Does a magnum have a longer drinking window than a standard wine bottle?
Hello there! I'm Dr. Vinifera, but you can call me Vinny. Ask me your toughest wine questions, from the fine points of etiquette to the science of winemaking. And don't worry, I'm no wine snob—you can also ask me those "dumb questions" you're too embarrased to ask your wine geek friends! I hope you find my answers educational, empowering and even amusing. And don't forget to check out my most asked questions and my full archives for all my Q&A classics.
Dear Dr. Vinny,
Does a magnum have a longer drinking window than a standard-size wine bottle?
—Kevin, Alexandria, Va.
Dear Kevin,
"Drink windows"—our recommendations for when a wine will taste its best—are intended for wine in a standard-size bottle. Conventional wisdom holds that because large-format bottles like magnums have a higher ratio of wine volume to ullage (the small amount of air inside the bottle), the wine inside the bottle ages at a slower pace than that of a standard 750ml bottle. But there’s also no scientific evidence to back that up. It's just something to keep it in mind when you’re deciding when to open a large-format bottle of wine.
—Dr. Vinny
