Standard Drink of Wine Chart: Grams by Glass Size and ABV
By the Sommy Team — AI-assisted, human-edited.
Updated Oct 29, 2026
Contents (11)
- What Is a Standard Drink of Wine?
- How Many Grams of Alcohol Are in a Glass of Wine?
- Is 175 mL a Large Glass of Wine?
- How Much Is a Cup of Wine?
- How Much Wine Counts as One Standard Drink in the US?
- Does a Standard Drink Change if the Wine Is Stronger?
- How Does a Standard Drink Differ by Country?
- How Many Standard Drinks Are in a Bottle of Wine?
- Why Is a Restaurant Pour Not Always a Standard Drink?
- Is a Glass of Wine Really One Drink?
- How Do You Estimate Standard Drinks From a Wine Label?
TL;DR
A standard drink of wine is a weight of pure alcohol: 14 g in the US (5 oz at 12% ABV), 8 g per UK unit, 10 g in Australia. A real glass holds about 12 to 30 g. A 175 mL glass at 12% is 16.6 g or 2.1 UK units; a 250 mL glass is 23.7 g.
What Is a Standard Drink of Wine?
A standard drink is a weight of pure alcohol, not a glass. In the US it is 14 grams, or 5 oz (148 mL) of wine at 12% ABV in the NIAAA's example. A UK unit is 8 g, Australia uses 10 g and Canada 13.45 g. A typical glass holds about 12 to 30 g, often more than one drink.
How Many Grams of Alcohol Are in a Glass of Wine?
Grams of alcohol = millilitres × ABV as a decimal × 0.789, the weight in grams of one millilitre of ethanol. On the pours people ask about most, that gives 12 to 30 g per glass. Each cell below shows grams, then US standard drinks (14 g each) and UK units (10 mL of pure alcohol each).
| Pour | 12% ABV | 13.5% ABV | 15% ABV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 125 mL (UK small) | 11.8 g, 0.8 US, 1.5 UK | 13.3 g, 1.0 US, 1.7 UK | 14.8 g, 1.1 US, 1.9 UK |
| 148 mL (US 5 oz) | 14.0 g, 1.0 US, 1.8 UK | 15.8 g, 1.1 US, 2.0 UK | 17.5 g, 1.3 US, 2.2 UK |
| 175 mL (UK standard) | 16.6 g, 1.2 US, 2.1 UK | 18.6 g, 1.3 US, 2.4 UK | 20.7 g, 1.5 US, 2.6 UK |
| 237 mL (1 US cup) | 22.4 g, 1.6 US, 2.8 UK | 25.2 g, 1.8 US, 3.2 UK | 28.0 g, 2.0 US, 3.6 UK |
| 250 mL (UK large) | 23.7 g, 1.7 US, 3.0 UK | 26.6 g, 1.9 US, 3.4 UK | 29.6 g, 2.1 US, 3.8 UK |
If the label reads 13.5% or more, use the right-hand columns. Wine is rarely exactly 12%: a dry Riesling might be 11%, a Rioja 13.5%, a Napa Cabernet or Zinfandel 14.5% or more. Our guide to alcohol in wine by type lists where the common styles land.
Quick check
One question on what you just read
You pour 5 oz of a 14% red. How many US standard drinks is that?
Tap an answer to see how you did.
Is 175 mL a Large Glass of Wine?
No. The NHS calls 175 mL a "standard glass" and puts it at 2.1 units for a 12% wine. Its "large glass" is 250 mL (3 units) and its "small glass" is 125 mL (1.5 units). In US terms it is about 6 oz, or 1.2 standard drinks at 12%.
A large glass of wine is 250 mL, a third of a 750 mL bottle. If a menu lists only small, medium and large, ask for the millilitres: at 13.5%, the large glass is 3.4 units, or 1.9 US drinks. Bowl size hides the pour, and our wine glass guide shows how much bigger a modern red-wine bowl is than the wine it usually holds.
How Much Is a Cup of Wine?
A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, or 237 mL, in NIST's household-measure table. A cup of 12% wine holds 22.4 g of alcohol: 1.6 US standard drinks or 2.8 UK units. A 750 mL bottle holds just over three cups, so a recipe that calls for one cup of wine uses about a third of the bottle.
