Plan on about one glass per wine-drinking adult per hour, and count five 5-ounce glasses in each 750 mL bottle. For 12 guests over three hours, if nine of them drink wine, that's 27 glasses, or six bottles.
Our pick for this
The Party Case
Twelve bottles covers 20 guests for four hours by the table below, already split into light red, dry rosé and Brut.
- 6 × 2023 Rogue Valley Pinot Noir, $20 a bottle
- 3 × 2023 Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, $35 a bottle
- 3 × 2024 Enchanté Blanc de Noirs, $45 a bottle
12 bottles, $360 before shipping.
Where does "five glasses per bottle" come from?
A 750 mL bottle holds about 25 ounces. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism counts 5 ounces of table wine as one standard drink and says a regular 750 mL bottle holds five of them (NIAAA).
That's the number the table uses. If your glasses are big and you pour to match, count four glasses per bottle instead and the bottle counts go up by about a quarter.
How many bottles for my guest count?
My assumption: three of every four adult guests drink wine, and the rest drink beer, cocktails or something without alcohol. I rounded wine drinkers up to a whole person, then bottles up to a whole bottle, then up again to a set of three, because we sell our wines in sets of three (you can mix different wines, three bottles of each).
| Guests | Wine drinkers (3 in 4) | 2-hour party | 3-hour party | 4-hour party |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 6 | 3 bottles (12 glasses) | 6 bottles (18 glasses) | 6 bottles (24 glasses) |
| 12 | 9 | 6 bottles (18 glasses) | 6 bottles (27 glasses) | 9 bottles (36 glasses) |
| 20 | 15 | 6 bottles (30 glasses) | 9 bottles (45 glasses) | 12 bottles (60 glasses) |
| 30 | 23 | 12 bottles (46 glasses) | 15 bottles (69 glasses) | 21 bottles (92 glasses) |
| 50 | 38 | 18 bottles (76 glasses) | 24 bottles (114 glasses) | 33 bottles (152 glasses) |
Rounding to sets of three builds in a cushion. Eight guests over three hours need 18 glasses, which is four bottles by the math; buying six leaves two spare.
To run your own numbers: wine drinkers times hours, divided by five, rounded up. For a seated dinner where wine is the only drink on the table, count every adult as a wine drinker rather than three in four.
What split of red, rosé and sparkling works for a crowd?
For a mixed group I'd buy about half light red, a quarter dry rosé and a quarter Brut (a dry style of sparkling wine). That's the ratio in our party case: six bottles of 2023 Rogue Valley Pinot Noir, three of 2023 Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir and three of 2024 Enchanté Blanc de Noirs.
The light red carries the most weight because it goes with the widest range of party food: delicate tannins and zesty acidity don't fight with cheese, charcuterie or a salmon platter. The Rogue Valley is $20, rated 91 Points and a Best Buy by Wine Enthusiast (Michael Alberty, April 2026), and it's under screwcap, so no one hunts for a corkscrew. Serve it around 55°F.
The rosé is dry, and on our pages we've paired it with shrimp, crab and goat cheese, so it covers the cold side of the buffet. Our rosé pairing guide has more. The Brut handles arrivals and the toast. A toast pour is smaller than a glass: at 3 ounces you get about eight pours from a bottle, so three bottles toast about 25 people.
| Bottles to buy | Rogue Valley Pinot | Rosé | Enchanté |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 24 | 12 | 6 | 6 |
| 33 | 18 | 9 | 6 |
Under 12 bottles, two styles are plenty. Six bottles split as three red and three rosé or three Brut, depending on whether there's a toast.
What if my guests want something else?
We don't make a white wine. If your crowd leans white, give the rosé share to a dry white such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Gris and keep the rest of the split.
For a seated dinner with a roast, swap one set of the Rogue Valley for the 2024 Estate Pinot Noir. It's 100% Pommard from Block 1A, with fuller body and firmer tannin than our lighter red, and it stands up to roast chicken and mushroom dishes better than it would to a chip bowl.
What if I buy too much?
Unopened bottles keep. By our own drinking windows, the Rogue Valley Pinot is good now or over the next five-plus years, the 2024 Estate can cellar ten-plus years and the rosé holds a few more years. Enchanté is ready to drink now, so it's the one to open first.
An opened screwcap bottle reseals, so a half-finished Rogue Valley can go in the fridge for the next night.
If you're the guest rather than the host, see what wine to bring to a dinner party. If you're matching wine to turkey and the sides dish by dish, see which of our wines goes with each dish.
Our pick for this
The Full Lineup
For a seated dinner, three of each of our four wines puts the Estate on the table with the main course and the other three around it.
- 3 × 2024 Estate Pinot Noir, $45 a bottle
- 3 × 2024 Enchanté Blanc de Noirs, $45 a bottle
- 3 × 2023 Rogue Valley Pinot Noir, $20 a bottle
- 3 × 2023 Estate Rosé of Pinot Noir, $35 a bottle
12 bottles, $435 before shipping.
Quick answers
How many glasses of wine are in a 750 mL bottle? About five 5-ounce glasses.
How much wine should I plan per person per hour? About one glass for each guest who drinks wine.
How many bottles of wine do I need for 20 guests? Nine bottles covers a three-hour party, assuming 15 of the 20 drink wine.
Should I count guests who don't drink wine? No; count wine drinkers only, and if you don't know, assume three in four adults.
How many toasts does one bottle of sparkling wine pour? About eight 3-ounce pours.
The scores quoted here are on our Press & Ratings page, and you can build your sets of three in the shop.