Choosing the wines for your wedding can be a daunting experience as you want your guests to enjoy the wines you picked, but with the right help, it should be one of the most fun parts of your wedding planning.

What style shall I go for?

One of the many things you must consider when choosing wines is the location, venue, or season.

Suppose you plan your big day in the summer heat when you expect high temperatures. In that case, you are not going to go for a full-bodied red or highly oaked Chardonnay during the day but opt for a lighter red, such as an elegant Burgundy or Loire red and a crisp and refreshing white wine, such as an Italian white (Gavi, Lugana, Soave or Roero Arneis).

We recommend having a chilled rosé available. Not everyone loves rosé wine, so when you plan your quantities, you’ll need to calculate less for the bottles of rosé as white and reds – but we still think it’s a great addition to a summer wedding.

Also, do you want to serve wine for each course or choose a red and a white wine to pair the food for the entire meal?

Sparkling or Champagne?

Weddings are a celebration; memorable moments call for Champagne that your guests will love and remember. We recommend having a Brut Champagne, that can be served with or without food. Champagne Thiénot Brut is an elegant, fresh, fruity champagne, that is  perfect for your reception.

Depending on the budget, you will decide if you want Champagne for the reception and speeches or just for toasts.

But if you have a tighter budget, an interesting sparkle such as a Vouvray from the Loire is an excellent alternative to Champagne and very popular in France. It is made by the traditional method or champagne method. So that means it is bottle fermented, with the regular riddling of the bottles, unlike the cheaper sparkling wines, which are bottled and sold straightaway in an open tank. They haven’t got Champagne’s strict rules, requiring minimum cellar ageing, but it is still a longer process than the Prosecco (Charmat) method.

Wedding themes

We personally feel that wines will go with any themes you may have for your wedding; remember the timing of your wedding; big alcoholic reds for summer weddings at over 30 degrees heat are a big no-no.

If you are having a winter or near Christmas wedding, you will not want a chilled rosé, but you can go for fuller-bodied wines and even add some port and cheeses to your menu for a bit of a Christmas theme.

Food and wine pairing

Couples usually decide on the menu and then pair them with the wines, but we have also done the other way around, with dish recommendations to go with our wines. If your venue is flexible on the menu, wine pairing is a lot of fun.

And you don’t have to be traditional and serve fish with a white wine but also offer a light red such as a Valpolicella, a Chinon or Nicolas de Bourgueil from the Loire, or a Portuguese red. These reds will go well with delicate fish such as cod or seabass.

What’s the ideal number of bottles?

A rule of thumb is six small (125ml) glasses per bottle. Bear in mind that if the wine is poured by someone at your wedding venue, they will stick to the measures, but if the bottles are left on the table, the sensible measures might go out of the window…..

Once you have decided on the wines you are having and when, during the celebrations, multiply the number of guests by the number of glasses. Generally, you’ll need more wine and Champagne at the drink’s reception and a bit less during the meal.

If you serve Champagne or sparkling at the reception, you want to allow three glasses per guest. Some guests drink less, and others drink more, so it’s a good balance.

Make sure you add a glass for the toasts (or two depending on your budget) – it will be a good idea to calculate this separately and put the bubbles securely away in the fridge venue so it’s not mixed up with the reception stocks – be clear with the staff venue what you want them to bring out and mark the wine cases. The last thing you want is no bubble when the speech starts!

If you serve a different wine per course, allow about two glasses per guest. If you are going for a white and a red throughout the meal, go for four glasses per person. Again, some people will have little wine or none, but others will drink more.

We will help you calculate the right quantities so you feel confident that you have ordered the correct number of bottles. We know how wedding spending can go out of control so that we will keep a tight leash on budgets!

Remember, it is better to have wine left over than your guests going thirsty. It’s your wedding day! You can take the wine home, so it’s never wasted.

Large formats

We can’t recommend enough having magnums for special occasions. The quality is always superior and is such a nice touch for a wedding. They cost a little more than two bottles, but it is priceless when you see the reaction of your guests.

Our wines are sold in the best restaurants in the UK, so we are confident that we have a world-class portfolio. We pride ourselves on being able to offer outstanding wines that aren’t available in retailers. Wines that your guests will remember long after your wedding.

We are offering 10% off our wines for your wedding – The discount code to use at checkout is WEDDING10. Please get in touch for help choosing your wines and further discounts.