My little sister got married recently. We had a super day one of the hottest of the year and the scenery in West Cork where the wedding was – Breathtaking.

If I don’t mind saying so myself the wines were pretty amazing also. They had a Champagne reception in the walled garden complete with Jazz band, here vintage Jacquart rose was served from magnums ensuring everyone was in great form from the outset. 

For the red they chose a Sandalford Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River in Australia, this was a nod to Dec the groom’s brother who lives in Perth and has been to concerts in this super winery. The wine had a characteristic mint twist to it which paired amazingly with the open fire rack of lamb.

The white was an old favourite the Sancerre Terroir de Silex (which I also had at my wedding), this is a cracking wine with a steely minerality that lifts fish and poultry beautifully.

While the day was a resounding success, the build up with the venue was quite stressful, we wanted to supply mineral water for the tables and to our shock we were informed that a corkage charge of €3.50 would apply per bottle. Now whatever about Corkage on wine (€12.50 per bottle) this was just petty.

The venue were determined to squeeze every penny out of the wedding which created tension and a bad feeling in the run up. This brings up an inherent truism about weddings, for you it is the most important day of your lives but for most venues you are just another one of hundreds. Some venues disguise this better than others and make you feel special others fail at this like the venue in question as the proprietor declared to my sister ‘but I must make money!’.

If you find yourself in this position, keep a cool head, after all these people have your day in their hands and if you have a screaming match before the wedding they may not be too bothered to make an effort on the day. As the African saying goes…. do not insult the Crocodile until you have crossed the river.

Once you are back from honeymoon give them hell……..

Having completed the WSET Level 4 Diploma in wines and spirits I am delighted to become an asociate member of the institute of wines and spirits (AIWS). We even have a fancy coat of arms that we can use!!!

So you are getting married and money is no object…right? we didn’t think so!. We have been contacted by lots of couples and we have been delighted with the feedback on the site. One message that has been coming through loud and clear is that people are looking for value now more so than ever. Many couples are looking to source good wine but don’t have a big budget to allocate to it. Having looked at going up north or over to France etc. the reality of these options is that when you add in time, transport costs etc. these are not the dream solution either.

In response to this we at Corkage have launched a bin end service. We work with over 18 suppliers from boutique specialists to large wholesalers. We have access to batches of wine from these suppliers that may be discontinued lines or simply stock clearence. These wines can represent great value and are available in various quantities at different times. Basically you tell us what style of wine you have in mind and give us a rough idea of quantity required and we will put it out to tender. It never hurts to ask! and you never know we might stumble upon a real bargin.

As we are dealing in clearence batches we cannot offer our usual sale or return policy on bin end deals so you will just have to drink any left over wine yourselves! To get quoted for bin end deals just contact us and we will do the rest.