Most people know roughly how many glasses are in a bottle of wine. Far fewer know how many units are in it. The gap between those two numbers is where most people's understanding of their drinking breaks down.
A standard 750ml bottle of wine at 13% ABV contains around 9.75 units. The NHS weekly guideline for both men and women is 14 units. That means a bottle and a half of wine across a week puts you at the guideline limit, before you account for anything else you drink.
Table of Contents
- How alcohol units are calculated
- Units in a bottle of wine
- Units in a pint of beer or lager
- Units in spirits
- Units in cider
- Units in prosecco and champagne
- The drinks that surprise people most
- What the NHS guideline actually means
- Add up your own weekly total
How alcohol units are calculated
One unit of alcohol is 10ml of pure alcohol. That is the amount an average adult liver can process in roughly one hour.
The formula to calculate units in any drink is straightforward:
Units = (volume in ml × ABV%) ÷ 1000
So a 250ml glass of 13% wine: 250 × 13 ÷ 1000 = 3.25 units. Not one unit. Not two. More than three.
This matters because the unit count of a drink depends on both its volume and its strength, and most people only think about one of those. A large glass of strong wine can contain more than a double spirit measure, despite feeling like one drink.
Units in a bottle of wine
A standard bottle of wine is 750ml. The ABV of most table wines sits between 11% and 14.5%, though many popular supermarket wines now sit at the higher end of that range.
| Wine strength | Units per bottle |
|---|---|
| 11% ABV | 8.25 units |
| 12% ABV | 9 units |
| 13% ABV | 9.75 units |
| 14% ABV | 10.5 units |
| 14.5% ABV | 10.9 units |
For most wine that appears on a UK dinner table, the honest answer is 9 to 10 units per bottle.
A standard 175ml glass of 13% wine contains 2.3 units. A large 250ml glass of the same wine contains 3.25 units. Neither of these is one unit, despite being served as a single drink.
Units in a pint of beer or lager
Beer and lager vary considerably by strength. Mainstream lagers like Stella Artois and Peroni sit at around 4.8% to 5.1% ABV. A pint of a 5% lager contains 2.8 units.
| Beer or lager | ABV | Units per pint |
|---|---|---|
| Session lager (3.8%) | 3.8% | 2.1 units |
| Standard lager (5%) | 5% | 2.8 units |
| Premium lager (5.2%) | 5.2% | 2.9 units |
| Craft IPA (6%) | 6% | 3.4 units |
| Strong ale (7%) | 7% | 4 units |
Two pints of a standard 5% lager gives you 5.6 units. Three pints puts you at 8.4 units, which is more than half the NHS weekly guideline in a single session.
Craft beers deserve a mention. A 568ml pint of a 6.5% craft IPA contains nearly 3.7 units. Four of those in an evening is around 15 units, which exceeds the weekly guideline in one sitting.
Units in spirits
A single pub measure of spirits in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland is 25ml. Scotland uses 25ml as the standard measure too, though some venues serve 35ml. A double is 50ml.
At 40% ABV, which covers most vodka, gin, whisky, and rum:
| Measure | Units |
|---|---|
| Single (25ml) | 1 unit |
| Double (50ml) | 2 units |
| Large home pour (70ml) | 2.8 units |
The home pour is where the numbers quietly escape. A generous measure poured at home is often 60 to 80ml, which is a double or more. Pouring "a gin" at home frequently means pouring 2 to 3 units without realising it.
Liqueurs and flavoured spirits often sit at 17% to 20% ABV, so they contain roughly half the units of a standard spirit per measure. That is still not nothing. A large glass of Baileys at 17% over ice contains around 1.2 to 1.5 units, depending on how it's poured.
Units in cider
Cider ranges from around 4.5% for standard pints through to 8.4% for strong cans. The variation is wider than most other drink categories.
| Cider type | ABV | Units per pint |
|---|---|---|
| Standard draught cider (4.5%) | 4.5% | 2.6 units |
| Premium bottled cider (5%) | 5% | 2.8 units |
| Strong cider (7.5%) | 7.5% | 4.3 units |
| Super-strength can (8.4%, 500ml) | 8.4% | 4.2 units |
A can of strong cider at 8.4% contains over 4 units. That is nearly one-third of the weekly guideline in a single can.
Units in prosecco and champagne
Prosecco typically sits at 11% ABV. A standard 125ml flute contains around 1.4 units. A standard bottle of prosecco is 750ml, which gives around 8.25 units.
Most people treat prosecco as lighter than wine. At a typical supermarket strength, it is slightly lighter, but not dramatically so. A bottle of prosecco shared between two people gives each person around 4 units, which is over a quarter of the weekly guideline.
Champagne usually sits at 12% ABV. A 125ml glass contains 1.5 units. A bottle contains 9 units.
The drinks that surprise people most
Some drinks produce consistently surprised reactions when people check the unit count:
Large glass of wine at a restaurant. A standard restaurant pour is often 250ml. At 13% ABV, that is 3.25 units. Two large glasses is nearly half the weekly guideline.
Strong craft beer in a 330ml can. A 330ml can of a 6.5% craft IPA contains 2.1 units. It looks like a small can, but it contains more than a standard 4% pint.
Alcopops and pre-mixed drinks. A 275ml bottle of a 4% alcopop contains 1.1 units. A 250ml can of a 5% pre-mixed spirit and mixer contains 1.25 units. These feel light but accumulate across an evening.
Wine at home. Home pours tend to be larger than pub measures. Someone pouring wine at home often pours 200 to 250ml rather than the standard 175ml used in pubs. Over the course of an evening, that gap adds up.
What the NHS guideline actually means
The NHS recommends that both men and women drink no more than 14 units per week. That is the equivalent of:
- Around 6 pints of 4% beer
- Around 10 standard 175ml glasses of 13% wine
- Around 14 single 25ml measures of 40% spirits
The guideline also recommends spreading those units across at least three days, not saving them for the weekend. Drinking 14 units in two evenings carries different health risks from drinking the same amount spread more evenly.
A single session of 6 or more units is defined as binge drinking by NHS standards. That is two large glasses of wine, or two and a half pints of standard lager. The threshold is lower than most people assume.
The risk categories the NHS uses are:
- Low risk: Up to 14 units per week, spread over at least 3 days
- Increasing risk: 14 to 35 units per week for women, 14 to 50 units for men
- Higher risk: Over 35 units per week for women, over 50 units for men
Most people who drink more than they should do not realise it because they think in drinks rather than units. A "couple of glasses of wine" with dinner three times a week can easily add up to 13 or 14 units before the weekend.
Add up your own weekly total
It is harder to estimate your weekly unit total than most people expect. Drink sizes vary, ABV differs between brands, and home pours do not come in standard measures.
Our free alcohol units calculator lets you count up exactly how many units you consumed in a typical week across 14 common drinks, including wine, beer, spirits, cider, and prosecco. It compares your total against NHS guidelines and shows you how far above or below the low-risk threshold you fall.
