Wine for a Wedding

How many glasses in a bottle?

A standard 75 cl bottle holds about five 150 ml servings. Smaller pours — for example 125 ml at a long dinner, or a toast — stretch a bottle to six or more. Magnums (150 cl) hold about ten servings and look generous on a long table.

How the calculator works

It looks at guest count, pour size, the length and type of each event, other drinks, the share of guests choosing wine, the meal and the number of wedding events — and gives a range rather than false precision. These are planning assumptions, not rules:

• These are purchasing and stock estimates for the host, not a recommendation of how much anyone should drink. Count adult guests only.
• Each event is estimated once: adult guests × share choosing wine × a planning allowance of servings for the event × an occasion factor × the effect of other drinks, divided by 5 servings (150 ml) per 75 cl bottle.
• Planning allowance (stock to have on hand, not a per-guest target): 2 servings for 1 hour, 3 for 2 hours, 4 for 3 hours, 4.5 for 4 hours, 5 for 5 hours or more.
• Occasion factor: cocktail reception, pool party and after-party ×0.9; lunch, yacht and beach events ×1; welcome dinner ×1.05; wedding dinner ×1.1; brunch ×0.8.
• Share of adult guests choosing wine starts at 60% and can be changed; it is never assumed that every guest drinks wine. Alcohol-free options should always be offered.
• Unopened bottles can usually be kept; plan cold storage with your caterer and agree how leftovers are handled.
• Each other alcoholic drink lowers wine's share by 10% and an alcohol-free programme by 5%, down to a minimum of 40%.
• Range: lean ×0.9–1, balanced ×1–1.15, additional event buffer ×1.1–1.3, rounded up per event.
• Wine mix: rosé + white 60/40, rosé + red 70/30, rosé + white + red 50/30/20.

Rosé, white or red?

The split depends on season, menu and setting. Use these as starting points, then adjust to the couple's and guests' tastes.

Summer Mediterranean wedding: rosé often leads, with white alongside and a small share of red for meat courses — for example 50% rosé, 30% white, 20% red.

Seafood-focused menu: rosé and white carry most of the meal; red can be a small reserve.

Evening dinner with richer meat dishes: give red a larger share at dinner and keep rosé for the reception.

Beach or villa celebration: rosé alone, or rosé with white, keeps service simple and chilled.

Why rosé works at weddings

Rosé is served chilled, refreshing in warm weather and versatile with canapés, seafood, salads and Mediterranean dishes. It bridges preferences — guests who lean towards white or red will often share a bottle of rosé — and it suits the long, outdoor moments of a summer wedding, from the welcome drink to the brunch.

Rosé food pairing guide

Summer weddings

Heat changes everything: wine warms quickly in the glass, ice melts faster and guests drink more water. Plan more chilled stock in rotation rather than more wine overall, keep buckets in shade, pour smaller amounts more often and keep water visible at every bar and table.

Destination weddings

For a wedding abroad or on the French Riviera, confirm early who supplies wine (venue, caterer or you), corkage rules, delivery access, storage and cold space on site. Order for the whole weekend in one plan so every event is covered, and agree who handles unopened bottles afterwards.

Weddings on the French Riviera

Welcome dinner

Often more relaxed and smaller than the wedding day. Rosé and white suit a Mediterranean welcome dinner; plan it as its own event in the calculator rather than as part of the wedding day.

Cocktail reception

Usually one to two hours with canapés, often alongside champagne or a signature cocktail. Chilled rosé is easy to pass on trays and keeps well in buckets. Have enough glasses for guests changing drinks.

Wedding dinner

The longest service of the weekend. Agree the wine order with the caterer course by course, place bottles or arrange table service, and keep a chilled reserve behind the scenes for each wine.

Pool party

Daytime and hot: keep it simple with rosé or white in shade, unbreakable glassware where needed, plenty of water and alcohol-free options, and food throughout.

Day-after brunch

A lighter moment. Many guests prefer coffee, juices and alcohol-free drinks, so a modest amount of chilled rosé usually covers it.

Yacht event

A boat day or sunset cruise needs its own plan: limited cold storage, stable glassware and a clear count of guests on board. Confirm what the yacht crew can store and serve.

Rosé wine for yachts

How much wine for 50, 100, 150 and 200+ wedding guests?

Figures from the calculator for a cocktail reception (2 hours) and wedding dinner (5 hours or more), rosé + white + red, champagne alongside, 60% of adult guests choosing wine and a balanced estimate. The weekend column adds a welcome dinner and a day-after brunch for the same guests.

This is an event inventory estimate, not a consumption recommendation. Actual requirements vary according to guest preferences, food, duration and the full beverage programme.

Wedding weekend planning

Plan event by event, not per head for the whole weekend. Guest numbers differ between the welcome dinner, the wedding day and the brunch, so enter each event in the calculator, check the total, then decide where stock is kept between events.

Multiple locations

When events move between a villa, a beach, a restaurant and a boat, split the order per location, label cases by event, confirm cold storage at each place and agree who moves stock between them.

Menu pairing

Rosé and white suit canapés, seafood, salads, grilled fish and Mediterranean dishes; red suits richer meat courses. Share the menu with whoever chooses the wine so the split follows the food.

Rosé food pairing guide

Wedding cake & dessert

Very sweet desserts can make dry wines taste sharper. Many couples serve champagne or sparkling wine for the cake toast, or keep a dry rosé alongside fruit-based desserts.

Cheese course

Fresh and soft cheeses often work with rosé and white; harder, aged cheeses often with red. A small, separate reserve is enough.

Serving wine at a wedding

Decide between table service, bars and passed trays for each event. Brief staff on which wine goes with which course, how to keep bottles cold and when to offer water. Open bottles as needed rather than all at once.

How to serve rosé wine

Cold storage

Rosé is usually best served chilled, often around 8–12°C depending on style. Chill bottles for a few hours in a fridge or cold room before the event, then keep them in ice and water. Check cold space at the venue early: it is often the real limit.

Maison Cala recommends serving Maison Cala Rosé at 12–14°C.

How much ice?

Ice buckets work best with ice and water to the shoulder of the bottle. As a rough guide, many caterers allow around 0.5–1 kg of ice per guest for a warm-weather event covering chilling and drinks; confirm with your caterer, as heat, distances and fridge space change the figure.

Buying too much vs too little

Running out mid-dinner is stressful; a large surplus is wasteful. Use a range, keep a modest buffer, and agree in advance what happens to unopened bottles. A balanced estimate plus clear communication with the caterer usually beats a large over-order.

Guest preferences

Not every guest drinks wine, and many choose other drinks for part of the evening. Ask about the crowd: international guests, age range, favourite styles and how many will drive or prefer alcohol-free drinks. That is why the calculator never assumes 100% of guests choose wine.

Non-alcoholic hospitality

Plan alcohol-free drinks with the same care as wine: still and sparkling water at every bar and table, good soft drinks and alcohol-free cocktails. Guests who don't drink should feel just as well looked after.

For wedding planners

Use the calculator per event, attach the result to your plan and share it with the venue and caterer. Maison Cala can review multi-event weekends and several venues in one request.

Maison Cala for wedding professionals

For venues & caterers

Confirm cold storage, ice supply, glassware counts and service staff early. Agree the wine order for each course and who is responsible for stock between events.

French Riviera weddings

Weddings along the Riviera often stretch across a weekend — a welcome dinner in a villa, a ceremony with sea views, a beach or boat day and a brunch. Rosé fits naturally into this rhythm. Maison Cala reviews requests across the Riviera case by case.

French Riviera · Monaco · Saint-Tropez · Cannes · Nice · Antibes

Frequently asked questions