When I first started out in the trade wine was just served in 125ml glasses then they seemed to disappear and 175ml glasses seemed to become the “standard” and 250ml a “large” glass.

The law actually states that you must offer still wines in a 125ml measure and this must be communicated to customers. The easiest way to do this is to state it on the menu, however, if you run a bar then I would recommend that your staff are trained and ask the customer at the time of ordering.  You can still offer 175ml and 250ml measures but you must offer 125ml.

According to an article in the Daily Mail in October 2014, “one in seven pubs were failing to offer women a smaller glass of wine” and “some 15 per cent of non-chain pubs failed to do so and instead pushed the 250ml option”. Of the pubs that did offer 125ml, 29% still breached the law by not openly communicating it to customers.

Now before you all panic, that you need to go out and buy loads of new glasses, the law does not state that you have to have 125ml glasses, therefore, if you have properly stamped 125ml measure and use it to dispense the wine then you can legally use what ever size glass you wish.