How Much Wine Counts as One Standard Drink in the US?
One US standard drink is 5 fluid ounces (148 mL) of wine at 12% ABV, according to the NIAAA. That pour holds about 14 grams of pure alcohol, the same as a 12 oz beer at 5% or a 1.5 oz shot of 40% spirits.
Does a Standard Drink Change if the Wine Is Stronger?
Yes. The gram figure stays fixed, so the volume that delivers it shrinks as ABV rises. One US standard drink is 148 mL of a 12% wine, but only 131 mL at 13.5%, 127 mL at 14% and 118 mL at 15%.
A 5 oz pour of a 15% red is 17.5 grams, or 1.25 US standard drinks. The same pour of an 11% Vinho Verde is 12.8 grams, a little under one drink.
How Does a Standard Drink Differ by Country?
There is no international standard drink. The UK unit is 8 g, Australia uses 10 g, Canada 13.45 g and the US 14 g, so one US drink equals 1.75 UK units. To compare two countries' guidance, convert both to grams first.
| Country | Pure alcohol per standard drink | Wine at 12% ABV that contains it | Official example |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (NIAAA / CDC) | 14 g (0.6 fl oz) | 148 mL (5 oz) | 5 oz of wine at 12% ABV |
| Canada (Health Canada) | 13.45 g (17.05 mL) | 142 mL (5 oz) | 5 oz / 142 mL of wine at 12% |
| Australia (10 g standard drink) | 10 g (12.7 mL) | 106 mL | 95 mL of red at 13%, 110 mL of white at 11.5% |
| United Kingdom (NHS unit) | 8 g (10 mL) | 83 mL | 125 mL glass at 12% = 1.5 units |
A British reader who pictures two UK units when a US source says "two drinks" is picturing 16 g where the source meant 28. Australia's guidance spells out the gap: a 150 mL restaurant serve of 13% red is about 1.5 Australian standard drinks. For the guidelines themselves, see our responsible wine drinking guide and the drinking-guidelines hub.
How Many Standard Drinks Are in a Bottle of Wine?
A 750 mL bottle at 12% ABV contains 71 grams of pure alcohol: 5.1 US standard drinks, 9 UK units, 7.1 Australian standard drinks or 5.3 Canadian ones. The bottle holds the same 750 mL whatever the wine, so ABV alone moves the count.
- 11% ABV (a light Riesling or Vinho Verde): 65 g, 4.6 US drinks, 8.3 UK units, 6.5 Australian drinks.
- 12% ABV: 71 g, 5.1 US drinks, 9 UK units, 7.1 Australian drinks.
- 13.5% ABV (many European reds and richer whites): 80 g, 5.7 US drinks, 10.1 UK units, 8 Australian drinks. The NHS uses this bottle as its example and calls it 10 units.
- 15% ABV (a ripe Zinfandel, Shiraz or Amarone-style red): 89 g, 6.3 US drinks, 11.3 UK units, 8.9 Australian drinks.
"A bottle of wine is five drinks" holds only at 12% with the US definition; a bottle of 15% red carries a quarter more. Our low-alcohol wines guide covers the bottom of that list, and the same ABV arithmetic sets the energy count of a glass.
Why Is a Restaurant Pour Not Always a Standard Drink?
Because a pour is set by volume and a standard drink by alcohol. Five 5 oz pours empty a 750 mL bottle whether the wine is 11% or 15%. Each pour equals one US standard drink only at 12%; serve a 14% red in the same glass and each pour is 1.2 drinks.
How many glasses are in a bottle of wine divides the bottle at every common glass size, and a 3-litre box is four bottles' worth of pours (boxed wine guide). If you pour at home, the one-time water test in how much wine to pour fixes the line in your own glass. For the by-the-glass side of a menu, see ordering wine at a restaurant.
Is a Glass of Wine Really One Drink?
Only when the pour is 5 oz and the wine is 12% ABV. A 250 mL pub glass of 14% red holds 27.6 grams: nearly two US drinks, or 3.5 UK units. A 125 mL pour of 11.5% white is 0.8 of a US drink. If the glass is 250 mL and the wine 14%, count it as two.
How Do You Estimate Standard Drinks From a Wine Label?
