{"id":16232,"date":"2013-06-23T11:00:54","date_gmt":"2013-06-23T10:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wdie.wedding-dates.com\/?p=16232"},"modified":"2021-04-20T09:34:28","modified_gmt":"2021-04-20T08:34:28","slug":"six-simple-steps-to-wedding-wine-bliss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/six-simple-steps-to-wedding-wine-bliss\/","title":{"rendered":"Six Simple Steps to Wedding Wine Bliss"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"wedding<\/p>\n

FIRST OF ALL, hearty congratulations on your upcoming wedding \u2013 it\u2019ll be great. When it comes to your wedding wine, don\u2019t fret unduly; no one talks about it at the time and no one remembers it afterwards. That said<\/em>, getting it right isn\u2019t difficult.<\/p>\n

The wines<\/h2>\n

Aim for crowd pleasers. It\u2019s great that your favourite grape is Gewurztraminer or Pinotage but a wedding isn\u2019t the place for exotic, statement-making wine choices. You don\u2019t have<\/em> to opt for super-safe Sauvignon Blanc or Merlot, but at least stick to safe wine styles<\/em> \u2013 dry, fresh, fruity whites; and soft, fruit-forward reds with modest tannins. Your friendly local wine merchant (ahem) will be able to guide you.<\/p>\n

Bubbles!<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ll need sparkling wine for the drinks reception and \/ or toast but there is no need to choose Champagne unless you\u2019re unusually well off. Cremant (French sparkling wine from non-Champagne regions) is often as good, and far cheaper. Spanish Cava can be lovely, and is only half the price of a standard NV Champagne. Italian Prosecco (less acidic, and sweeter than the wines above) is cheaper again, and can be had for as low as \u20ac10-\u20ac12 a bottle.<\/p>\n

How many bottles?<\/h2>\n

Some guests will hardly have any wine; others, as we know, will really get stuck in. The rule of thumb that seems to work well enough is \u201chalf a bottle per person.\u201d But maybe round up to the next full case to give yourself a buffer – proper wine merchants always do \u2018sale or return\u2019 anyway.<\/p>\n

Matchmaking<\/h2>\n

Don\u2019t stress over food and wine matching as there\u2019ll be lots of different dishes on offer and no one wine is going to \u201cmatch\u201d everything. Most table wines are fairly versatile anyway. Food writer Ernie Whalley says that food and wine matches are in fact a lot like marriages \u2013 5% are made in heaven, 5% are made in hell, and the rest can be made to work.<\/p>\n

The corkage game<\/h2>\n

Negotiate corkage before<\/em> you agree to give the hotel your business as you\u2019re obviously in a much weaker position on this front once you\u2019ve formally gotten into bed with them.<\/p>\n

Wine service<\/h2>\n

You could choose the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux for your wedding, make sure the quality isn’t compromised\u00a0by glassware or temperature. So chat to wedding coordinator and satisfy yourself that the glasses look presentable and that the hotel can ensure the whites are served properly chilled, and the reds not overly warm.<\/p>\n

Paul Kiernan works as wine content specialist and online marketing manager for Curious Wines<\/strong>, a Cork-based wine importer, wholesaler and retailer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FIRST OF ALL, hearty congratulations on your upcoming wedding \u2013 it\u2019ll be great. When it comes to your wedding wine, don\u2019t fret unduly; no one talks about it at the time and no one remembers it afterwards. That said, getting it right isn\u2019t difficult. The wines Aim for crowd pleasers. It\u2019s great that your favourite grape is Gewurztraminer or Pinotage but a wedding isn\u2019t the place for exotic, statement-making wine choices. You don\u2019t have to opt for super-safe Sauvignon Blanc […]","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":16233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wedding-planning-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16232"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16232\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82234,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16232\/revisions\/82234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weddingdates.ie\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}