Wine Glass Size Has Steadily Increased Since the 1700s
British researchers went looking for some answers to explain why people seem to be boozing it up now more than ever (have they even watched the news lately?), and they might have found the culprit. Turns out, wine glass size has increased steadily since the 1700s. The bigger the glass, the more we pour, hence, the more we drink! Turns out size really DOES matter, in more ways than one.
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A study published in the British Medical Journal found a correlation between wine glass size and how much more people drink.
Researchers looked to wine glass size to see if there was a connection, and as it turns out, the glasses we use today are a far cry from what was used in the 1700s. “Wine glass capacity increased from 66 ml (2.2 ounces) in the 1700s to 417 ml (14 ounces) in the 2000s, and the mean wine glass size in 2016-17 was 449 ml (15 ounces)”, according to the study.
From 2.2 ounces to a whopping 15 ounces. No wonder a bottle of wine doesn’t last very long.
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Researchers did have some theories that help explain the massive upgrade in wine glass size. Wine drinkers tend to use different glasses for different wines (the big round glasses for reds have an actual function). Plus, wine has gotten really trendy over the last several decades.
”Until the later 20th century the forms most commonly drunk were beer and spirits, as wine was for the richer Scrooges rather than the poorer Cratchits,” said researchers.
With the advent of two-buck chuck and other affordable wines, peons get to imbibe the wines just like rich folks. Alcohol consumption increased gradually, but wine consumption nearly quadrupled from 1960-1980, then doubled again from 1980-2004.
