Corporate · after-work drinks
Wine for after-work drinks: 40 colleagues, two hours standing, mostly white
Company after-work drinks means about forty people from 6 pm to 8 pm, standing, with sharing boards and chilled white. The calculator counts 17 bottles raw, 24 rounded up to full cases. That is exactly the point where a wine merchant (négociant) becomes useful: below 40 people, your local wine shop is enough, and this page will tell you so.
The numbers for your after-work drinks
Set for 40 people, a two-hour drinks reception, 85% drinking wine: people come to after-work drinks to raise a glass, but some are driving home. Split: 60% dry white, 20% rosé, 20% light red for the charcuterie, no sparkling. After-work drinks are not a toast.
“One bottle per three people per hour”: what the rule is worth
It is the rule you hear in bars. For 40 people over two hours, it gives 27 bottles. It assumes everyone drinks, two glasses an hour from start to finish. The calculator counts two glasses in the first hour, one in the second, and takes out those who don't drink. The three readings side by side:
| Method | Raw bottles | In cases | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| “1 bottle per 3 people per hour” rule | 27 | 30 | Open bar at a hired venue, team came on foot, no finishing time. |
| Calculator, 100% drinkers | 20 | 30 | Everyone drinks, nobody is driving. |
| Calculator, 85% drinkers | 17 | 24 | The usual case: drinks at the office or on a terrace. |
Between 24 and 30 there is one case of white, or €84 at the “good” level. Unopened cases are not taken back: start from 24, and only take the extra case if the drinks have no finishing time.
White first, and why
At 6 pm, standing, with crisps, olives and sharing boards, dry white is the colour everyone accepts. The 24 bottles break down like this:
Dry white
A dry white Bordeaux, Sauvignon and Sémillon, one or two years old, served at 8–10 °C. It goes with everything after-work drinks serve, from cheese to prawns.
Light red, served chilled
For the charcuterie: a young Bordeaux or a clairet, at 14 °C. One case, no more. The tannic red of a dinner has no business being drunk standing up at 6 pm.
Rosé
Essential from May to September on a terrace. From November to March, replace it with an extra case of white.
The red to go with the board is covered on the wine and charcuterie page. And sparkling? Only if the drinks are celebrating something: a contract signed, a figure announced. One case of champagne gives everyone a flute: six bottles, seven flutes per bottle, 42 flutes for 40. Crémant on request.
The invoice, VAT and budget
After-work drinks paid for by the company are a reception: the invoice must be in the company's name, and the purpose of the evening noted somewhere. As a general rule, VAT on wine for a reception held in the company's interest is deductible: team drinks, drinks with clients, an end-of-project party, provided you can show its purpose and who attended. At the “good” level, the 24 bottles cost €336 incl. VAT, or €280 excl. VAT: €56 of VAT that your accountant will or will not recover depending on your case. The rules, and the cases where the answer is no, are on the VAT on wine page.
One point purchasing departments forget: bottles taken home at the end of the evening are no longer a reception but gifts. One more reason to order tight.
How many bottles for after-work drinks for 40 people?
24 in cases of six: 12 dry white, 6 rosé, 6 light red. That is 17 raw bottles for 34 drinkers over two hours, two glasses in the first hour then one, with an 8% margin. The “one bottle per three people per hour” rule gives 27, because it counts everyone at two glasses an hour right to the end.
What wine budget per person for after-work drinks?
About €5 per person incl. VAT for decent wines (€198 for 40), €8.40 at the “good” level (€336), a little over €18 for fine wines (€732). Take off 20% to read it excl. VAT if VAT is deductible on your event.
From how many people should you go through a wine merchant?
Around 40. At 39 people, the drinks get through fewer than 18 bottles including the margin: that is a trip to your local wine shop, which will give you a price on a mixed case. At 40, you move to 24 bottles in cases, delivered to the office with an invoice in the company's name. And if the drinks are in a bar, you need neither us nor the wine shop: the bar sells the wine.
And for after-work drinks every month?
Order for the quarter rather than for the evening: 24 bottles a month is 72 over three months, twelve cases, one delivery, one purchase order. You need a cool, closed cupboard; a young white and rosé keep for a few months without trouble. Volume pricing and delivery charges are set out in the quote. For a very regular rhythm, bag-in-box is also worth discussing.
After-work drinks mistakes
- Counting 100% drinkers. Those driving home, those who are pregnant, those who don't drink: about 15% of after-work drinks. At 100%, you order one case too many, 30 bottles instead of 24.
- Not giving a finishing time. After-work drinks with no announced end last three hours, and the count goes up to 30 bottles. Write “6 pm – 8 pm” on the invitation.
- Serving the white at office temperature. The kitchen fridge won't take twelve bottles. A tub of water, ice and salt brings them down to 8 °C in twenty minutes.
- Serving in plastic cups. Plastic makes a good white taste like a bad one. One glass per person plus 5% for breakages: 42 glasses for 40.
Shorter drinks for thirty people? The leaving drinks page does the count over one hour. Invoice, payment terms, on-site delivery: everything the purchasing department asks for is on the corporate event page. Happy with the numbers? Ask for a business quote.