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Which wines for weddings?

Which Wines for Weddings or other special events such as an anniversary celebration, company event or a communion?

How much wine should you order? What type of wine should you order?  How much should you pay?  Too often the wine is overlooked and left to the caterer, be smart and spend some time to find out more.

Here are the basic steps that you should bear in mind:

Say you are organising a wedding. You have a budget, it could be €50 or €5000 per person to cover the venue, food, wine and activities.  Whatever it is you have to think how much wine will you need?  I tend to work on 1 bottle per 2.5 guests. So if there are 100 people buy 40 bottles. If there is any left take it home and enjoy it while recalling the special day.

Of those how many bottles of red, white and sparkling?  It depends on the time of year and the menu.  If it is a summer event, held in the open air I would recommend a mix of  50% white, 25% red and 25% sparkling.  However, if the event was in the autumn or winter and inside then I would change the mix to 50% red, 30% white and 20% sparkling.

What kind of wine should you buy?  Don’t just leave it too the venue organiser to offer you their selection.  They may have a decent selection but if it is your event then you should do a bit of homework.  Here are some things to bear in mind:

Who is coming?

Is is business contacts or family and friends?

What is on the menu? Seafood, summer dishes or richer red meat dishes?

Is is a lunch or dinner?

Formal or casual?

Red Wine – Decide on your budget per bottle, there are so many good wines from which to choose.  To have some fun with your friends why not buy different wines and taste them together and decide which you all prefer.  As we are in Spain, you will want to have some Spanish wine but why not try include wines from other countries such as a Pinotage from South Africa, a Malbec from Argentina or a Sangiovese from Italy.

White Wine – along with a Spanish white why not include a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand,  an Australian or Chilean Chardonnay, a Riesling from Germany.

Believe me your guests will remember your event for the original, distinctive wine selections.

If you have any questions or would like to find out more feel free to drop me a line.

Written by

I am a Northern Irishman based in Valencia. My career in wine began more than three decades ago, in London. I am the founder of TheWinePlace.es, an online store, where wine enthusiasts can enjoy a selection of international wines and Verde Marte, a company dedicated to exporting Spanish wines. Also, Thewineplace.courses, an "approved program provider" of the courses of the prestigious WSET. I share my passion for wines through my media work writing weekly columns for the Spanish newspaper El Mundo and 5 Barricas, an online wine magazine.

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