A practical guide to bottles, bubbles and making sure the good times don’t run dry.

At Claret, we work on five glasses from one standard 750ml bottle.

You may technically stretch a bottle to six smaller pours, but five is a more comfortable number for planning a party. It allows for a proper glass rather than a polite splash and makes the calculations pleasantly simple.

If you are serving sparkling wine in smaller glasses, you might get six pours. We would still plan around five. Bubbles have a habit of disappearing faster than expected.

Our general starting point is:

Two drinks during the first hour

One drink for every hour after that

For a four-hour party, that means allowing approximately five drinks for each guest who is drinking alcohol. This is a planning guide, not a drinking target. Some guests will have one or two drinks, some will alternate wine with beer or something non-alcoholic, and others will be driving. Drink sizes and alcoholic strength also vary. Plenty of cold water, food and proper non-alcoholic options should always be available.

For wine, the basic calculation is:

Number of wine drinkers × drinks per person ÷ five = bottles required

If 20 people are drinking wine at a four-hour party:

20 guests × five drinks ÷ five glasses = 20 bottles

Conveniently, a four-hour party where wine is the main drink works out at approximately one bottle per wine-drinking guest.

If you are also serving beer or cocktails, the wine requirement will come down. That is where our Party Drinks Calculator becomes particularly handy.

Begin with the total guest list, then account for anyone who will not be drinking alcohol.

This includes designated drivers, people who do not drink, pregnant guests and anyone who simply does not feel like drinking that day.

They deserve more than the sad emergency bottle of sparkling water discovered at the back of the fridge.

Include proper alcohol-free options in the party plan and allow enough for the entire event. Keep water available for everyone, not just the people who are driving.

This is where the party can be won. A wall of one single wine may be easy to organise, but a thoughtful mix gives everyone somewhere comfortable to begin and something new to move towards.

Our full Claret party line-up includes:

Bubbles

Crisp Whites

Rich Whites

Light Reds

Heavy Reds

You do not have to serve all five. A summer lunch might call for bubbles, crisp white and light red. A winter dinner may lean towards rich white and heavier red. If you know your friends only want sparkling and Pinot Noir, there is no need to buy Cabernet simply because a party guide told you to.

The Party Drinks Calculator allows you to select the wine styles you actually want. If you leave everything selected, it will build the full Claret mix for you.

Most people will either start with bubbles or stay with bubbles. Both are excellent decisions.

Sparkling wine gets people into party mode, works with snacks and can continue through the meal. It also tends to disappear faster than the host expects.

For a warm afternoon or celebratory event, we would make bubbles one of the largest parts of the order. More is better in this instance.

If you want to understand what separates Champagne from the broader sparkling world, read our guide to Champagne versus sparkling wine.

A crisp white is the cold, refreshing option people reach for while standing around the kitchen, hovering near the snacks or returning from somewhere sunny.

Think Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Albariño, Vermentino or Muscadet.

This category works particularly well with seafood, salty snacks, fresh cheese, salads and lighter food. It is also a reliable choice for guests who simply want something bright, dry and cold.

Not everyone wants their white wine sharp and zesty.

A richer white gives the table more texture, generosity and weight. Chardonnay is the natural place to start, with Chenin Blanc and more textural expressions of Sauvignon Blanc also worth considering.

Rich whites work beautifully with roast chicken, pork, richer seafood, creamy dishes and anything involving butter.

Crisp and rich whites deserve separate places in the plan. Buying one white wine and expecting it to keep everyone happy can be the quiet undoing of an otherwise well-organised drinks table.

Light reds earn their place at almost any party.

Pinot Noir, Gamay, Grenache and juicy red blends can cover charcuterie, pizza, chicken, pork, grilled vegetables and plenty of the food that appears when everyone is grazing rather than sitting through a formal meal.

They can also take a slight chill, making them particularly useful during warmer weather.

If you need help on that front, read our guide to chillable red wine.

If the weather is cooler, the barbecue is working hard or a serious piece of meat is involved, bring in something with more structure.

Shiraz, Cabernet and other fuller reds suit guests who want richness, tannin and depth. You may not need as much of this category at a summer afternoon party, but the people who want it will be very pleased you remembered it.

Serve red wine cool rather than warm. “Room temperature” was never intended to describe an Australian kitchen during summer.

Food should influence the balance, but it does not need to control every bottle.

For seafood, fresh cheese and lighter snacks, increase the bubbles and crisp whites.

For roast chicken, pork and shared plates, rich whites and light reds become useful.

For barbecued meat, slow-cooked dishes or cooler evenings, add more structured red.

