Heidi and Frank: Stuff from Today's Show

Heidi and Frank: Stuff from Today's Show
While you are Costco picking up your wedding dress (yes, I said wedding dress) you can pick up all the your wine for the reception - Cameron Hughes Wine of course. Costco is trying to create a "one-stop-shopping" experience for your wedding day.

How much wine do I need for my wedding?

I'm on a budget.  So how much wine do I need for my wedding?  That is the first question anyone asks me.  Here is a rule of thumb I use - for the four or so hours your guests will be at your reception, a wine drinking guest will have 3 glasses.  Some will have 2 and some will have 4 glasses.  One bottle of wine holds 4 glasses.  For 100 guests, order 5 cases of wine and for 200 guests order 10 cases of wine.  Order 1-2 cases more just in case.  Any left over bottles are great gifts for those that have helped you with all the planning.  Also save some for your 1-yr anniversary.  40% of the wine should be white and 60% should be red.  The easiest thing to have on each table is one bottle of Chardonnay (white wine) and one bottle of Cabernet (red wine).  Then your guests can help themselves.  For a bit more interest, ask a wine consultant to help you pair wines with your food menu.

When to choose wine for your wedding?

Well, no one ever tells you that you need to think about wine for your wedding.  There is never any mention of it.  Only when to choose a caterer.  I think this detail should be exposed!  When planning a wedding, believe it or not, you should be interviewing caterers 9 to 12 months from the wedding date.  And, at 6 months before the wedding, you should booked your caterer.  Food is always mentioned in the planning but why not wine when there are so many wine lovers out there?  Today's wedding guests will want to have a glass of nice wine that goes with the nice food that you so meticulously choose for your special guests.

Think about flow of the day, when your guests arrive at the reception location.  They are thirsty and want to have a refreshing glass of wine.  Think about having some other white varietals such as Albarino or Torrentes.  These are light and refreshing wines.  Sauvignon Blanc is also a  great choice and a wine that your guest will recognize.  Chardonnay that is crisp with fruit on the palate is also nice.  Leave the creamy, buttery, oaked Chardonnays for the dinner with entrees of fish or chicken.

Pinot Noir is excellent with salmon, chicken or lamb.  It's one of my favorite varietals.  The color of Pinot is beautiful, festive and goes well with a variety of food choices.  Merlot and Cabernet are excellent with fillet or roasted pork with a raisin chutney sauce.
So on my agenda, once the food menu is chosen, pair the wines with the flow of the day and the menus.  Have a wine consultant assist you in the wine pairing and order the wines to be delivered directly to venue.  Now that detail is finished and you don't have to worry any longer about wines, food, etc.  Isn't that a weight off your shoulders?  Great food, great wine - check.