If you are planning a dinner party or any sort of gathering, wine is probably near the top of the shopping list. The question is always how many bottles you actually need. A few spare never hurt, but nobody wants to be running out to the shop halfway through the evening.
So here is how many glasses you get from a bottle, and how to work out what to buy.
How Many Glasses In A Standard Bottle?
A standard bottle holds 750ml. A standard pour is 150ml. That gives you five glasses.
It moves about a bit. In casual settings and some restaurants the pour runs closer to 175ml, which gives you four. At a tasting it drops to 50ml or less, so people can try several wines without ending up drunk.
Five is the number to plan with. Adjust it for the kind of evening you are having.
What About Fortified Wines?
Fortified wines like Port and sweet dessert wines carry considerably more alcohol, so the pour is much smaller. Around 60ml is normal, which gives you twelve servings from a bottle.
Go smaller still, to 35ml, and one bottle will serve twenty people. Which is why a single bottle is plenty for a pudding course.
Other Bottle Sizes
750ml is standard, but not the only option.
A magnum holds 1.5 litres, twice the standard, so ten glasses. Magnums also age more slowly, because there is less air relative to wine, which is why collectors like them.
Half bottles hold 375ml and give you two and a half glasses. Useful for a dinner for two, or for trying something you are not sure about.
One Thing People Get Wrong
Glass size should not change the pour. A larger glass is not an invitation to put more in it.
The empty space above the wine is doing a job. It is where the aromatics collect, and it gives you room to swirl. Fill a big glass to the top and you get less out of the wine, not more. A third full is right, half at the absolute most.
Working Out What To Buy
The rule of thumb is one bottle per drinking guest, which is four to five glasses each across an evening. Add one or two more than you think you need.
Anything left open gets a cork back in and goes in the fridge. Three to five days depending on the wine.
If you would rather not do the arithmetic, our cases are built for exactly this. Each one says what is in it and how many bottles you get.