How Much Wine Do You Need for a Party?

A 750 ml bottle pours about five glasses. Plan on one glass per guest per hour, or about half a bottle per adult wine drinker at a three-hour dinner: roughly 13 bottles for 25 guests, 25 for 50, and 50 for 100, plus 10 percent extra. For a mixed crowd, Domaine de la Rivière pours Shoshana Rosé of Pinot Noir, Next Door Neighbor Chardonnay, and Middle Reach Vineyards Pinot Noir.

How much wine do you need for your party?

Count one bottle for every two adult wine drinkers at a three-hour dinner, about one bottle for every two to three guests at a cocktail party with other drinks, and more for a long wedding. Fill in your guest count and hours below and it works out the bottles, split across red, white, and rosé.

What wine should you serve at a party?

Serve three styles that suit mixed tastes and most menus: a dry Rosé to greet people, a round Chardonnay for white drinkers, and a Pinot Noir for dinner. Domaine de la Rivière pours Shoshana Rosé of Pinot Noir, Next Door Neighbor Chardonnay, and Middle Reach Vineyards Pinot Noir, and opens Two Forces Pinot Noir for the toast or the head table.

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How many glasses are in a bottle of wine?

A standard 750 ml bottle holds 25.4 ounces, which is about five 5-ounce glasses. A magnum (1.5 liters) pours about ten, and a 12-bottle case pours about 60. Pour sizes change the count: smaller tasting or toast pours stretch a bottle to eight glasses or more.

Big glasses make people pour big. If you're setting out bottles for guests to serve themselves, assume a heavier hand and lean toward the higher end of every estimate below.

How many bottles of wine per person?

Plan on about half a bottle per adult wine drinker for a three-hour dinner party, which is two to three glasses each. Guests drink more in the first hour, about one glass each, then slow down. Offer beer or cocktails and wine needs drop to roughly 0.4 bottles per guest; a five-hour wedding needs more.

• Dinner party, about 3 hours, wine the main drink: half a bottle per wine drinker.
• Cocktail party, about 3 hours, other drinks offered: 0.4 bottles per guest.
• Wedding, about 5 hours, full bar: 0.6 bottles per guest.
• Wedding, about 5 hours, wine and beer only: 0.8 bottles per guest.
• Count only adults who drink. If a third of your guests won't touch wine, scale down by a third.

How many bottles of wine for 10, 25, 50, 100, or 150 guests?

For a dinner party, buy about 5 bottles for 10 guests, 13 for 25, 25 for 50, 50 for 100, and 75 for 150. A cocktail party with a bar needs a little less; a wedding needs more. These figures assume most adults drink wine, and they come before the 10 percent extra.

Long or late parties change the math. Add about one glass per guest for each hour past the third, and more if the party is wine-only. A daytime lunch or an event with a lot of non-drinkers can come in under these numbers.

How should you split red, white, and rosé?

Follow the menu and the season. For a mixed crowd with no strong menu lean, buy about 45 percent red, 40 percent white, and 15 percent rosé. Tilt toward white and rosé for summer, seafood, and outdoor parties, and toward red for autumn, winter, and roasted or braised meat.

Cabernet Sauvignon is the classic answer for a beef-heavy menu, and it's hard to argue with. Pinot Noir is the easier red for a crowd, though: lighter tannin and bright acidity let it work with salmon, turkey, pork, mushrooms, and cheese, so it covers more plates. Domaine de la Rivière's Middle Reach Vineyards Pinot Noir is the red the family opens when the table is mixed. A round, not-too-oaky Chardonnay does the same job for white drinkers, and a dry Rosé bridges both groups and works as a welcome drink before anyone sits down.

If you're serving sparkling for a toast only, plan one toast pour per guest. A bottle gives six to eight toast pours, so 100 guests need about 13 to 17 bottles on top of the dinner wine. The estate doesn't make sparkling wine, so that part of the order comes from elsewhere.

How much extra wine should you buy?

Buy about 10 percent more than your estimate, and closer to 15 percent for long, outdoor, or self-serve parties. Unopened bottles keep, so extra wine carries over to the next dinner, while running out mid-party can't be fixed. Round each style up to a full case where the totals are close.

Keep the extra in the style your crowd is most likely to drink through. At most parties that's white and rosé in warm weather and red in cold. Hold a few bottles back rather than opening everything at once, so what's left is sealed and ready for another night.

Should you buy wine by the case?

For 25 guests or more, buying by the case is simpler. A case is 12 bottles, or about 60 glasses, and mixed cases let you split red, white, and rosé in one order. Work out the total bottles, add 10 percent, then round up to whole or half cases per style.

Domaine de la Rivière ships Rosé, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir to most U.S. states. An adult 21 or older has to sign for the delivery, and wine can't go to a P.O. box, so send it to a home or venue where someone will be there. If you'll be pouring the estate's wines often, members of Les Clubs get 10 percent off additional orders (three-bottle minimum).

How much wine do you need for a wedding?

For a five-hour wedding with a full bar, plan on about 0.6 bottles of wine per guest: 60 bottles for 100 guests, or five cases. If you're serving only wine and beer, plan on about 0.8 bottles per guest. Add a separate toast pour if you want everyone holding a glass for the speeches.

• Ask the venue about corkage fees and whether they'll chill and pour your own wine before you buy.
• Put a bottle of red and a bottle of white on each table of eight to ten at dinner, then refill from the bar.
• Chill whites and rosé in advance; an ice-and-water bucket cools a room-temperature bottle faster than ice alone.
• Put the special bottle on the head table. It's where the toasts happen and where people take photos.

Couples who want the wine to double as a keepsake can have bottles personalized. The Bedrosian family etches names, a date, or a monogram into the glass of the estate's Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Rosé, in 750 ml or magnum. They send a digital proof, and nothing goes into production until you approve it. Etched bottles make a head-table centerpiece and a gift for the wedding party.

What is the best wine to serve at a party?

The best party wines are versatile, food-friendly, and easy to like: a dry rosé, a balanced Chardonnay, and a medium-bodied red such as Pinot Noir. They suit mixed palates and most menus, and none of them needs a long explanation. Save big, tannic, or very oaky wines for smaller dinners.

Serve each at the right temperature and they'll show better than a pricier bottle served wrong. Rosé and Chardonnay go in the fridge and come out 10 to 15 minutes before pouring; Pinot Noir is best slightly cool, around cellar temperature, so a short stint in the fridge helps on a warm day. For more on the grapes themselves, see the family's guides to Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and California Chardonnay.