Multiply the millilitres you pour by the ABV as a decimal, multiply by 0.789, then divide by 14 for US drinks, 8 for UK units or 10 for Australian drinks. The 250 mL glass of 14% red works like this:
- Volume: 250 mL.
- ABV as a decimal: 0.14. Multiply: 250 × 0.14 = 35 mL of pure alcohol.
- Convert to grams: 35 × 0.789 = 27.6 g.
- Divide by your country's figure: 27.6 ÷ 14 = 1.97 US drinks, or 27.6 ÷ 8 = 3.5 UK units.
If you cannot find the ABV, look in the small print near the volume statement; how to read a wine label shows where each country puts it.
Sommy's Wine 101 course explains ABV and body in plain language at sommy.wine. Read the ABV on tonight's bottle and find its row in the chart above before you pour.
Sources
- NIAAA: What Is a Standard Drink?
- NHS: Calculating Alcohol Units
- Health Canada: Low-Risk Alcohol Drinking Guidelines (standard drink definition)
- Alcohol. Think Again (Government of Western Australia): What Is a Standard Drink?
- NIST: Metric Household Measures (1 cup = 8 fl oz = 237 mL)
- Wikipedia: Ethanol data page (density 0.78945 g/mL at 20 °C)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams of alcohol are in a glass of wine?
Between about 12 and 30 grams, depending on the pour and the ABV. A 5 oz (148 mL) glass at 12% holds 14 g, one US standard drink. A 175 mL glass at 12% holds 16.6 g, and a 250 mL glass 23.7 g. At 15% ABV those rise to 17.5, 20.7 and 29.6 g. The formula is millilitres × ABV × 0.789.
Is 175 mL a large glass of wine?
No. The NHS calls a 175 mL glass the standard glass, at 2.1 UK units for a 12% wine. Its large glass is 250 mL (3 units) and its small glass 125 mL (1.5 units). In US terms, 175 mL is about 6 fluid ounces, or 1.2 standard drinks at 12% ABV and 1.5 at 15%.
How much is a cup of wine?
A US cup is 8 fluid ounces, about 237 mL, according to NIST's household-measure table. That is a little under a third of a 750 mL bottle. A cup of 12% wine holds 22.4 grams of pure alcohol, which is 1.6 US standard drinks or 2.8 UK units. At 15% ABV it is 28 grams, two full US drinks.
How many ounces is a standard drink of wine?
In the United States, a standard drink of wine is 5 fluid ounces (about 148 mL) at 12% alcohol by volume, which delivers roughly 14 grams of pure alcohol. That figure only holds at 12%. At 14% ABV, one US standard drink shrinks to about 4.3 ounces (127 mL), and at 15% it is closer to 4 ounces (118 mL).
How many standard drinks are in a bottle of wine?
A 750 mL bottle at 12% ABV holds about 71 grams of pure alcohol, which is 5.1 US standard drinks, 9 UK units, 7.1 Australian standard drinks or 5.3 Canadian standard drinks. At 15% ABV the same bottle rises to about 89 grams: 6.3 US drinks, 11.3 UK units and 8.9 Australian standard drinks. The bottle does not change; the ABV does the work.
How many units are in a glass of wine in the UK?
The NHS defines one unit as 10 mL or 8 grams of pure alcohol, and gives the formula ABV multiplied by volume in mL, divided by 1,000. At 12% ABV that makes a small 125 mL glass 1.5 units, a standard 175 mL glass 2.1 units and a large 250 mL glass 3 units. A 750 mL bottle at 13.5% ABV contains 10 units.
Why does the standard drink size differ between countries?
Each country's government picked its own reference amount of pure alcohol. The UK unit is 8 g (10 mL), Australia uses 10 g, Canada 13.45 g and the US 14 g. So a US standard drink contains 75% more alcohol than a UK unit, which matters whenever you read one country's guidance with another country's numbers in mind.
How do you calculate standard drinks from a wine label?
Take the volume you are pouring in millilitres, multiply by the ABV as a decimal, then multiply by 0.789, the density of ethanol in grams per millilitre. That gives grams of pure alcohol. Divide by your country's standard-drink figure: 14 for the US, 8 for a UK unit, 10 for Australia. A 150 mL pour at 13.5% is 150 × 0.135 × 0.789, about 16 g, or 1.1 US drinks.
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