Party Guide To Quantities

For shorter functions allow one and a half glasses of wine per person, per hour or half a bottle of wine per person per two-hour period.
For longer functions it may be easier to break your event into different parts. Allow three to four drinks for a buffet or dinner of about four hours in length.
For an all-evening party of about five or six hours, count on four to six drinks per guest, not including wine with dinner. This should equate to 1 to 1½ bottles of wine per person.

Know Your Theme:

Cocktail Party: The standard is 2 glasses per person if there will also be beer and mixed drinks and 3 glasses per person if you are serving only wine. Take into consideration whether it will be a “drop by” party, or if guests will stay for several hours. Also, the types of hors d’oeuvre (heavy or light) will matter. If you are serving heavy hors d’oeuvre, it becomes almost like a buffet dinner and you may want to buy wine according to a dinner formula rather than a standard cocktail party plan.
Luncheon: Since lunch food is generally lighter, it is appropriate to have lighter, more fruity wines to accompany it.
Dinner Party: The quantity and selection of wine will vary depending on the kind of dinner party you are planning, but ½ a bottle per person for dinner parties is the standard.
Wine Tasting: You will need a larger number of bottles than a regular dinner party. Even though you will likely be pouring only a couple of ounces per wine, you will need enough of each type in order to provide a taste of each for every guest. Also, people may want to re-taste favorites.
Weddings and large receptions: half a bottle per person for the still wine, 2 glasses per person for the sparkling wine (this covers a glass per person to start plus a glass for the toast. If you just want sparkling wine for the toast you can cover about 12 people with one bottle.

Know Your Party:

Type of Function: At more formal functions less wine tends to be consumed, while a relaxed event will have more life and encourage greater consumption.
Season: People tend to drink more white wine in the summer than in cooler seasons.
Time: People may feel more comfortable drinking more on the weekend rather than a weekday. Also, people tend to drink more at evening functions than at daytime functions.
Duration: The longer the event, the more you’ll have to buy.
Food: Pair your beverages with your menu – refer to our Wine and Food Pairing Guide.
Location: The destination of the party may affect the amount consumed. If people have to travel far afterwards, they may be inclined to drink less.

Know Your Guests:

Type of crowd: Perhaps some of your guests are pregnant or non-drinkers or a high proportion may prefer beer to wine. Perhaps the guest list includes a number of children.
Names: Label glasses at a wine tasting to avoid confusion.
Age: what is the average age of your guests? A younger group will consume more than an older group.
Taste: It is important to know and understand the taste of the people you have invited.
Number: Catering to a large crowd? A wine with mass appeal, such as a conservative Chardonnay and Cabernet selection. Small group of close friends? They may be more open to experimentation and a more adventurous choice of wines may be appropriate.

Ordering and Delivery:

Taste an array of wines! Try to taste the sample wines when you are trying the sample menu.
If we have to order the wine to accommodate the quantity, it may take 7-10 days to arrive in the store.

At the Party:

Make arrangements for chilling any wines well in advance. Try to chill as you go so that you can easily store any leftover wine.
Tell the wait staff not to open all of the bottles right away, as it can lead to a huge waste if you do not drink all of the wine.

Make sure that servers know not to fill the glasses completely. It is easier to enjoy the wine if the glass is not full.
Have a list of the wines available with the menu so that your guests can remember all the great wine that they tried!