How many bottles for the table?

The arithmetic of a good evening

Nobody remembers the party where a few bottles went unopened. Everybody remembers the one where the wine ran out at half past nine. The maths is simple enough: guests drink roughly two glasses in the first hour, when everyone is standing and talking, and about one glass an hour after that, when dinner slows things down. A standard bottle pours five honest glasses. This calculator does that sum for you and rounds up, because an unopened bottle keeps and a dry table does not.

Getting the split right

A single grape never suits a whole table. Our default split leans red, because reds carry a dinner, with enough white for the fish course and the guests who never left Sauvignon Blanc, a few bottles of sparkling for the arrival, and a nod of rosé. If you want the split matched to the actual menu rather than a rule of thumb, run your main course through the pairing finder, and chill everything to the right temperature with the serving guide.