30 people · aperitif and meal
How many bottles of wine for 30 guests?
Thirty people is the family lunch, the birthday, the christening meal: an hour of aperitif then a table. Allow about twenty bottles drunk, twenty-four in cases if you simplify the colours. The calculator does the count on your figures.
The calculation for 30 guests
Set for a one-hour aperitif and a seated meal, 80% adults who drink. A family party with children drops to 70%.
Why the calculator shows 36 and the page says 24
Because it rounds each colour up to the case of six, and an aperitif calls for four: red, white, rosé, sparkling. Twenty bottles actually drunk, twenty-two with the margin, but two rosés become a case, four sparkling become a case, and the total rises to thirty-six. At thirty people, it is not the calculation that is wrong, it is the number of colours.
The solution is to simplify. Three colours instead of four, and the count comes out right.
Red
Two cases. Eight are drunk with the meal, the others finish the cheese and the evening that drags on.
White
One case. It serves at the aperitif and with the starter: rosé isn't essential, the white does both.
Sparkling
One case. One flute per person at the aperitif, a second for those who want it. Champagne, or crémant on request.
Twenty-four bottles, four cases, all of it gets drunk. Orders of magnitude; the calculator gives the exact figure.
Depending on the shape of the day
| Set-up | Unrounded | In cases | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meal only | 12 | 18 | 12 red, 6 white. One bottle for two. |
| 1 h aperitif + meal (the setting) | 20 | 24 to 36 | 24 in three colours, 36 if you keep the rosé. |
| 2 h aperitif + meal | 24 | 30 to 36 | The extra hour is drunk in white and sparkling. |
| Aperitif buffet only, 3 h | 16 | 24 | No red, or one case: sparkling, white, rosé. |
How many bottles of wine for 30 people with an aperitif and a meal?
About twenty bottles drunk, twenty-four to buy: twelve red, six white, six sparkling. The figure assumes 80% drinkers, a one-hour aperitif and a seated meal of three glasses per person.
When should you add sparkling?
As soon as there is an aperitif and an occasion. At thirty people, a case of six sparkling gives a flute to each of the twenty-four drinkers, and a second to a third of them. For a birthday or a christening, it is the case that goes first; for a simple lunch, replace it with white.
And for a family reunion over a whole weekend?
Thirty people over two days means two meals, an aperitif and a brunch, with lots of children: the calculation changes, and the family reunion page does it taking all that into account.
At 30 people, is a wine merchant useful?
Just about. Twenty-four bottles is the threshold where the case price starts to offset the delivery, especially if you want a particular wine or vintage. Below that, the 20 people page sends you to your local wine shop, and it is right to. For a wedding of thirty guests, the small wedding page does the same calculation with the drinks reception and the party.
Mistakes that cost a lot
- Keeping four colours. It is the mistake for a party this size. Four opened cases, two left in the garage, and unopened cases are not taken back.
- Counting the children. Out of thirty, there are often six or eight. The share of drinkers goes from 80 to 70%, and one bottle in eight disappears from the count.
- Buying everything at the same level. The red with the meal gets tasted; the aperitif white is drunk standing. One notch up for the first, one notch down for the second.
A different number of guests? The 50 people page adds the party, and the general calculator takes any number. Thirty friends standing at a housewarming? Seventeen bottles of white and rosé, and a local wine shop is enough.