Updated July 2026.
A 5-ounce (148 mL) glass of 12% wine is one US standard drink — 14 grams, 0.6 fl oz of ethanol (NIAAA, December 2025). A 750 mL bottle is about five of those glasses. Restaurant pours are often 6 ounces (1.2 drinks at 12%). Higher-ABV wine scales. Four drinks in about two hours is NIAAA’s binge pattern for women; five for men. That is a warning, not a glass-count dare.
Color is not ABV. Plenty of whites sit at 13–14%; plenty of reds sit at 12.5%. Read the label. 27 CFR 4.72 authorizes the 750 mL wine bottle (also 375 mL, 1.5 L, 3 L, 187 mL). This is math, not a challenge.
Wine conversions
Standard drinks = (fl oz × ABV) ÷ 0.6. 750 mL = 25.36 US fl oz. 5 oz ≈ 148 mL; 6 oz ≈ 177 mL.
| Serve | mL | fl oz | ABV | Std drinks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NIAAA table-wine glass | 148 | 5 | 12% | 1.00 |
| Restaurant pour, 12% | 177 | 6 | 12% | 1.20 |
| Same 5 oz at 13% | 148 | 5 | 13% | 1.08 |
| Same 5 oz at 14.5% | 148 | 5 | 14.5% | 1.21 |
| Same 5 oz at 15% | 148 | 5 | 15% | 1.25 |
| 750 mL bottle at 12% | 750 | 25.36 | 12% | ~5.1 |
| 750 mL bottle at 14.5% | 750 | 25.36 | 14.5% | ~6.1 |
| 750 mL bottle at 15% | 750 | 25.36 | 15% | ~6.3 |
| Half bottle (375 mL) at 12% | 375 | 12.68 | 12% | ~2.5 |
| Split (187 mL) at 12% | 187 | 6.32 | 12% | ~1.3 |
| Magnum (1.5 L) at 12% | 1500 | 50.72 | 12% | ~10.1 |
| 3 L box at 12% | 3000 | 101.4 | 12% | ~20.3 |
| Fortified (port / sherry), NIAAA 3.5 oz | 104 | 3.5 | ~17% | ~1.0 |
A case of twelve 750 mL bottles at 12% is about 61 drinks — inventory. See how many bottles in a case of wine. Sparkling at 12% is the same ethanol math; a 4 oz flute is 0.80 drinks, not a free glass. See Champagne ABV and champagne math.
Why “two or three glasses gets you drunk” is not an answer
SERP pages invent “drunk at 2–3 glasses” and one-bottle BAC charts. That is a challenge. We will not copy it. A 12% 750 mL is about five standard drinks — already the male binge pattern, and past the female line, if it disappears in about two hours. That is a warning. Two people splitting a 14.5% bottle have about three drinks each if the pours are even. Ice, soda, and spritzes hide ethanol. They do not delete it.
Legal driving is 0.08% BAC in most US states (0.05% in Utah). Commercial drivers in a CMV are 0.04% (FMCSA). Under-21 is zero-tolerance. High-intensity drinking — eight drinks for women, ten for men, on one occasion — is a worse-warning, not a dare. Feeling fine after two restaurant pours is not a roadside test. Population averages show women reaching a higher BAC than men at the same dose, partly because of body water. Food slows absorption. Sweet wine does not get a discount. For beer vs wine ounces, see beer vs wine. For shots, see how many shots.
Box wine, spritzes, leftover bottles
Box wine is the same formula in a tap. A 3 L at 12% is about twenty drinks. Sangria, mulled wine, and spritzes count the wine and any spirits you poured. ABV does not fall overnight in a leftover bottle; storage is a quality question. Count glasses × ABV, not colors. Do not invent calories — NIAAA does not print a wine calorie tile.
If you are going to drink wine, measure the pour once, eat food, water, and do not drive. Four to five standard drinks in two hours is already binge drinking by NIAAA’s definition for many adults. More than that is not a personality.
Sources
- NIAAA, “What Is a Standard Drink?” (December 2025): 5 oz of 12% wine = 14 g / 0.6 fl oz; 3–4 oz of ~17% fortified. Binge 4/5 in ~2 hours. High-intensity 8/10 — a warning.
- CDC standard drink (December 12, 2024): 5 oz of 12% wine. Binge: 4 drinks women / 5 men on an occasion.
- 27 CFR 4.72: authorized wine fills include 187 mL, 375 mL, 750 mL, 1.5 L, 3 L.
- 750 mL = 25.36 US fl oz; 25.36 × 0.12 ÷ 0.6 ≈ 5.07 drinks at 12%.
- US 0.08% illegal-per-se BAC (Utah 0.05%); FMCSA CMV 0.04%.