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How Much Wine Do You Need for a Wedding?

drinking wine at a wedding

Wine plays an integral role in celebrations and special events all around the world. So, it’s no surprise that having the right amount of wine for your upcoming wedding is something that you will need to consider when planning your reception, especially when guests tend to prefer wine over spirits at most weddings. 

So, how much wine should you plan on buying for your wedding? The following information should help you determine how much you wine you will need based on how many people will be attending your wedding reception.

How Much Wine Per Person?

Whether your wedding reception will have a couple dozen guests or a couple hundred, the last thing you want to have happen is for your supply of alcohol to run out too early. But you also don’t want to risk wasting money by buying too much wine. Calculating how much wine you’ll need per person at your wedding will help you avoid overspending and help ensure that you have enough for each guest.

The general rule of thumb when it comes to calculating alcohol for a wedding is to have enough drinks for one glass per person per hour of your reception. This calculation includes all the alcohol being purchased for your reception – wine, beer, and liquor. For most wedding receptions, the ratio is ⅓ wine, ⅓ beer, and ⅓ liquor.

How Many Cases of Wine for a Wedding?

In the United States, the standard case of wine consists of 12 bottles of wine. However, if you are planning on purchasing high-end wine, then these vintages are typically sold in cases consisting of six bottles. Using a wedding wine calculator will help you determine how many cases you will realistically need for your reception.

Pro tip – When purchasing wine by the case, ask the retailer if they offer a discount. Many wine retailers offer a discount of 10% to 20% when wine is purchased by the case. Plus, a lot of online wine retailers provide free shipping on case orders, so it pays to shop around. 

Use a Wedding Wine Calculator

Here is a basic wedding wine calculator that you can use to help ensure you buy enough wine for your wedding reception:

There are about five 5oz. glasses of wine in a standard 760ml bottle, but during a wedding serving sizes can be a little more generous, so figure on about four glasses per bottle. So, if you have 100 guests, then based on the one glass per person per hour average, you can expect to serve about 30 to 40 glasses of wine per hour. Based on these numbers, you will go through 8 to 10 bottles of wine per hour. If your reception is scheduled to last for four hours, then you should purchase 40 bottles of wine at the minimum. 

perfect for friends
and family

1 barrel makes 240 bottles!

perfect for friends and family

1 barrel makes 240 bottles!