Tonic wine brands
Profiles of the tonic wines people drink today and the famous names from the past, with strength, caffeine, taste and history for each.
Tonic wines
Fortified wines blended with botanicals and often caffeine, from Britain and the Caribbean.
- Buckfast Tonic WineUnited Kingdom · 15% ABVA caffeinated tonic wine from Buckfast Abbey in Devon, 15% ABV, with a sweet, dark fruit flavour and one of the most debated reputations in British drinks.
- Magnum Tonic WineJamaica · 16.5% ABVJamaica's best-known tonic wine, launched by J. Wray & Nephew in 1999. Sweet, cherry-led and 16.5% ABV, it is closely tied to dancehall culture.
- Sanatogen Tonic WineUnited Kingdom · 15% ABVA British tonic wine at 15% ABV that grew out of a German tonic brand. Long a household name, it is now hard to find in UK shops.
- Wincarnis Tonic WineUnited Kingdom · 14% ABVA Norwich tonic wine dating from 1887, 14% ABV, made with malt extract and a long list of botanicals including gentian, angelica and cardamom.
Quinquina aperitifs
French aromatised wines made with quinine bark. They began life as tonics and are close cousins of tonic wine.
- Byrrh Grand QuinquinaFrance · 18% ABVA Roussillon quinquina first sold in 1866 as a 'hygienic tonic wine', 18% ABV, rich and port-like with a firm quinine bitterness.
- Dubonnet RougeFrance · 14.8% ABVA French quinquina from 1846, 14.8% ABV in the UK, with a soft quinine bitterness. Famous as the Queen Mother's favourite, mixed with gin.
- St Raphaël Le Quina RougeFrance · 18% ABVA French quinquina dating its recipe to 1830, 18% ABV, led by cocoa and orange peel, with poster art that became a bistro icon.
Related wines
Sweet fortified and aperitif wines that sit alongside tonic wine on the same shelves and in the same traditions.
Historical tonic wines
Famous tonic wines that are no longer made, and the stories behind them.
At a glance
Strength and caffeine as published by each producer. Follow the links for sources.
| Wine | Country | ABV | Caffeine (mg/litre) | Sweetness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckfast Tonic Wine | United Kingdom | 15% | 300 | sweet |
| Byrrh Grand Quinquina | France | 18% | None declared | sweet |
| Dubonnet Rouge | France | 14.8% | None declared | sweet |
| Magnum Tonic Wine | Jamaica | 16.5% | Not published | very sweet |
| Red Label Wine | Jamaica | 13.7% | None declared | sweet |
| Sanatogen Tonic Wine | United Kingdom | 15% | Not published | sweet |
| St Raphaël Le Quina Rouge | France | 18% | None declared | sweet |
| Vin Mariani | France | n/a | None declared | medium |
| Wincarnis Tonic Wine | United Kingdom | 14% | Not published | sweet |
Head to head
- Buckfast vs WincarnisBuckfast is a caffeinated red tonic wine at 15% ABV with a dark fruit and vanilla profile. Wincarnis is a 14% malt and botanical tonic wine with no declared caffeine, closer in style to a cream sherry.
- Buckfast vs MagnumBuckfast is a 15% ABV caffeinated tonic wine from a Devon abbey recipe. Magnum is a 16.5% ABV Jamaican tonic wine from 1999, sweeter and cherry-led, sold mainly in small 200 ml bottles, with no published caffeine figure.
- Dubonnet vs ByrrhBoth are French quinquinas made at the same cellars in Thuir. Dubonnet Rouge is lighter at 14.8% ABV and softer, best known mixed with gin. Byrrh is 18% ABV, richer and port-like, with a firmer quinine bitterness.
- Wincarnis vs SanatogenWincarnis (14% ABV) is a Norwich tonic wine made with malt and botanicals and still widely exported. Sanatogen (15% ABV) is a simpler, fruitier British tonic wine that grew out of a German tonic brand and is now hard to find.