There’s a lot of talk about alcohol, when it comes to planning an event. Whether to have an open bar or cash bar, or even a martini bar are all loaded questions. But did you know you could buy wine at discounted prices by the case direct from the vineyard? It may actually save you money when cost comparing bar options. Since most people drink wine with their dinner at a formal event, you can get away with limiting your bar to wine and champagne only.
So, how do you know when to serve white or red? How do you know which vineyard to buy your wine from and what makes a good wine? There are a lot of questions about wine and not many resources to educate the average consumer. However, a good hostess should know a little wine etiquette about wine when planning the perfect event.
First know that connoisseurs of wine all have their favorites. Just as you might have your favorite meal that you like because of the flavors, different people like different bouquets of wine. Some prefer sweeter wines and some prefer wines with more tannin (aged wines that have grown bolder, as they retain more of the oak flavoring). Many vineyards strategically plant edible flowers around their vineyards enhancing the floral aroma of the grape. In any event, people like what they like and thus you should have a small variety of wines. Increasing your knowledge of wines will help make you a more conscientious consumer.
The acidity in wines enhances the flavor of food. In many dishes, lemon or lime is added to enhance the flavor. Drinking wine with a meal does much the same thing. A wine should not overpower the meal, but rather compliment it. As a general rule of thumb, the heavier the meal, the fuller the wine should be. A full-bodied wine should be rich and have great legs. (If you’re reading this out loud, it sounds better and any man will listen closely). By great legs, I mean that the wine in a wine glass, once swirled, will drip slowly from the sides of the glass into the mass of the wine creating “legs”. If you don’t see “legs” the wine is lighter with less saturated texture and color. Swirling also releases oxygen into the wine letting more of the fragrance of wine into the air. Your favorite flavors and smells should be in the wine such as vanilla, plums, and nuts.
Every viticulturalist and every wine maker has their personal touch that they add to wine, which will captivate a large variety of palettes. Albeit, there are purists who do not add anything to the wines as the flavors are stemming from the aging process and the oak. When you think of vineyards and wineries, compare them to world-renowned chefs. For example, Emril is a famous chef who likes to add zesty peppery flavors to his recipes to “Bam! Kick it up a notch”. Wolfgang Puck might add shredded carrots or other fruits and sweet vegetables to give an entrée a very unique Parisian-Californian flavor. They each make exquisite meals and a totally awesome pizza. Whether you like the Italian flavors or the Californian flavors is up to you. When you are comparing labels, take a look at the back. Look for flavors that you especially enjoy. Some are aged in French oak barrels and some are not. Smell the wines to see what aromas you smell. Do you smell roses? Or do you smell nutmeg? Do some taste testing of your own before purchasing cases of wine. Because you are buying wine by the case, you will likely buy more wine than your guests can drink. Therefore, make certain it’s a wine that you’ll enjoy for many romantic dinners to come.
Okay, so know that you know the basics of flavors of wine, it’s time to discern light-bodied wines from full-bodied wines. The lighter of the whites are Pinot Blanc, French Colombard, Semillon, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Muscadet, and Pinot Grigio. (There are others, but if I started listing all of the ones available in all corners of the world we’d be here all day.) These tend to go best with sole, snapper, shrimp, scallops, clams and oysters. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc tend to be fuller (depending upon the grower) and are served best with veal, salmon, lobster, duck and roast chicken. These two tend to be the best known amongst the American set and would suffice if you were limiting the varieties of wine you wish to purchase. In SoCal, Viognier and Grenache Blanc are becoming more well known and could be substituted. However, many people think of white as a nice accompaniment to salads and appetizers. Because of this, you absolutely need both whites and reds
Moving on to the reds….Pinot Noir is the lightest of the reds. In SoCal, Grenache or Zinfandel are on the rise and are also light in body and color and can be substituted and pairs with most things white goes with. Fuller-bodied reds include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Rioja and Chianti (there are others, but this will suffice). Cabernet and Merlot seem to be the favorites in this crowd. All will go nicely with lamb, pork, steak, or venison. In SoCal, GSMs (Grenache, Syrah Mourvedreh blends) are on the rise and can be substituted. Reds should be served in a different style of glass, as white and reds are aged differently. The wider the glass, the more the aroma and oxygen are released. Because reds are aged longer, they tend to be heavier. Thus, a larger rimmed glass is necessary to fully enjoy the complex perfume of the wine.
