Bigger wine glasses make you spend and drink more, study finds
Being served wine in a bigger glass could unwittingly leave you with a dent in your pocket
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Drinkers served wine in a large glass will consume more alcohol and spend more money, a new study has suggested.
To uncover whether serving wine in larges glasses affected how people drank, researchers from the Behaviour and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge carried out a study in a local pub.
As part of the research, bar staff swapped smaller glasses for larger containers to serve standard 175ml portions of wine.
During the experiment, wine was service in one of three glass volumes: 300 ml, 250 ml a larger 370ml, for two weeks at a time over a period of 16 weeks.
At the end of the test, the pub reported a 9 per cent spike in sales when larger wine glasses were used.
Theresa Marteau, director of the Behaviour and Health Research Unit who led the research, told The Wall Street Journal that while the study was small, the study suggests “something is going on.”
She surmised that customers may have been drinking more because their judgement of the amount they were drinking became skewed, and they therefore ordered more wine and or drank faster.
Professor Marteau now hopes to expand the study in several pubs, bars and restaurants in the UK.
If significant results are returned, the research could help to reduce alcohol-related crime and health issues.
The study offered similar findings to a previous paper which showed that drinkers gave themselves larger servings of wine when pouring alcohol into a wider glass, when they held the glass in their hand while pouring or when the drink matched the colour of the glass.
Enlisting the help of 73 students, scientists from Iowa State and Cornell Universities found that subjects gave themselves 11.9 per cent more wine if they usd a wider a glass, and drank 12.2 per cent more if they held the glass while pouring, The Daily Express reported.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments