The Cellar Dweller helps a reader plan for a holiday party by determining how many glasses of wine to have on hand.

Dear Cellar Dweller,

I’m in charge of drinks at our company’s holiday party this year. There will be 15 people, so how many glasses of wine should I plan for? 

Thanks!

Thirsty Thursday

Dear Thirsty,

Ooh, math! My favorite. Nothing makes my little cardboard brain heat up like figuring out serving sizes. Since you haven’t mentioned your workplace culture or if you have designated drivers in place, I am going to assume that everyone will partake, but that it would be frowned upon for y’all to get hammered. So, maybe one to three drinks per person? Great.

A standard sized bottle of wine is 750 ml, and contains approximately six glasses. Fun fact: did you know that you aren’t supposed to fill your wine glass to the rim? It’s true. The pour should only come up one third to one half of the way, which leaves plenty of room to aerate the wine. Although this is something that literally no one does at holiday parties.

For fifteen guests at three drinks per person, you’ll need 8 bottles of wine. This should account for some people drinking more and others less. But you know your coworkers better than I do, so adjust as you see necessary. If Cindy from accounting is a bit of a lush and your boss called an Uber last year, you might want to up that number a tad.

You didn’t ask about what kind of wine to bring, but for a crowd pleasing variety, try to get at least one sweet, one dry, and one blend, in reds, whites, and blush.

And there you have it! The perfect amount of wine for your holiday party. For those of you following along at home, feel free to adjust my formula for your own purposes. And if you’re planning on talking politics with your uncle, might I suggest vodka instead?

Your Friend,

CD the Cellar Dweller