Wine with dessert is on the rise and if you know what you’re tasting, you’ll enjoy it too. Late harvest wines, Port and Sherry go very well with nutty desserts, as well as chocolate, poached fruits and vanilla ice cream. Muscat and Riesling enhances the flavor of crème brule, fruit tarts, sorbet, and cookies such as almond or biscotti. If you are having a very formal wedding, serving a dessert wine with a fruit compote in addition to the wedding cake, will round off a night of elegance. Brandy can also be served as an after dinner treat, but goes better with cigars. The port or sherry glass is brought to the table on a silver tray. Having a place of distinction, one would never have the dessert glassware preset on the table with all of the other common glasses.
Now that you know the types of wine, if you are an American, you are privy to the best wines in the world (that’s my American pride talking). California wine growers make all of the varieties listed above. Robert Mondavi Woodbridge, Berringer, Monterey, R.H. Phillips, Beaulieu Coastal, Beuna Vista, and Round Hill all produce bottles at less than $10.00 per bottle (cheaper by the case). These will suffice for an average event. For more upscale, look for local producers. Whatever county you live in, choose wines from that county. An expensive bottle of wine is not necessarily better than a cheaper bottle. Production, marketing and distribution are heavier allocations of cost as opposed to better tasting. If you are trying to increase pomp and circumstance offer a larger variety of varietals (ie. Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir). Those who are better educated in wine will have different styles of wines with different courses. Thus, the more variety of types (ie. Riesling and Pinot Noir) as opposed to variety of labels (ie. Mondavi and Berringer), is the way to go. Of course, if money is no object, offer at least three choices of labels (vineyards) with some being Reserve Wines (wines that have been aged longer) for each category of wines (types of whites and types of reds), rounding off with a more expensive bottle of port for dessert. You can always give left over bottles of wine away as gifts to your service providers.
My suggestion: for a dinner reception buy equal amounts of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Then buy a half as much of a port wine for dessert. If you are having a luncheon reception, buy half as much as you would for a dinner reception, but (depending upon what food is served) substitute Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Chianti in lieu of Merlot and Cabernet. At lunch have the glasses filled half as full as you would for a dinner reception.
Regarding the vintage (the year the wine was produced), it ranges depending upon the harvest and the weather conditions. Nowadays, everyone has drip systems, so all wines have enough water and enough sun. But some years, such as 2011 that had the super volcano in Iceland caused summer rains for everyone. That prevented the Cabernets and other heavier wines from achieving the optimum brix (sugar) levels. Heavy tannic wines (such as Cabernet Sauvignon) need more time on the vine, in the barrel and in the bottle to soften. However, most wines are intended to be consumed within one year.
How much to buy? Each bottle of wine yields approximately 4-5 glasses of wine. Each bottle of champagne/sparkling serves 6-10 glasses. Each person will drink one glass (can be half full) of champagne and 1-2 glasses of wine. If dessert wine or sherry is offered, the glass the alcohol should be served in is considerably smaller and thus a bottle will yield closer to 10-12 glasses. If there are no special “sherry” glasses, then ask the servers to only pour half glassfuls of the dessert wine. People are winding down and tend not to drink as much “dessert” wine. A full glass would likely be wasted if poured. The champagne will stretch further (and produce more bubbles) if each glass is served with a strawberry. Please note: strawberries are not economical in the winter months. However, you can also instruct the servers to only pour partially full glasses. Be wary of corkage fees and some reception facilities will not allow you to bring in your preferred wines so ask your facility these questions.
A really elegant party favor is to have a folded menu/wine list with everything that is being served at your wedding. This will help people decide what wine to have with their appetizers and meal. You can also attach it to mini bottles of wine that you can give away as favors. Some growers will even print special labels for you to apply on your keepsakes.
Finally, I wish to convey a thought about wines produced in other regions. If your family is primarily from France, Chile, Hungary, or Italy then serve wines from those regions. They are all comparable to California wines equally varying in price. Yet in recent taste tests made up of both French and American panelists, California wines surpassed the competition. However, it all comes down to what’s in the soil, yearly and regionally climatic conditions and the growers and wine makers themselves (chefs as I think of them). But people are nostalgic and loyal by trait. Ask a Frenchman, which is better, and of course the answer will be French wines. Therefore, although I strongly recommend the palettes of California growers, think of your heritage at your family event and buy wine from the heart as well as the purse.
