How to Choose Wine For Your Wedding in 4 Simple Steps

Step 1: red, white, rosé? There is one general rule, that you need to follow: red white goes well with meat, and white wine is served with salads, fish and chicken. However, it's allowed to experiment and serve white wine with meat and red wine with fish. If you want to serve only one wine, then opt for rosé wine, it's refreshing and substantial enough to drink with meat.

Step 2: sparkling wine? Champagne is very expensive, but it's traditional for toasts and many couples like to serve it with dessert. Well, you can save a lot, if you opt for sparkling wine instead of champagne. Italian sparklers are as good as traditional wine from Champagne, but it will cost you twice less. By the way, if you want to serve sparkling wine with cake, then look for “demi-sec” with 3.3 to 5 percent sugar. It's sweet and will complement the cake. Sparklers that are labeled “brut” will taste metallic with sweet desserts, because they don't contain enough sugar.

Step 3: how much to buy? The amount of wine you need to buy depends on different factors: quantity of guests, season of the year, duration of the party. In general caterers count the amount of wine this way: one bottle (750 ml, or 25 oz) contains five servings, a bottle of sparkling wine contains six servings; each guest is consuming about half a bottle every two hours, so if the party is going to last four hours, then you need about one bottle of wine for each guest. You may think, that it's a lot, but some will drink less, some more, and there are always people who don't drink at all. And if you think that it's not enough, then buy some extra wine, because it's better to have some wine left, than have no while guests still have the first course on their dishes.

Follow one more rule, if you want to buy red and white wine: there should be equal amount of both of them. However, white wine is consumed more in summer, because it has a refreshing taste. And red wine is consumed more in winter and autumn. Regarding this, buy an extra crate of red or white wine. All uncorked bottles you can return to the seller or keep for yourself.

Step 4: caterer's or your wine? When you're looking for the caterer and venue, always ask, if you can bring your own wine or you have to choose from the menu provided. For instance, hotels never allow to bring your own wine, and their menus are quite poor. Some caterers that have a license can provide you with any wine you want to. If the caterer doesn't have the license, then you need to buy the wine on your own.

If you order wine from the caterer, then look for hidden expenses, like fees for uncorking and pouring. In general it's $15 per bottle, doesn't matter, if you bring your wine or order from caterers. But even here you can save, you only need to count, how much the same wine will cost if you order it from the winery (the more crates you take, the bigger your discount will be) or caterer. If you order the wines that are less than $15, then it's more economical to use caterer's list.