Are You Drinking Too Much Wine?

Most people who enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day or with dinner assure themselves that “one is ok.” But the more nagging question many wine-enthusiasts have is whether they are only having one. And the answer to that, of course, depends on the size of the glass.

True, guidelines limit one serving of wine to 5 ounces, which looks very different depending on the glass you choose. And someone enjoying wine with dinner has to consider refills. Because just as with counting calories, forgetting you had it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

So for people who want to keep a closer eye on their drinking habits, how can you ensure you are staying within healthy parameters?

Source: Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Policing the Pour: The Glass Matters

One easy, practical way to measure your drinking is literally. Measure out 5 ounces. But unless you are a sharp-eyed trained bartender, you will likely overpour. Research corroborates this observation. Doug Walker et al. (2014) studied the phenomena of overpouring, and especially if you are pouring your own wine, how to avoid it.[i] They explain that a pour is impacted by the color of the wine, the shape of the glass, and other factors based on haptic cues and visual illusions. For example, they note that wine drinkers usually pour 3.95 fl. oz. into a standard 10 fl. oz glass, but 11.9% more when pouring into a wider glass. When the wine is white, Walker et al. explain that people pour 9.2% more, noting that low contrast with the glass container makes wine harder to see. How does coordination impact content? They observe that people pour 12.2% more when holding a wine glass in their hand, rather than when it was sitting on a table. Given these distinctions, Walker et al. suggest that modest reductions in drinking can be achieved by using narrower glasses and not pouring while holding your own glass.

Environmental Factors Effect Overpouring

Another interesting question for social drinkers is what environmental factors influence vino self-service? Walker et al. found that people with lower awareness of the impact of environmental cues overpoured by a smaller amount than people who perceived that environmental cues had a larger impact. They note that people can identify, at least looking back, which factors influenced their drinking behavior most significantly. However, even though their study participants could indeed identify the factors that influenced the extent of overpouring behavior, that was different than being aware of the amount of overpouring in terms of alcohol quantity. Therefore, even when people know they are overpouring, they are usually unable to accurately measure and track their intake of alcohol.

Walker et al. observe that additional research will be required to determine the link between overpouring and overdrinking, although we can probably hypothesize a positive relationship. They do note some general clues, such as the fact that people pour more liquid in wider glasses and less liquid into taller or narrower glasses, due to the relationship between height and width. They note that this would mean that people imbibing from taller or narrower glasses may believe they are drinking faster, and may stop sooner. People drinking from wider glasses may perceive they are drinking more slowly, and might accordingly speed it up. Walker et al. recognize that this comports with prior research showing that without visual cues indicating consumption, people were likely to overconsume soup which was served from a bottomless bowl.

Recognizing and Reducing Biased Pouring

Walker et al. leave us with some good advice: increasing awareness of environmental cues and “pouring biases” will help limit alcohol intake, improve health, and prevent alcohol-related problems. And that is advice worth celebrating. Cheers.