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I have seen wine poured to various amounts in a wine glass; what amount is generally considered standard...4 oz, 6 oz, 8 oz?

4 Answers 4

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It comes from two different measurements, typical wine bottle size, and government alcohol regulations

Typical wine bottles are 750 ml, and this divides exactly into five or six servings of 150 or 125 ml (thanks peter). So many traditional wine glass serves are "exactly" 150 or 125 ml (~5 or 4 oz) depending in which country you live in

For typical government regulation, a standard drink is; a 100 ml glass of table wine, or a 330 ml can of beer, or a 30 ml glass of straight spirits. Each of these contains on average 10 g of alcohol. So many liquor licensing guidelines recommend the serving of wine by 100 ml (3.5 oz) standard drink sizes

Governments will use this to produce such amazing guidelines such as:

For women: Two standard drinks a day, and no more than ten standard drinks a week
For men: Three standard drinks a day, and no more than fifteen standard drinks a week
And for both at least two alcohol-free days every week

In most western countries the standard drink range is from 8 to 12 g of alcohol, except in the USA where it is super-sized to 14 g


Update; references from ICAP

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  • 1
    Thank you TFD. A family friend who does not drink alcohol at all and additionally is apprehensive about consuming any substance in even the smallest amount, was advised by his physician to "drink a glass of wine each day". He really has no idea how much is appropriate. So the 750 ml bottle/ 5 -5 oz servings that you mentioned makes good sense to share with him so that he is comfortable with the doctor's orders. Thanks for the detailed reply and helpful information :)
    – Melanie
    May 13, 2012 at 1:05
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    Wait, he was told by his physician to drink a glass of wine a day? Clearly I have the wrong doctor!
    – FuzzyChef
    May 13, 2012 at 6:49
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    @TFD: alcohol can be a strong poison, sure. Warfarin, on the other hand, is the traditional pesticide against mice and rats... Remember, everything is poison, it just depends on the dose. Plus, medical advice on the Internet: plain wrong...
    – nico
    May 15, 2012 at 18:00
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    One glass of wine probably won't cause significant mental changes either, unless you're rather light or deficient in certain enzymes. :P
    – user5561
    May 15, 2012 at 22:53
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    @TFD - Comparing Warfarin and aspirin to wine in moderation is absurd. Warfarin is highly dangerous and requires continuous monitoring; aspirin is only somewhat less dangerous. Wine (red) in moderation, on the other hand, is not only harmless but has proven beneficial qualities. Suggesting Warfarin and aspirin over a single glass of wine per day not only makes no sense medically but is downright irresponsible. Jan 7, 2013 at 0:21
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In the UK it's either 175ml or 125 ml and confusion reigns, as bars will happily serve you a 250 mil and charge the large glass price!

I would tend to believe 175ml in restaurants and 125ml for medical advice.

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  • 125ml was the standard measure in pubs and restaurants when I starting drinking. Then 175ml came in as a "large glass" of wine. Now 175ml is the normal almost everywhere, and 250ml is the "large glass". And, in the meantime, standard white wines have gone from 9-11% abv to typically 12.5% abv; and red has gone from 11-13% to 12.5-14.5%. Nov 22, 2023 at 16:36
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125ml would be considered a standard amount in France.

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  • Do you have a source for the 125ml figure? It would add a lot of credence to your answer.
    – mech
    Mar 29, 2018 at 15:27
  • Hello Gerlech, all discussions of health are off topic here. I had to remove that part of your answer and left the part which addressed the question as asked.
    – rumtscho
    Mar 29, 2018 at 15:31
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In Canada wine usually put on the menu as 6oz with the option for 9oz. Never worked anywhere that serves any other number, but once went to a restaurant which did 5oz, which was very unusual.

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