With over 80% of all couples now choosing to bring their own wines to their venue, choosing the perfect wedding wine has become a little bit more complicated than simply taking the hotel ‘house’ red and white.

For those big into their wine this process is undoubtedly one of the more pleasurable aspects of planning the big day; for others it can be an unnerving experience, bamboozled by flowery descriptions, confusing price promotion, and the sheer choice of wines available in the Irish market. For all couples, there’s the desire to please everyone with their choice, and the ever-more important matter of managing a budget.

We’ve put together our top tips for picking your wedding wine, aimed at making the process simpler, less stressful, and hopefully a bit more fun.

1. HOW MUCH WINE?

First things first, how much to buy. The general rule-of-thumb is around half a bottle per guest – equivalent to 2-3 glasses on average, bearing in mind some of your guests won’t drink any wine at all – so if you’re planning on 150 guests, you’re looking at around 75 bottles. In terms of a red/white split, this can depend a little on the season but somewhere between 50-60% white, and 40-50% red is about right.

Any service-oriented wine merchant will provide a consume-or-return option – i.e. whatever you don’t use you can bring back for a full refund – so, if you’re worried about running out of one or both, you can always buy a little more to be on the safe side, knowing you can return whatever you don’t need. (And yes, of course we do!)

2. HOW MUCH TO SPEND?

There’s two real issues here: (i) what do we have to spend to get something half-decent, and (ii) what’s our overall budget?

We’ve spoken before on the implications of the high fixed duty rate on wine in Ireland, meaning that a €6 bottle of wine is almost 60% tax, whereas at €10, it’s a little over 40%. An extra €4 buys a lot ‘more’ wine in other words. The counter to that is that you’re buying a lot of wine in quantity terms. If your wine budget is €500 and you’ve the above example of 150 guests, you’re looking at €500 divided by 75 bottles. So, you either try to get the best wine you can at €6.67, or you allow a little bit more on your budget.

Generally speaking, €8 to €12 should get you a very acceptable quality of wine. Below that, the proportion of tax means there’s relatively little investment in the actual wine – of course on a sliding scale. On the flip-side, spending more than €12 comes down to how generous/indulgent/flash you want to be – will 150 people fully appreciate the extra expense of the Grand Cru Chablis that you and your partner indulge in at the weekends?

3. RECEPTION AND TOAST DRINKS?

The reception drink is now almost customary, celebrating the official ceremony and welcoming guests to the reception venue. Similarly, the official ‘toast’, often at the end of the speeches, will require another course of drinks to be considered.

For the reception drink, most hotels offer punch, cocktails or sparkling wine, so the option to bring your own bubbly will often be open to you as well. Weigh up the cost of the hotel providing this, versus bringing your own and paying additional corkage, and you can see fairly quickly which represents better value. For the toast, hotels can provide a bar service where orders are taken from guests during the meal. This is a nice touch, but you’ve got to weigh up the average cost of a pint of Guinness/gin and tonic/double brandy, versus the other option of more wine or bubbly.

Often, bringing your own sparkling wine can be much more cost effective, as you can get 8-9 glasses out of a bottle thanks to the smaller size of a standard Champagne ‘flute’. A toast for 150 people could be covered by 20 bottles therefore, although you may want to allow more the reception drinks, as people are more likely to ask for top-ups!

4. WHAT TO BUY.

Whether you’re a seasoned wine drinker or a tee-totaller, the type of wine you choose for your wedding can still be a tricky one. You’re catering for different ages, genders, tastes and wine-drinking experience – how do you pick wines that please everybody?

The first and best piece of advice is “you can’t”. What you can do however is pick wines that appeal to the majority – so-called ‘crowd-pleasers’. Stick with safe, dare we suggest middle-of-the-road, styles. Soft, fruit-driven styles dominate the core wine-drinking market, so no matter how much you love the earthy, barnyard flavours of Burgundy Pinot or the sweet muskiness of Alsace Riesling, you’re probably not going to appeal to the majority of your guests with those choices.

Get advice from your local wine merchant on some suggestions, then organise a tasting party to get a consensus – family, friends and/or the bridal party are good places to start. It’ll give you an idea of which wines appeal to the majority and it’s a good excuse for a fun get-together ahead of the big day.

