Budget · all occasions
What wine budget per person for an event?
Between €9 and €16 per guest for a full day of decent to good Bordeaux, €25–40 with classified growths and champagne all evening. The calculator adds up the total on your quantities, at three levels, and shows you what one step up or down costs.
The total, at three levels
Set for an event of 80 people with a reception and a meal, at the “good” level. The table under the result gives all three levels at once: that is the one to read.
What each level buys, in Bordeaux terms
Prices incl. VAT per 75 cl bottle, Bordeaux market in September 2026, delivery excluded. These are round ranges, not a price list.
Decent
red ~€9 · white ~€8 · rosé ~€8 · champagne ~€24Bordeaux, Bordeaux Supérieur, Côtes de Bordeaux, Entre-deux-Mers for white. Clean, straightforward wines with no faults, which do the job at the reception and in the evening. Nobody will comment on them, nobody will complain.
Good
red ~€16 · white ~€14 · rosé ~€12 · champagne ~€32Médoc crus bourgeois, Pessac-Léognan, Saint-Émilion satellites, Fronsac, Graves for white. The level for the meal: people taste it, notice it, have more. This is where Bordeaux gives the best pleasure for the price.
Grand cru
red ~€40 · white ~€32 · rosé ~€18 · champagne ~€45Classified growths, great vintages, prestigious appellations. For a seated dinner of thirty to sixty people who know what they are drinking, or for a single moment of the day, not for the dancing.
The result per head, full day
A hundred guests, 80% of whom drink, a two-hour drinks reception, a seated meal, three hours of evening party. The workings are on the wedding wine page.
| Level | Total incl. VAT | Per guest | What weighs most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decent | ≈ €1,700 | ≈ €17 | Champagne at the reception and in the evening: more than half on its own. |
| Good | ≈ €2,500 | ≈ €25 | The meal moves up a level, and so does the champagne. The most common choice. |
| Grand cru | ≈ €4,500 | ≈ €45 | The red with the meal at €40 and champagne at €45. Rarely justified for the whole day. |
Without dancing, take off about 30%: that is the late-night champagne gone. A meal on its own, with no sparkling, comes to €9–16 per guest depending on the level.
Where to put the money when it is tight
- The meal, not the party. At dinner, people are seated, they read the label, they taste. At the party, they drink standing up, fast, chilled. One step up for the meal and one step down for the party costs the same as a single level throughout, and gets noticed ten times more.
- The red with the main course before the white with the starter. Two glasses of red for one of white: the red is what people remember.
- The sparkling decides the budget. At €24 or €32 a bottle against €9 or €16 for a red, champagne is half the bill as soon as it flows at the reception and in the evening. Keeping it for the toast and serving a white at the drinks reception cuts that line by two thirds. Crémant, on request, costs half as much.
- No grand cru at the reception. Standing, a glass in one hand, a canapé in the other: nobody will taste it. A good dry white Graves will make more of an impression than a classified red served at 20 °C.
- Not “decent” everywhere to save money. The saving is real but small over a whole day, about €8 per guest between decent and good, and the meal loses its best part. Cut the party first, then the champagne, the meal last.
How much does the wine cost for a wedding of 100 people?
Between €1,700 and €2,500 for decent to good Bordeaux with champagne at the reception and in the evening, or €17–25 per guest. Without champagne in the evening, allow €12–18. With classified growths at the meal and champagne throughout, €45 and upwards. The calculator at the top of the page gives the exact figure on your quantities, and the how many bottles page explains where those quantities come from.
What wine budget per person for a meal on its own?
One bottle for two, or €4.50–8 per guest for decent to good, €20 for grand cru. It is the cheapest and most visible line of the whole event: you don't save on the wine with the meal, you save on the late-night sparkling.
Is champagne a must?
No. For the toast, yes, there's no escaping it. At the drinks reception and in the evening, a chilled dry white or a rosé goes down very well and costs a third as much. Crémant is a middle way, on request. The calculator counts the sparkling as champagne: if you replace it, your actual bill will be lower than its result.
How do you read a wine quote?
Four points. Is the price excl. or incl. VAT: 20% between the two, and a private individual gets none of it back. Is the price per bottle or per case of 6: a “€54” can be either. Is delivery included: rarely, and it costs €28–61 depending on the quantity, more by the pallet. Finally, are unopened cases taken back: with us, no, and an honest quote says so before the order. A quote that answers all four questions can be compared; a quote that doesn't gets sent back.
Does the budget change for a corporate gift?
Yes, the logic is reversed: one bottle per person, so the level matters more than the quantity, and the €73 incl. VAT tax threshold per recipient sets the upper limit. The year-end client gifts page has its own calculation.
Quantities settled? Go to the quote request: the calculator's figures arrive there pre-filled when you click “Get a price”.