Magnum: The Only Wine Bottle You Need

​You may recall the era of boxed wines, the popular ones with a tap that streamed effervescent in parties and hangouts with friends. Now with a mature pallate, you only wish you knew better, right?
Introducing the Magnum, a bottle of wine you could drink for several days which holds twice the contents of a regular bottle of wine (700ml or 750ml). Once you have your fill, simply stuff the cork back in and let it settle in your fridge for the other night you want to indulge.

It’s not just theatrics that would make a wine enthusiast stock a magnum or two at home, you see according to wine experts, magnums are considered to keep wine fresher because it ages more slowly in the large bottle. There is often a lower oxygen-to-wine ratio giving it more structure and a broader ‘look’ at how wine changes over time.
There can never be a better time to observe the cultural shift with wine uptake than now, as the looming pandemic keeps us sheltered in place, socially distanced with our celebrations frozen in time. Magnums are ideal for a home-drinking environment and consumers are seeing them in that light with the recent growth of magnum sales in local supermarkets such as Chandarana and Carrefour. If you check the lower sections of the wine counters, you will see more magnums in stock.
A point to note is the winemaker’s perspective. Magnums are a bit niche – the bottles are usually more expensive than regular sized wines and shipping levies are usually on the higher side and it is for these and many other reasons that wineries produce less quantities. For the show stoppers out there, they may identify these types of wines as gems, especially champagnes. Life-of-the-party folks and those planning large celebrations love these big expensive bottles of bubblies just for the fun of it.
Here are some popular magnums you will find out there and their prices relative to the times we live in.

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Carlo Rossi -Ksh 1,500

Penasol – Ksh 1,280

Frontera – Ksh 1,680