The proper selection of wedding wine is the perfect centre point around which so much of your wedding will revolve. While choosing the right wine for wedding events and celebrations may not be the most fun part of the process, it doesn’t have to be painful either. The best win for wedding events is a simple matter of taking the time to consider how to pair wine with the food while also delivering a tasting experience that your guests won’t soon forget.
5 Tips For Choosing Wine For Your Wedding
Before you start choosing the right wine for wedding events, you should first plan out most of the rest of your ceremony and day. You might already know what you want to include for wine, but that decision might change based on the season, venue, or even the menu you select.
When first planning a wedding, you may not want to consider your budget, but that will also factor into your wine selection, as will the number of guests you’ll invite to share in your special celebration. So, where do you start?
- Wines to go with the season
The season really does matter when you’re talking about your wine selection. In the summer, you might choose a white wine:
- Pinot Grigio
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Unoaked Chardonnay
- Verdejo
- Vinho Verde
Light, white wines are perfect for your beautiful outdoor wedding. It’s the ideal way to refresh and relax, even on a hot summer day.
Of course, if it’s a winter wedding, you might select a red wine:
- Cabernet Sauvignon
- Malbec
- Merlot
- Shiraz
Red wines pair nicely with the cool temperatures. It’s the perfect combination.
- Have a simple variety
Of course, even as you’re considering the season of your wedding, you already know that some of your guests will opt to go against the grain. So, even if you focus on white wines for your summer wedding, you’ll probably have some red wines on hand for those guests who ask.
With a variety of wedding wines, you’re encouraging your guests to enjoy the celebration with a mix of pleasant flavours and wines. It’s nearly impossible to please all your guests all the time, but with a simple variety, you can do your best to cover your bases.
- Wines for the wedding reception
As you keep that simple variety in mind, you should also select the best wine for wedding reception activities by complementing your food menu. You’ll generally pair red meat with your red wine and white meat with white wine.
Of course, depending on your overall menu selections, these simple suggestions might vary, but it’s a place to start. Your caterer can also suggest wines that will pair nicely with the food. Or, if you’d like to handle the wine selection yourself, you can reach out to a local wine store or an experienced sommelier to get advice on your pairings.
- Make sure the temperature is right
While the temperature of your wine may be the last thing you want to consider, serving warm white wine can adversely affect your entire wedding experience. If you’re serving a white wine, make sure it’s on ice to maintain the optimal temperature, somewhere around 4.5 degrees. For red wine, you should serve it at 12 degrees.
Temperature is also easy to fix, but it’s also one of those items on your list that you’ll also probably need to delegate. If your caterer isn’t handling the wine, you can have a dedicated wedding bar that can control the proper temperature, open the wine at the right time, and other wine-connaisseur essentials.
- Decide the wine budget
The best wine for wedding events can rack up quite a bill if you let it, so you should consider the cost. Of course, this is your special day, and you want everyone to have a great time. You can still have a pretty excellent wine selection without breaking the bank, but you just need to consider your overall cost and wine selection.
As you budget for the wine, you should start with estimating that 15% of your budget will go toward your wine selection. If you’re unsure which brands and vintages you and your guests will love, make it your mission to try out a new bottle every few weeks. Keep a wine diary or notebook to track the wines you love (and hate), which should give you a good starting point for weighing-up cost and the must-have wine at your wedding.
Beautiful Wine, Beautiful Wedding
Choosing wedding wine is not always the easiest part of your wedding day planning, but once you’ve gone through the process, you’ll be amazed by how much you’ll learn. Based on your favourite wines, you can also offer suggestions for your guests on the wines you absolutely love. So, they have a list of the best wine for wedding gift ideas.
Contact Navarra today to organise your perfect wedding venue and the perfect selection of wines.
