Serving wine in larger wine glasses encourages you to drink more

Want to shift dinner party guests out of your house before the stroke of midnight? Serve their wine in smaller glasses.

New research has shown that pouring a fresh glass of wine in a large glass encourages people to drink more, even when the amount of vino served in different sized glasses remains the same.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge believe bigger glasses may result in drinkers consuming their wine faster, and therefore ordering more.

The study, which was published in the journal BMC Public Health, explains how staff at The Pint Shop in Cambridge rotated the size of their wine glasses at fortnightly intervals.

Over a 16-week period in 2015 the bar switched between the standard 300ml wine glass, to the larger 370ml and smaller 250ml glasses.

The findings showed that the volume of wine purchased was nearly 10 percent higher when sold in larger glasses compared to standard-sized glasses.

Dr Rachel Pechey, lead author of the new study, which was funded by the Department of Health, said: “We round that increasing the size of wine glasses, even without increasing the amount of wine, leads people to drink more.”

“It’s not obvious why this should be the case, but one reason may be that larger glasses change our perceptions of the amount of wine, leading us to drink faster and order more.

“But it’s interesting that we didn’t see the opposite effect when we switched to smaller wine glasses.”

Currently, wine can be purchased in the capital by the glass, usually with a set portion of 125ml or 250ml, or by the bottle, with a standard volume of 750ml.

However, there are no restrictions in place on the size of your glassware - despite the fact that it could play a psychological role in the amount that you drink on a night out at your local.

The findings could fuel debate about the criteria for granting alcohol licences to bars and restaurants—in particular, a compulsory standard glass size.

So, if you want to drink less? Avoid larger wine glasses and opt for the small option. Your wallet and your head will thank you the morning after...

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