Pairing can help the wine and food complement or contrast with one another. It can also be as simple as enjoying the food, enjoying the wine and enjoying the people around the table.

If somebody wants bubbles with their burger, let them live. It is a regular occurrence in our house.

Conor insists that a party also requires beer. Experience suggests he has a point.

A few cleansing ales or cold cans go a long way for guests who want a pause between glasses of wine. They also reduce some pressure on the bottle calculation.

Think about how your guests usually drink. Some may begin with a beer before moving to wine as the party rolls on. Others will remain loyal to beer for the entire event.

Our calculator accounts for that movement rather than assuming every beer drinker will consume beer at exactly the same pace all night.

Most importantly, keep the beer properly cold. Warm emergency cans lurking at the back of the cupboard do not count as party planning.

You certainly do not need cocktails, but one cocktail can make a party feel very organised.

The secret is keeping it simple.

Choose a welcome drink or an early-evening round rather than turning yourself into a full-time bartender. Prepare what you can in advance and avoid anything requiring an individual performance for every guest. Naturally, we nominate a Negroni.

The Claret Australiana Negroni

30ml Darling Gin

30ml Okar

30ml Maidenii Sweet Vermouth

Fresh orange and rosemary to garnish

Add the gin, Okar and vermouth to a mixing glass with plenty of ice. Stir until cold, then strain over fresh ice and garnish with orange and rosemary.

For ten drinks, combine:

300ml Darling Gin

300ml Okar

300ml Maidenii Sweet Vermouth

Mix the batch ahead of time and keep it cold. Stir each serve over ice before pouring, or add a little chilled water to the batch to account for dilution.

It is familiar enough for Negroni drinkers, but the Australian ingredients give it a softer, aromatic and distinctly local shape.

There are two ways to approach the party order.

You can choose bottles that feel a little more special, or keep the individual bottle price down so you can comfortably buy enough. Both options can make for a very good party. Availability and vintages will change, but these are the kinds of bottles we would look towards.

Bubbles

Impress: Stefano Lubiana Sparkling

Budget-friendly: Airlie Bank Sparkling

The rule remains the same whichever direction you choose: buy more bubbles than you initially think you need.

Crisp Whites

Impress: Erste + Neue Pinot Grigio

Budget-friendly: Gold Sounds Riesling

Both give you freshness and energy, with enough personality to remain interesting after the first glass.

Rich Whites

Impress: Onannon Chardonnay

Budget-friendly: Wickhams Road Chardonnay

Chardonnay belongs at the party. These provide two different ways to add texture and generosity without sacrificing freshness.

Light Reds

Impress: Giant Steps Pinot Noir

Budget-friendly: Table Wines Pane di Casa

Serve them slightly cool and place them somewhere accessible. This is often the red-wine category that disappears first.

Heavy Reds

Impress: Clonakilla O’Riada Shiraz

Budget-friendly: Best’s Bin No. 1 Shiraz

Bring these out when the barbecue is ready, the evening cools down or somebody begins asking where the proper red is.

Beer

Our party-fridge options include:

Peroni Red cans

Birra Moretti

Nymph Greek Lager

You might recognise Nymph from our friends at A La Grecque in Aireys Inlet. Cold, crisp lager is rarely a poor hosting decision.

Do not forget the unglamorous essentials. Before congratulating yourself on the bottle selection, check that you also have:

More ice than seems reasonable

Cold water

Proper non-alcoholic options

Enough clean glasses

A bottle opener and corkscrew

Somewhere to keep white wine, beer and bubbles cold

Space for empty bottles

Food arriving before everybody becomes overly enthusiastic

If you are using proper wine glasses, allow at least one per person and preferably some spares. Our guide to whether wine glassware really matters can help with the rest.

Begin with five glasses from each bottle of wine.

Allow for a slightly more enthusiastic first hour, then let the party settle into its rhythm. Account for designated drivers and non-drinkers, then adjust the wine order if beer and cocktails are also involved.

Choose the wine styles your guests will genuinely enjoy. You can offer the full mix of bubbles, crisp whites, rich whites, light reds and heavy reds, or keep things simple with two or three categories.

Add cold beer, perhaps one good cocktail, plenty of water and more ice than you think you need.

For the actual numbers, use the Claret Party Drinks Calculator. It will prepare a suggested shopping list covering wine, beer, cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks, then divide the wine between your selected styles.

If the final list still feels complicated, come into the Claret wine shop with the number of guests, the length of the party, what you are feeding them and a comfortable budget.

You concentrate on the guest list. We’ll help make sure nobody is staring sadly into an empty glass.