Bigger IS Better - Why You Should Buy A Magnum (Or Two) This Christmas!

Ostentatious? OK, a little. Impressive? Most definitely. A magnum of wine (1.5 litres) is the equivalent of two 'standard' bottles of wine, so the perfect size for entertaining a group, because, let's face it, when has one bottle ever been enough? Certainly not in my group of friends. But, visual aesthetics aside, there are some legitimate reasons why you should consider serving magnums of wine at your soirées this Christmas...

• Slower ageing process - with a larger wine to bottle ratio, and less surface to oxygen contact, magums slow down the ageing process of a wine. This allows for more complex flavours to develop, if you can wait to open it, that is!
• Less sensitive to temperature - now, this isn't the green light to chuck it in the freezer to chill it down quickly, or worse, pop it on a radiator to warm up, but it does mean that due to the larger quantity of liquid, magnums are less susceptible to temperature fluctuations which can negatively impact the quality of the wine.
• Magnums are custom made - and yes, this generally comes with a price tag, but here's the thing...a wine producer won't go to all the effort of having the bottles made, the manufacturing line altered, bigger labels and shiping boxes ordered, if they don't believe in the wine that's going into it! Ever seen a magnum of Barefoot? I rest my (specially made wine) case.

So this Christmas, give a magnum a chance, not only do they make a stonking gift in their own right, but an Essex Wine School Gift Voucher also makes for the perfect bottle tag! Cheers!

Photo by LOGAN WEAVER | @LGNWVR on Unsplash