Don't leave choosing your wine for your wedding reception up to chance. Even if you don't drink wine, don't know much about wine or only like certain wines, choosing wine is an important detail that shouldn't be overlooked. You want the food to be perfect so why not the wines? Most guests now are wine savvy - so to treat your guests to a wonderful experience, wine and food pairing should be part of your planning. Once you pick a caterer and the menu, then a wine expert can assist you in pairing wines for the day.
Typically guests arrive and have choices of white or red. Depending on the passed around appetizers such as scallops wrapped in bacon, there are a few choice such as Sauvignon Blanc or a bright Pinot Noir. A good indicator of how much wine and style you should order is typically 40% whites and 60% reds. There is normally more red wine only drinkers. But if you are "styling" your wines with your menu, then most people will drink whites with seafood or chicken entrees.
It is best to make it simple, with not a huge array of choices. My favorite varietal picks are Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay for starters. Then move on to Pinot Noir or Cabernet. Sweet wine is not a good wine to pair the entre. Although sweet wines such as Late Harvest Viognier or French Sauternes can be delicious with white cake or cheesecake and Late Harvest Zin with chocolate cake, these can be expensive and with all the sugar in those wines and the cake may make your guests feeling ill the next day.
Again, this goes back to keeping it elegant and simple. You have enough to worry about; so let a Sommelier assist you with the wine pairing with your menu choices. If you have questions about wines for your wedding please feel free to email me. And, congratulations and best wishes,
Jan Manni
Certified Sommelier
jan@chwine.com
Appellation: Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, in the region of the Basses-Laurentides, Quebec, Canada
