It is generally said that from each 75cl (750ml) bottle of red or white wine you can pour 6 glasses. That works out at 12.5cl per glass.

This is a fairly generous measure and suggests either a large glass almost full, or a smaller glass filled to the brim.

A champagne flute is usually a little smaller than a wine glass and it’s fair to assume that you will get 8 glasses of champagne per bottle. Besides, you certainly don’t want to fill a champagne flute right up to the brim because

1. a) if the glass is too full there is no room left for the aromas to be released in the flute
2. b) if your guests is a fairly slow drinker, the champagne will warm up before the glass is empty and that’s far from ideal and
3. c) it’s better to pour a small measures to begin with and then refresh your guest’s glass from time to time with perfectly chilled champagne. Not only does that mean the champagne is enjoyed at the best temperature, it also gives the guests the impression that you are generous with the champagne and it hardly increases the total amount of champagne that is poured over the course of the event.

Next , you need to bear in mind that there will be different types of champagne drinkers at your party:

1. Some – I usually estimate 20% of the guests - will drink very little, perhaps just one glass, and some may drink no champagne at all.
2. Others – again, I estimate 20% - will be very modest drinkers who will probably drink 2 glasses
3. That leaves 60% of the guests who are enthusiastic champagne drinkers and may drink perhaps 4 glasses each.

In practical terms, if you have 100 guests

Group A (20 people) will drink 1 glass each =20 glasses 

Group B (20 people) will drink 2 glasses each = 40 glasses  

Group C ( 60 people) will drink 4 glasses each = 240 glasses

Total = 300 glasses /8 glasses per bottle = 37.5 bottles (rounded up to 38 bottles).

Personally, I’d add 2 bottles for good measure and order a total of 40 bottles.

Last but not least, come all the variables

How long will the event last?

 I have based the estimates above on a 2 hour champagne reception. If you know in advance that your event will go on for a longer or shorter time, adjust the amount of bottles you order accordingly.

Will you be serving other types of wine or beer?

 If so, you will need fewer bottles of champagne.

How well do you know your guests?

If you know that half of them are teetotal or, on the other hand, that they adore champagne and will keep drinking as long as you keep serving, then factor that into your calculations as well.

I hope that has given you some answers to the question “How many bottles of champagne do I need for a party?” Unfortunately, there is no hard and fast rule but the suggestions above are a good basis for planning your party.

The calculation is shown on a handy infographic that you can view and save from this link

All the best