“Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life’s greatest pleasures.” Michael Broadbent’s sentiment should be taken into account when contemplating wedding wine.  It isn’t a necessity to break our fragile wedding budgets over the wine, but as in biblical times, the wedding reception can’t go on without some sort of vino.  And while we’re at it, the selection of this drink is just as important as the food and the music playing in the background.  Wine can enhance the mood and sensation of any moment, an we all desire the “moments” in our wedding reception to be top notch.

Just as you have invited a variety of guests to attend the event, you’ve automatically invited a wide range of palettes.  A good start is having a red, white, and a sparkling/champagne available to satisfy practically all of your guests.  Their are also many hints on what your supply numbers should be.  Since you probably don’t have a miracle worker on the guest list like in Cana, you should always err on the side of having too much wine rather than cutting it close or, dreadfully, running dry.  You can plan on reserving a half bottle per person. It leaves room for personal preferences and sampling the wines.  It may also be possible to plan a return on unopened bottles or full cases with your vendor.  If they don’t budge, don’t worry; a good bottle of wine is always useful as a gift or in a personal cellar.  In which season is the wedding held?  If the season is hot, order more white wine in a 60/40 ratio; a cool weather day calls for more red in a 60/40 ratio or better.  Are you planning on serving wine with hors d’oeuvres before hand in addition to the meal?  This will definitely call for more bottles.

We now switch from quantity to quality.  What are the specific wines you wish to serve?  Some caterers have a specific wine list that they allow you to choose from.  It’s clean and to the point, but the markup for these wines is incredible.  If there is an outside wine you would rather have and it does not become more expensive with the likely $15 corkage fee, we suggest purchasing the wine on your own.

Pairing the wine with the meal is a perfect idea; whites for seafood, poultry and pasta and reds for beef, lamb and game.  However, wedding planners and wine enthusiasts agree, a bold wine is not the best choice for your event.  A smooth yet flexible white wine choice would be a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or California.  Even though Chardonnay is the nation’s favorite, it may be a tad overpowering for the meal and your guests well-being.  As for red, you will want a luscious yet simple wine as well, which brings us to a Pinot Noir.  Another top recommendation would be a Beaujolais.  The bubbly is an entirely different story.  Your toast will definitely be remembered for being unpleasant or delicious, meaning that the champagne needs to be sampled and not be a reception element that is tossed into the $2 bin.  The real deal champagne from the Champagne region of France will surely cost around $100 per bottle, but bringing yourself back down to Earth from that shock, you’ll find that many very decent bottles of bubbly for around $25-$30.  This would be something like a Heidsieck Brut, a Nicolas Feuillatte Brut or a Schramsberg from California.  Other California champagnes will ring up in the teens for pricing, but there is also the oh-so-cheap Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut out of my other favorite country, Spain.

Wines can also be selected based on a special significance: your first date wine, the wine served at your parents’ weddings, something from the country of your honeymoon or a favorite trip, etc.  All in all, don’t count out the importance of your wedding wine.  This is really an element that impacts your guests feelings about the overall reception whether that be food, the ambience, and the freedom for pleasure throughout the event.  Water’s not bad and beer’s important too- but a long time ago, a man turned water into wine to let the celebration go on.