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Choosing your Wedding Wine

Choosing the wine for your wedding day is an important decision.  Whether or not you are wine lovers, many of your guests are likely to be, so choosing the best wine you can afford for your budget is a consideration that requires your serious thought.  Do some research and planning and you can have everyone enjoying your wine selection and toasting you to perfection.  Here's our guide to choosing the perfect wedding wine.

How Much Wine Do We Need?

The general rule for any party is to budget for a little over one bottle of wine per guest.  It is much better to have too much wine than too little as you can always return the wine after the event to the liquor store you ordered from, or keep the wine yourself for later celebrations!  Do consider how much time your guests will be drinking for and how much your guests enjoy a tipple.  If you plan a long reception and have guests who enjoy drinking at celebrations, you might like to plan to have more like 1.5 bottles per guest available to enjoy.

What Wine to Buy

Champagne or Sparkling White - for the average wedding of 80 guests, budget for at least two cases (24 bottles) of sparkling wine.  You'll need sparkling wine for toasts as well as following the ceremony if you plan on a drink and canapes at the ceremony site.  Australian sparkling whites are some of the best in the world, so you can choose a local wine for toasting which will also taste beautiful.

White Wine - In Summer or for a beach or garden wedding, many guests will choose to drink a light white wine such as a Riesling, Semillon or Sauvignon Blanc.  There are many lovely Australian wines in this variety, but the New Zealand dry whites are often the best from our region. 

Red Wine - Don't plan on too much red for a beach or outdoor wedding, but for a winter wedding or an evening reception, guests will enjoy some beautiful red wine with their main meals.  Shiraz is the favourite in Australia and the local versions are so good, it would be silly not to have a Shiraz on your menu.  If you don't love Shiraz, also consider an Australian Merlot.

Dessert Wine - Unless you and your guests are real wine lovers, a dessert wine probably isn't necessary.  If you do love a tipple, then you could serve a lovely sticky wine with cake or an aged port for your guests to end the evening.

Shopping for Wine

Generally, it will be cheaper to purchase your wine yourself for the wedding reception than to have the reception venue include the wine for you.  However, check with the venue if they allow you to bring your own wine and beer, and also what their corkage costs are.  Shopping for wine can be quite rewarding as there are lots of opportunities to save big.  Many liquor shops will offer you big discounts for quantity orders and even supermarkets now have a lovely selection of wines to offer, so you can shop around and save on your budget - or choose more expensive wines!  Don't forget to also check online for great wine specials.

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