Wedding season is coming and couples, planners and friends of the bride worldwide are trying to select wines that please everyone from the grandparents to the hipsters who typically populate guest lists, all without blowing the budget. Here are my five easy steps for selecting wines:
I suggest one sparkling wine and one or two reds and whites.
Less is more. | I suggest one sparkling wine and one or two reds and whites. The key for this to work is flexible wines that will fit the event from the reception to the meal and the wedding toast and on to the inevitable bad dancing portion of the proceedings.
The guest list and budget. | To account for guest lists that can number from 20 to 200 and more, we will look at wines between $10 and $20 per bottle that are widely available, but feel free to skew up or down depending on your tastes and budget.
Taste the wines. | Make sure the ones you choose are a fit before buying them.
Offer a variety. | The sister of the bride only drinks Chardonnay and the groom’s fedora-wearing buddy swears anything other than Pinot Noir is for the terminally unhip, so let them have their way.
Don’t take it too seriously. | After selecting and being a sommelier for many a wedding, I can guarantee three things. Some guests will over-imbibe. You won’t please everyone. At the end of the day, most guests will graciously enjoy the wine and be happier for having consumed it.
The selections
Bubbles are wedding essential. Looking for something a little off-dry will make for a festive greeting and a good match for the cake. Prosecco is perfect because even Brut versions have at least a sense of sweetness due to the fruit characteristics of the Glera grape it is made from. Moving up the ladder, Scharffenberger or Roederer Extra Dry, both from Mendocino, will be beautifully crisp with a kiss of sweetness.
People dig Chardonnay and an unoaked version works well. Four Vines or LIOCO are always winners. If you want a second white, consider a Sauvignon Blanc. Go to Washington for the value level; Hogue Cellars is one that won’t disappoint. A little upscale and a little more complex is New Zealand’s Kim Crawford SB.
A value crowd-pleasing Pinot Noir is a bit of a unicorn, but McManis Family Vineyards makes one that could easily serve as your only red. On the stouter side and for a few dollars more, Ventana Vineyards produces Grenache and Syrah from estate vineyards in Arroyo Seco that are unique, bold and delicious.
