Choose the Best Wine for Your Wedding

Your wedding day is a celebration of love and unity, shared with friends and family—and what better way to enhance those moments than thoughtfully chosen food and wine pairings?

When choosing the best wine for your wedding, you need to consider various factors. Remember, the most expensive option isn’t always the best. You should instead focus on the small details. Should you go for red or white? Will you be serving Champagne or another form of sparkling wine?

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of harmonizing your menu, from appetizers and entrées to desserts and wedding cakes. You’ll find general advice on food and wine pairings, as well as specific examples that can elevate your special day.

How Much Wine Should I Buy for the Wedding?

When buying wine for your wedding, your first question will probably be: how many bottles do we need?

A general rule of thumb is to calculate half to three-quarters of a bottle per person, assuming that most guests will drink two or three glasses with dinner. However, you’ll need to consider factors such as the duration of your celebration, your guests’ preferences and whether other alcoholic beverages will be served. Remember that factors like the time of day, the formality of your event and the size of your guest list can also influence wine consumption.

Consider adding an extra 10–20% to your initial wine estimate, as this will help ensure you won’t run out of wine during the event.

A standard 750ml/25oz bottle of wine delivers five glasses, so a case of wine containing 12 bottles will provide approximately 60 glasses of wine.

Things to Consider When Finding the Best Wine for Your Wedding

Here are some essential things to think about:

Season: Certain wines can be suited for specific times of year. An elegant red wine is ideal if you’re getting married in the fall or winter. Conversely, a summer or spring wedding might call for a breezy white or dry rosé.
Location and theme: Will your wedding be a casual and relaxed outdoor summer gathering, or are you envisioning an elegant and sophisticated indoor winter wedding? Matching the style of your chosen wine to your wedding theme can be a good idea. For example, you may opt for older, more classic wine varieties and vintage Champagne if hosting a formal wedding in a historic venue.
Number of courses: Your food and wine choices should complement each other, creating a deliciously complex eating experience. If you opt for a traditional three-course plated meal, providing one versatile red and white wine should suffice. But if you have more than three courses, you might want to provide specific choices to suit each dish better.

Popular Wine and Food Pairings for Weddings

Appetizers

A light start to the wedding meal, appetizers are designed to whet your guests’ appetites for an upcoming entrée. Standard appetizers for a sit-down plated meal include soups, salads or seafood dishes such as shrimp cocktails.

When choosing a wine to pair with lighter dishes like these, look for something light- to medium-bodied with soft tannins, such as a Pinot Grigio or a Beaujolais.

Red Meat Entreés

Options like prime rib and braised beef are crowd pleasers at weddings, but you’ll want the right red wine to elevate the dishes. Easy-drinking wines like Pinot Noir might be overpowered by the dishes’ big, beefy flavors, so a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah might be the best wine to choose here.

White Meat Entreés

Available in a variety of preparations, chicken is a hugely popular dish for weddings. Following the rule of ‘white meat, white wine,’ consider a lighter, refreshing Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc rather than a fuller-bodied, oaked wine.

Seafood Entreés

White wines also pair perfectly with seafood, such as shrimp, salmon and crab.

You’ll want a white wine with complementary mineral and citrus notes that won’t overpower the seafood’s natural undertones. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio again make great options here, but so does a refreshing Albariño from Spain. For seafood dishes served in a creamy sauce, a fuller-bodied Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc can work well.

Vegetarian Entreés

Choosing an appropriate wine for a vegan or vegetarian dish can be tricky. The range of meat-free dishes varies greatly, from leafy salads to vegetable pastas and lasagnas, and their distinct flavors and textures require careful consideration.

For dishes made from fresh greens like pea soup and asparagus risotto, a white wine with herbal notes, such as Grüner Veltliner, is ideal. But for ‘meatier’ vegetable dishes, like stuffed mushroom and roasted eggplant, you should match the intense earthy flavors with a punchy red like Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon.

Desserts

For chocolate-based desserts like tiramisu or mousse, a smooth, medium-bodied red packed with silky, red-fruit flavors like a Merlot or Pinot Noir is a treat. For desserts with a creamy texture, such as cheesecake, the zippy acidity of a Riesling can effectively counterbalance the rich creaminess.

Wedding Cake

Traditionally made with layers of white sponge cake filled with either buttercream, ganache or cream cheese frosting, a wedding cake is sweet, light and the centerpiece of the wedding meal.

Champagne, Prosecco or other sparkling wines are popular options when pairing wine with a wedding cake. The effervescence and acidity of these sparkling wines complement the sweetness and richness of the cake. The light, celebratory nature of sparkling wines also makes them a perfect fit for toasting to the newlyweds and adding an extra layer of festivity to the occasion.

Do I Need Champagne at My Wedding?

The Champagne toast is a typical wedding tradition, but all that bubbly could wreck your budget. If it’s something you still want to do but are concerned about the cost, why not swap out the Champagne for an equally luxurious but more affordable sparkling option?

Prosecco and Cava are popular alternatives to Champagne, with lighter bubbles and more fruity flavors than the iconic French sparkling wine. But if you want to offer your guests something different, how about an elegant Crémant? Made using the same traditional method as Champagne, this French sparkling wine has light flavors of honey, blossom and citrus, as well as a delicate acidity.

Shop our selection of wedding-ready sparkling wines.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Courtney, Personal Wine Advisor

One of my greatest intrigues is people and how complex, unique, & exciting each of us is. I find my love of wine stems from those same characteristics, just on the other side of a corkscrew.

WSET – Level 2 Wines Certified

Lightly Oaked Pinot Noir • South African Viognier • Portuguese Red Blends • Bright & Fresh Rosé • Australian Cabernet

courtney@laithwaites.com | (203) 523-2121