a magnum of wine is often more expensive than two 75 cl bottles. However, it is necessary to take a step back from this price, because although more expensive, the magnum of wine has many advantages over the bottle. Stay with us to discover them in this article.

What are the different wine formats?

The wine magnum is not the only large bottle format! There are many wine bottle formats that are more or less known. The capacity of wine bottles can vary from 20 cl to 30L! There are therefore a multitude of formats and capacities of wine bottles, enough to suit the greatest number!

There are bottle sizes smaller than the classic wine bottle (75 cl):

• The piccolo contains 20 cl, it is the smallest format of wine bottles

• the quarter corresponding to 25 cl

• the half, also called the girl, which contains 37.5 cl

• the medium which represents 50 cl

The classic wine bottle then arrives with its capacity of 75 cl. Then come the large bottle formats with their names of biblical and Hebrew origin:

• The unmissable magnum of wine and its capacity of 150 cl

• Jeroboam is equivalent to 2 magnums, or 300 cl

• Rehoboam contains 450 cl

• Methuselah which corresponds to 600 cl, or 6 l

• The salmanazar of 900 cl, or 9 l

• The Balthazar of 1200 cl, or 12 l

• Nebuchadnezzar of 1500 cl, or 15 l

• the melchior or Salomon of 18 l

• The sovereign of 26.25 l

• the primacy of 27 l

• The Midas or Melchiesedech of 30 l

Even though there are a large number of wine bottle sizes and names, there are even larger, more incredible and unique bottle sizes ! As is the case of the largest bottle of whisky in the world, named the Intrepid, which recently sold for nearly $ 1.4 million. This unique bottle contained the equivalent of 444 bottles of standard whisky, or 311 l.

The names of the wine bottles vary depending on the region!

Although now the name of the bottles of wine has no secrets for you! You will have to be careful about the region where you are located because the name of the bottles of wine can vary depending on the region! These variations are mainly between the regions of Bordeaux and those of Champagne and Burgundy. Here are some examples:

• the jeroboam which contains 3l is so called in Champagne and Burgundy, but will be designated as a double-magnum in Bordeaux

• Attention! For the people of Bordeaux, the 3l jeroboam represents 4.5 l!

Now that the wine magnum and other bottle formats have no secrets for you, let's move on to the advantages of the large format!

Why buy a magnum of wine?

Buying a magnum of wine is an asset in the world of wine. Indeed, the wine magnum and the superior formats have many advantages both aesthetic and tasteful!

The magnum is a user-friendly format!

What could be more beautiful on a table than a magnum to receive his bon vivant friends? This format is in itself user-friendly, more plump than a bottle and allows to serve and serve widely a dozen guests. No need for the master of the house to open two bottles, the table will share the same bottle!

A magnum impresses!

It is also the marker of major events, family celebrations, birthdays, weddings or success in an exam such as the baccalaureate, or in an entrance exam to the grandes écoles. Fans will not be mistaken, at first glance, they will know that we are going to celebrate something important!

Wine keeps best in magnum

Many experiments show that the conservation of a wine in magnum is much better over time than in bottle. 

The first reason would lie in the fact that this large format would have a better thermal inertia, the wine being less subject to temperature differences, the other would come from a proportionally smaller volume of air in a magnum. (Remember that the neck is almost identical to that of a 75 cl bottle). 

In any case, your wine will age better and longer, giving you time to find the opportunity to uncork your magnum, without fear of premature oxidation!

Other good reasons to buy a magnum of wine

We have just seen the main reasons to choose a magnum of wine rather than a classic bottle. But the magnum has other unexpected advantages !

Buying wine magnums is also:

• Less round trip to the glass dumpster...

• Fewer corks

• Avoid tennis elbow!

• A future lamp base for do-it-yourselfers...

The magnum of wine now has no secrets for you ! All you have to do is choose from our selection of wines and spirits in large formats on our shop.

The whole Magnum de vin team wishes you a good tasting!