The wine you serve your guests at your wedding will be one of the most talked parts of your day (after the ceremony, your dress & the food!). Unfortunately your guests will remember a bad wine long after they have forgotten a good one (probably because they have drunk so much of it!). Whatever style your day will take on - sit-down, buffet or barbecue, here are some tips to help you make the right choice. What’s your serving style? Most couples choose to serve a complimentary glass of champagne or bucks fizz as their guests arrive, followed by another glass for the wedding toasts & red & white wine with the meal. But you don not have to follow the trend. You may fancy serving classic cocktails for a bit of contemporary glamour or would you prefer the champagne to flow all day? How much should you allow per guest? This is the difficult part; you don’t want to supply your guests with enough drink that they are under the tables by the time the best stands up for his speech. Neither does want to provide so little that guests’ glasses are empty before the main course is served. Typical advice is to allow half a bottle of wine per head during the course of a lunchtime meal & three quarters for an evening meal. Where’s the best place to get it from? No matter what your budget it is always wise to shop around. Check out supermarkets, wine merchants on the high street & on the internet. Local & online independent wine merchants can often be a few cents a bottle cheaper than the large supermarkets & can offer you good advice on what to choose & how much to buy. You may also be able to taste wines before you make your choice. What if the venue supplies a wine list? If your venue offers you a wine list, don’t be immediately put off by the expensive prices. Most venues will charge you a corkage fee if you supply your own wine, this can be over $10 a bottle, so you may find the venues wine list offers a cheaper & more convenient choice. Should you order more than you need? There are always guests at weddings that are momre â€thirsty’ than others & will drink the table dry before the starters have been cleared away. It will always pay to order more than your calculations show, most merchants will offer a sale or return policy so you can take back any bottle left over. How much should you spend per bottle? Don’t feel pressured in to choosing expensive labels, easy drinking wines are perfectly acceptable. It is more than likely that the majority of guests (except, perhaps for the odd one who fancies themselves a connoisseur) will not even appreciate your choices. You can get a surprisingly good range of wines for under $10 a bottle, which are often better crowd pleasers than their more expensive counterparts. What’s season is the wedding? You may not think it but the season in which your wedding day falls should have an impact on your choice of wines. For an autumn or winter wedding choose the full bodied reds of Burgundy & Bordeaux, along with whites such as white rioja & chardonnay. Rose is a fashionable choice for spring & summer weddings, along with citrussy wines such as a New Zealand Rieslings. If want a red wine for a summer wedding choose fruity, light mellow wines from Chile, South Africa & Argentina. What’s on the menu? Your choice of menu will have an impact on the choice of wines you serve. As a general rule choose light wines with light dishes such as fish, & full bodied wines with richer dishes such as roasts. Your caterers may be able to suggest suitable wines for your menu or furnish your wine merchant with a copy of the menu so he can advise you.
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