If you want to learn more about the world of wine and its secrets, talk to a winemaker during a private winery tour to the Yarra Valley with Chauffeur Drive Melbourne, Yarra Valley. These are fantastic experiences and popular Melbourne tours that will show you the other side of wine — the winemaking side.
Ride the Storm: Navigating Through Unstable Periods / Katerina Rudko (Belka G...
The magnum bottle and other oversized wine bottles
1. The Magnum Bottle and Other Oversized Wine Bottles
Wine bottles are 750ml; that’s the norm. Why? Because for many centuries,
that was the exact amount for an English gallon. Of course, some people say
bottles are that size because they contain the precise amount of wine one can
enjoy with friends during a meal. What do you think?
Yes, wine bottles come in different shapes and sizes, and we’re talking about
them today. If you want to learn more about the world of wine and its secrets,
talk to a winemaker during a private winery tour to the Yarra Valley with
Chauffeur Drive Melbourne, Yarra Valley. These are fantastic experiences and
popular Melbourne tours that will show you the other side of wine — the
winemaking side.
2. What’s the deal with Magnums, anyway?
Purchases of magnum-sized bottles containing two regular bottles, or 1.5 litres
have boomed, and it’s easy to see why. The more wine, the better. Right?
Seriously, it’s more convenient for the winemaker, the retailer and the
consumer to transport and sell a double-sized bottle instead of two bottles.
Interestingly, although a magnum is cheaper to produce than making two
regular bottles of wine, magnums are usually more expensive. Why? Because
they’re a beauty, they add a WOW factor to any get-together, and that’s worth
paying a premium for them.
3. Wine Ages Better in Magnums
Once the wine is bottled, it starts ageing. Some wines might have long lives
ahead, but most will be at their peak in just a couple of years. Oversized
bottles, though, are gentler with the wine inside, since the wine is less exposed
to the tiny amounts of oxygen trapped inside the bottle’s neck.
Wine ages slower and steadier inside a magnum which is why many collectors
prefer oversized bottles for their cellars. Sure, Magnums are a bit harder to
store in a tight cellar, but if the wine is more comfortable inside a big bottle,
then it’s worth the hassle.
Magnums Are Just the Tip of The Iceberg
Magnum bottles contain two regular bottles of wine, but they’re not the largest
bottles around by a long shot.
• Double magnums contain 3 litres or 4 standard bottles. That’s 24
glasses.
• The Jeroboam contains 4.5 litres or 6 standard bottles. That’s 36
glasses.
• An Imperial bottle contains 6 litres or 8 standard bottles. That’s 48
glasses.
• The Salmanazar contains 9 litres, or 12 standard bottles, or 72 glasses.
• A Balthazar contains 12 litres or 16 standard bottles: that’s 96 glasses.
4. • A Nebuchadnezzar contains 15 litres or 20 standard bottles: that’s a
whopping 120 glasses!
The next time you want to put together a wine party, forget about buying wine
cases; buy an oversized bottle! That’s a night to remember!
If you want to get large bottles, chances are you’ll have to know someone in
high places, and your safest bet is going to the source. Take a private winery
tour to Yarra Valley and talk to the people in charge. Grape growers and
winemakers in the Yarra Valley will undoubtedly be able to hook you up with
something special.