Wedding Wines

Wedding Wines

Choosing a wine list for your wedding doesn't have to be as daunting as it sounds. Here are some handy tips from [yellow tail] on how to be smart about designing a premium wine list for the special occasion.

Quality
Wine is a very special element of the reception, helping to enhance the dining experience and to make guests feel special. Many reception venues will allow you to supply your own wine. This may incur a corkage fee, but you will be able to avoid the venue mark-up prices and for the benefit of knowing you are offering your guests something they are likely to enjoy and that is special to you.

[yellow tail] has an exceptional range of premium Reserve wines that have been carefully crafted to a superior level of quality without the hefty price tag. The Recommended Retail Price (RRP) is a palatable $14.99.

Variety
When planning a wedding reception, the bride and groom must consider a large number of guests, all with different tastes and preferences. The solution is to provide plenty of variety. Offer two varieties of sparkling, white and red wine. As guests arrive, offer them a sparkling white and sparkling rosé to choose from, then as the first course is being served, move on to still wine varieties. Guests who like young, crisp and refreshing white wine will enjoy the [yellow tail] Reserve Pinot Grigio and others who prefer something with a bit more weight to it will appreciate the bright fruit flavour and creamy vanilla notes in the [yellow tail] Reserve Chardonnay.

Offer two contrasting red wines such as the [yellow tail] Reserve Merlot, which has a smooth and soft texture with subtle red fruit flavours, and [yellow tail] Shiraz, a more robust and fruit forward style red wine with plenty of red cherry flavour.

It's a good idea to offer white and red wine throughout the entire evening, rather than serve white strictly with the first course and red with the second. Allow guests to make their own rules - perhaps they would prefer a red with their chicken or fish and a white with their steak. When it comes to wine, it should be about enjoying the experience rather than worrying about the rules!

Quantity
When it comes to sorting out how much wine you need to buy, remember this general rule of thumb - there are approximately five glasses of wine per bottle. It is a much safer option to have too much wine rather than not enough, so allow for five glasses per person. Some guests might not drink wine at all so you should have a decent amount of wine left over to put in your own cellar or to send as thank you gifts to people after the wedding.

White wine is slightly more popular than red at an event like a wedding so the ratio should be 60white:40red. Consider your bubbles supply based on two glasses per person at the beginning of the event and another glass for everyone later on to toast the bride and groom.

Budget
Spending money carefully doesn't have to compromise the quality of the wine you choose for your wedding. Do your research first and discover premium quality in wine such as the [yellow tail] Reserve range for an affordable RRP of $14.99 per bottle, available at all good liquour outlets. For a guest list of 100 people, allow for one bottle per person = $1,499.

Tasting notes:
2008 [yellow tail] Reserve Pinot Grigio: Pinot Grigio is an increasingly popular white wine variety in Australia. It originates in Italy and is crisp, light and full of fruit flavours like pear, apple and lime.
2009 [yellow tail] Reserve Chardonnay: Chardonnay is a classic white wine variety. The winemakers have carefully balanced the oak treatment so that the fruit maintains its full and dominant flavour. Melon, peach and tropical fruits are balanced with a pleasant hint of vanilla.
2008 [yellow tail] Reserve Merlot: If red wine is more your thing, Merlot is a silky smooth option with rich dark berry fruit flavours. A portion of the wine has been aged in French and American oak barrels and this adds subtle flavours of dark chocolate and coffee.

2008 [yellow tail] Reserve Shiraz: Shiraz is a red wine with a little more spice to it. Fruit flavours of dark cherry are balanced with dark chocolate, spice and a hint of cracked pepper. It is a fuller bodied red wine and will fill your mouth with intense flavour.

For more information about [yellow tail], visit www.yellowailwine.com