Are you drinking more than ever during the pandemic to cope with the uncertainty and anxiety?
You’ve probably heard that an occasional glass of wine is good for you. If you’re trying to keep track of your alcohol intake, you may have wondered: How many glasses of wine are there in a bottle?
While the answer is simple for certain bottle types, it can be hard to say just how many glasses you’ll get from a bottle of wine due to the range of bottle sizes on the market.
How many glasses of wine in a standard wine bottle?
Typically your favourite Pinot Noir would come in a standard wine bottle that holds 750 ml of wine. This equates to 25 fluid ounces or 1.31 pints. It is generally accepted that one of these 750 ml bottles contains five glasses of wine. For instance, if you and a friend share a standard bottle of wine, you will both have two full glasses each and a little bit extra at the end.
What about a dessert wine bottle that is known as a half or demi bottle?
While a bottle of standard red wine typically contains five glasses, this is not always the case for highly alcoholic wines such as dessert wines. As alcohol content varies depending on the wine types, sommeliers will frequently alter the standard pour to lower a customer’s alcohol intake.
These sweet wines are commonly purchased in 375 ml bottles. These are known as half or demi bottles. A nice sharp Riesling only contains 8% ABV, so a standard 5-ounce pour is deemed acceptable. However, some full-bodied red wines, such as Shiraz, or fortified wines, such as Port wine, have up to 20% ABV, so they should be served in a much smaller volume.
Because dessert wines are served in much smaller glasses with a more delicate pour (about 3 ounces), you’re likely to get around eight glasses of wine per bottle.
Jennie, which is between a half-and full-sized bottle, is another popular size for sweet wine. The Jennie can hold approximately three glasses of wine. This is the size of the Hungarian sweet wine Tokaji.
How many glasses of wine in a bottle of sparkling wine/champagne?
Magnums (double bottles) of excellent sparkling wine are quite common as wine ages better in larger bottles.
A magnum of sparkling wine (1.5litres) is twice the size of a standard bottle and holds 10 glasses of bubbly.
So, knowing how much is in your bottle, how much should you pour?
There are no right or wrong ways to drink wine, but there are some guidelines to follow to keep your wine drinking safe, healthy, and enjoyable. For example, while you may be able to drink two and a half glasses of Merlot from a shared bottle, this may be one too many if you’re driving.
Alternatively, you can enjoy a wine spritzer – half wine, half soda and a few ice cubes – instead of a full glass of wine. (Check out our recipes for refreshing Sangria here.)
Drinking in moderation is the key. The Health Promotion Board recommends no more than two standard drinks a day for men and no more than one standard drink a day for women.
