The Perfect Pour: Selecting Wines for Weddings and Special Occasions.
Selecting the right wines for your wedding or special event is an art form, one that balances personal taste with creating an exceptional experience for your guests. To guide you through this journey, wine connoisseur Matthew Curran, General Manager of Sew & Sew Wines, shares his insights on choosing everything from celebratory sparkling wines to versatile reds and whites that enhance your menu and elevate your event.
What are the most popular wines to serve at weddings and milestone celebrations? Definitely Sparkling wine. If the budget allows, Champagne. Other popular wine styles to serve are fruity whites and juicy reds
Are there any specific wine regions or varieties that you recommend for events like weddings or anniversaries? Definitely Champagne. Burgundy & Bordeaux good for big zero wedding anniversaries, especially wines from great vintages such as 2000,
What are the key factors to consider when selecting wines for a large celebration (e.g., guest preferences, food pairings, seasonality)? Everything you have mentioned there, guest preferences, food pairings, weather/seasonality, plus other factors such as budget, demographics of guests and time of day of the event are all important factors to consider.
How do you balance quality and price when choosing wines for a large event? Always go with the best you can afford. Good wine makes for a good event. If you have the budget for it spend extra on the wine as it will elevate your event.
What wines would you recommend pairing with classic wedding dishes, like chicken, fish, or beef? For large events it is always good to offer at least two options for a white and a red. I would offer a sparkling wine, a fruit driven white whine like a Pinot Gris or Fiano and a more textural white like a Chardonnay or a Vermentino and then two reds, a juicy red like a GSM and a more structured red like a Shiraz or a Cabernet.
Are there any wines that tend to work particularly well with more diverse or unconventional wedding menus? You really need to look at your menu and match your wines to the food you are serving. With diverse or unconventional dishes this is very important as a poor match can clash badly with the food. For example if you are serving spicy food go for off dry and sweeter wines and avoid any wines with prominent oak as this will clash with the food and detract from the guests experience.
How do you determine how much wine to order for a wedding or milestone celebration? For a standard four hour function I would budget for 1 bottle of wine per adult at the event and round up to the nearest case to have some extra just in case. Keeping in mind that some people will just drink beer and some people won’t drink at all, this is usually a good rule of thumb.
How can couples or hosts stay within budget while still providing a high-quality wine selection? This is nonsense. You either have a budget for good quality wine or you don’t. Wanting to drink Champagne on a beer budget simply doesn’t work.
Are there any current trends in wedding or milestone celebration wines that couples or hosts should consider (e.g., organic wines, lesser-known varietals)? This is very subjective and each host needs to decide or figure out what their guests would like to drink. If they are unsure offering a winder selection of wines can be a good option. Unless the hosts know their guests very well I would suggest sticking with well known varietals, regions and styles. A wedding or anniversary is generally not the place to experiment with alternative or lesser known wine styles
How has the popularity of sparkling wines, such as Champagne or Prosecco, evolved in recent years for weddings? Sparkling wine has always been a popular choice for any celebration and offering a quality sparkling wine will play an important part in offering your guests an elevated experience at your event. A nice thing to offer guests on arrival for an event in the tropics is a guava and sparkling wine cocktail. These are easy to make and can save hosts a bit of money as guava juice is cheaper than champagne. Moreover you can mix in a less expensive sparkling as it will be disguised by the guava juice and offer a more premium sparkling for those that like their bubbles straight.
What’s the best way to store wine before and during the event to ensure it is served at its optimal temperature? Always keep wine out of direct sunlight, in a dry space with even temperature (ideally between 12-18 degrees) and away from any vibrations (fridge motors, generators etc). White wine, Sparkling and Rose should be put in the fridge or cool room at least 24 hours before the event and served straight out of the fridge or out of ice buckets. Red wine can be served at ambient temperature.
What advice do you have for serving wine at outdoor weddings or during warmer weather? Make sure you have plenty of ice and ice buckets to keep the Whites, Sparkling and Rose cold. Make sure there is shade and keep the reds and wine glasses in the shade. Nothing worse than pouring cold Chardonnay into a warm glass.
For events with a large number of guests, do you recommend offering a wine flight or pre-selected wine pairings? I wouldn’t offer a wine flight per se as this can be very cumbersome for a large event, but offering a range of wines for the guests to enjoy is a good idea.
Can you recommend any wines that are particularly good for toasts, given the celebratory nature of the occasion? Sparkling wine the clear winner here. This may sound counter-intuitive but a good tip is to use a cheaper sparkling wine for the toasts as opposed to what is served throughout the function as most people will have just one sip, or none at all and then leave the glass. Also on this point, only fill the glasses half way for toasts. For people that are drinking sparking all night you can simply top up their glass before the toasts with whatever sparkling they are drinking.
For a significant anniversary or milestone celebration, would you suggest a more luxurious wine selection, such as a vintage Champagne or a rare bottle? How can someone elevate the wine selection for such an event? This all comes down to budget. If the hosts have the money then I would definitely suggest serving vintage champagne and table wines from excellent vintages. It is also a nice touch to serve a desert wine with desert if the budget allows. Something like a Sauternes, a Toque or a Vintage Fortified Red.
Do you have any specific wine recommendations for a "first anniversary" celebration or a special milestone like a 25th or 50th wedding anniversary? Try to find a wine made from that year. For example if it is a 25th wedding anniversary this year, then anything from the 2000 vintage would be a beautiful touch to the event.
How can a couple or host personalise their wine selection to make it more meaningful to the event, such as including a wine from the region where they were married or a vintage from a significant year? Find a wine that means something to them. It cold be a bottle that they had on their first date, or from the vintage year that they met or got married, or event birth year wines for each of the hosts.
You can view Sew and Sew wines selection of hand-crafted wines; the playful Sashiko range and premium Contour wines @ https://www.sewandsewwines.com.au
