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How to Choose Wine for Your Wedding
Choosing wine for your wedding can be a tricky, and expensive, business. We spoke to Keith Isaac, Master of Wine from Veuve de Vernay, for his top tips.
1. Wine Moments
Typically there are three possible wine moments for your day; after the ceremony, during the meal and for the toast.
2. Sparkling Wine?
If you're keen on serving bubbles to your guests after your ceremony consider buying a sparkling wine and adding orange juice or cassis for a novel and cost-effective welcome to your reception.
3. White Wine
Our white wine guide: pinot grigio is soft and plain and good for drinking on its own; chardonnay is round and fruity and is a good partner for a wide selection of food dishes; sauvignon blanc is light and fresh, floral and summery. Good, cost-friendly examples are from Chile and New Zealand.
4. Red Wine
The light and fruity nature of the red grape pinot noir is versatile enough to pair with a number of dishes and suits most palates, which makes it the perfect wedding red wine. You'll find the best budget examples from Chile.
5. Keep it Simple
Whether you select your wine from the list available at your venue or bring your own, keep it simple. One white, one red, one sparkling and a rosé if you like.
6. Corkage Fee
If you're tied into the wine selection that's available at your venue it's worth asking what their corkage fee is; you can often find better quality wines at the same price if you bring your own.
7. Booze Cruise
Cross the booze cruise to Calais off your list of things to do - there are some amazing wine deals in the UK, especially from online companies who will deliver to your door or direct to the venue.
8. Returns
Most good wine companies will offer you a sale-or-return deal which can help with costs when you're not too sure how much to buy.
9. How Much?
As a rule of thumb you should cater for half a bottle of wine per adult for the wedding breakfast ('breakfast' is the common term for any wedding meal - not just the ones that happen in the morning), the equivalent of three small glasses.
10. Screw Caps
An increasing number of wines are closed with a screw cap rather than a cork. Don't be put off by this; a screw cap is more often than not a sign of a fresh and young wine rather than one that's cheap.
11. Cava
When it comes to tradition champagne is the wine to be served with the toasts, but there are some excellent alternatives that taste just as good and come without the price tag. Cava is a great example.
12. Sparkles
Some people find champagne and cava a bit rich. A lighter style of sparkling wine is likely to please your guests just as much, and be a bit easier on your wallet.
13. Try Before You Buy
It's important that you and your partner enjoy the wines on the day so it's really worth trying before you buy. Most venues and wine companies will open bottles for you to taste, especially as they know you'll be buying a lot.
14. Menu
Impress your guests by including the names of the wines on your menu cards for your guests to take away with them.
15. Wedding List
If all this wine research gives you a taste for trying something new why not add some wine to your wedding gift list?
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