Short measures on the 125ml wine measure!

The requirement to make available, and make customers aware of the opportunity to purchase, the smaller measure of 125 ml still wine, in addition to the more common 175 and 250 ml measures, is something we find often still overlooked, by operators small, but also large.

Our own empirical evidence on this subject from many visits to licensed premises is supported over the weekend by research highlighted in the Daily Mail – who report that undercover reporters who requested a ‘small’ glass of wine were given a 175ml glass in the investigation for Channel 4’s Tricks of The Restaurant Trade.

To remind – as a mandatory condition on all premises licences, operators must ensure that-

(a) where any of the following alcoholic drinks is sold or supplied for consumption on the premises (other than alcoholic drinks sold or supplied having been made up in advance ready for sale or   supply in a securely closed container) it is available to customers in the following measures-

(i) beer or cider: ½ pint;
(ii) gin, rum, vodka or whisky: 25 ml or 35 ml; and
(iii) still wine in a glass: 125 ml;

(b) these measures are displayed in a menu, price list or other printed material which is available to customers on the premises; and

(c) where a customer does not in relation to a sale of alcohol specify the quantity of alcohol to be sold, the customer is made aware that these measures are available.