Research shows you’re overpouring your wine … by a lot

by Brittany Anas · October 4, 2013

(New research shows that we overpour wine — especially when we use wide glasses)

By Brittany Anas

Got a heavy pour? If you’re serving wine, chances are you’re pouring way more than you think you are, according to new research.

A serving of wine is 5 ounces. But, researchers at Iowa State and Cornell universities found that most people think of a glass as one serving — however it can be closer to two or three. People tend to overpour most when they are in social settings and when they are holding the glass as opposed to when they pour into a glass that is sitting on a table. Also, the research shows, people are more likely to overpour white wine into a clear glass than they are red wine — likely because of the color contrast presented by pinot noirs and cabernets in the clear glasses.

Rather than dying your white wine with food coloring (don’t do that!), how about trying a more narrow wine glass? Flutes are typically reserved for champagne. And “all-purpose” wine glasses tend to be dangerously wide, making it tough to estimate an accurate pour. So try a wine glass like the Luigi Bormioli “Crescendo” Chip-Resistant Bordeaux or Chardonnay glasses from Macy’s, where you can get 3 percent Cash Back on your purchases with ShopAtHome.com.

The study was recently published in Substance Use and Misuse. For the research, participants were asked to pour what they considered a normal drink using different types of glasses and in various settings. On average, the study participants poured about 12 percent more wine into a wide glass than a standard one.

“People have trouble assessing volumes,” says Laura Smarandescu, an assistant professor of marketing at Iowa State University. “They tend to focus more on the vertical than the horizontal measures. That’s why people tend to drink less when they drink from a narrow glass, because they think they’re drinking more.”

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