The question of how much wine to buy for a wedding or event is often a cause of stress for people. As wine is a major cost centre it is important to get the quantities right. For many people the thought of running out of wine fills them with fear at the thought of forever being remembered as ‘frugal bottomed’ by all their freinds and family for ever more. On the other hand Irish people in particular are firm beleivers that free alcohol tastes better and many are capable of drinking a river dry.
The advice from corkage is that it is better to be looking at it than for it!, easy for you to say I hear you cry as you are selling wine…yes but we also have a sale or return policy so if you don’t use it we will take it back. The amount of wine you will need obviously depends on the number of guests you have, the length of the recption and whether your freinds and family are booze hounds or not.
As a guide at a recent wedding in the Grand Hotel in Malahide, a duo of Concerta Pinot Grigio and Domaine St. Jacques d’Albas Minervois were served (both went down a treat!) with mains of Salmon and rack of lamb. Prosecco Il Cortigiano was served for the reception on arrival. The wedding was for 150 guests. The total amount of wine consumed was 48 bottles of white, 36 bottles of red and 60 bottles of prosecco. For the main meal this works out at just under a half a bottle per person. The fact that more white than red was drunk was probably due to the fact that it was a lovely sunny day. The 60 bottles of prosecco Il Cortigiano were consumed as it was delicious, light and refreshing and the first drink of the day after the church etc.
As a general word of advice, someone from the wedding party (i.e. the best man or a groomsman) should be tasked with overseeing the pouring of drinks. At many venues the staff tend to be minimum wage teenagers more concerned with checking out the talent at the wedding than pouring wine. Someone needs to keep an eye on the guests to make sure that they do not have to beg for a refill or that the staff are not throwing the wine around (filling glasses to the rim for example). The appointed person should also check that the white is chilled and the red at room temperature (red stored in the boot of a car will generally be too cold ).
The arrival of coffee or the provision of a drink for the final toast is a clear signal to guests that the flow of wine is coming to an end. Most people are happy to stretch their legs after a meal and speeches and go to powder their nose etc. Guests then head to the bar as the newly weds get ready for the first dance. At this stage everyone should have a warm glow from good food good wine and heart warming speeches, meanwhile the honeymoon creeps ever closer………….