5. WHERE TO BUY!

Despite the high duty rates and the proximity of France and, in particular, Northern Ireland, there are some compelling reasons to buy your wine in Ireland.

Firstly, there’s the accessibility, advice and recommendations of a good wine merchant. Judge them on their recommendations then decide are they good value versus, for example, the local supermarket (and we won’t get into that again!).

Secondly, back to point 1 on how much wine to buy, check before you buy and you should be able to return any unopened wine after the wedding, ensuring you don’t run out of red because everyone decided to have the beef main course.

Thirdly, many wine merchants will offer delivery to your venue as part of the service. This saves you having to organise collection and delivery in the last few days up to the wedding. (Yes, we do that too, and for free.)

Finally, there is further value in convenience when it comes to buying the wine. In comparing the cost of going to France or even Newry, factor in your time, the cost of transport, any meals or accommodation, and the risk of picking up 100 bottles of Chateauneuf du Vinegar if you don’t get a chance to sample what you’re purchasing.

NEED ANY MORE HELP?

All the pointers above are from our own experience, supplying couples all over Ireland with the perfect wines for their wedding day. We’re delighted to take enquiries and provide advice over the phone, or in person six days a week in our Bandon warehouse. For further details click here and for full contact details click here.

Straight from the Look and Taste kitchen, we have yours truly on the 3 essentials to picking a wine glass, with the ‘+1′ on how much wine you should put into it (if you’re into your wine etiquette!).

Kind of obvious, but at the very least you’ll know now why “traditional” wine glasses look like they do – and why, sometimes, you shouldn’t mess with tradition.

Bit like the old Jif Lemon ad on Pancake Day, just don’t forget the wine!

Thanks to Niall & Aaron at Look and Taste.

One thing I’ve noticed since we started a wine business last year is the giddy nervousness that friends develop when bringing a bottle of wine to the house. I typically get one of two (often self-deprecating) quips as I’m handed a bottle, usually shrouded in a bag or hidden in a box of other goodies:

(1) ‘I don’t know anything about wine but you can always use this for cooking if its not up to much!’ – or

(2) ‘I guess you’ll be used to much better stuff these days, but I couldn’t bring you one of your own wines!’.

This experience vexes me greatly! But having thought about it I’ve realised that, actually, bringing a bottle anywhere brings a certain level of anxiety. Whether it’s your local supermarket, or the off-licence down the road, the choice these days can be overwhelming, and if you’re not au fait with which Sauvignon is red or whether “an eclectic blend from several EU states” is a good thing, picking a bottle that won’t embarrass either you or your host can be daunting!

So, following on from my five wine tips to enhance your dining forever, here are my five wine tips for bringing a bottle anywhere.

(1) Don’t bring anything that you wouldn’t drink yourself. This applies to going over the top as well as buying something too cheap. If you wouldn’t normally drink it yourself, don’t depersonalise your gift by buying something that’s not you.

(2) Match to the occasion. A family barbeque demands something casual and easy-drinking, whereas a romantic meal for two may require something a little more serious. How much time will you or your host spend considering the wine? If the likelihood is not a lot, don’t spend a fortune on it.

(3) Think about how many people will be drinking the wine. If you’re attending a house party, chances are your bottle will get added to the 20 given by other guests. Abiding by tip (1), get something accessible and easy-drinking, that will appeal to different tastes. (Alternatively, make a point of saying to your host that you’ve got them something special, so that they can put it aside for another evening!)

(4) Don’t be afraid to seek out something different. Think about, it’s nice to receive something you wouldn’t buy very often yourself (and I don’t mean Buckfast – again see tip (1)). Dessert wines or pink Champagnes make lovely novelties and also remove any concern over food matching if there’s a meal being served.

(5) Avoid branded wines or wines in quirky bottles. At the risk of generalising, these tend to be more about the packaging than the wine inside the bottle. They also show a complete lack of imagination. If you want something recognisable, pick up a Chablis or a Beaujolais but from a small or unknown producer. This is where an independent merchant with well trained staff comes into its own, and you won’t pay more for the free advice.

The bottom-line is that when receiving any gift it’s so much more appreciated when you know the giver has spent some time thinking about it, or made a particular effort to find it. Do the same when giving wine and I promise you’ll get asked back – assuming of course you want to.