What is the Best Wine To Choose For Your Wedding Reception?

Getting ready for weddings is stressful… and expensive. Taking care of every little detail to make sure your special day is in fact special takes months of planning and organizing. Following the ceremony, the reception has many important steps, and each needs an amazing wine pairing.

This article will describe the best wines to pair with each of these important events that take place during a wedding reception.

Cocktail Hour

Following your ceremony, it is traditional to enjoy a cocktail hour for your guests to mingle, enjoy some drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and get the opportunity to congratulate the newlyweds.

It is always advantageous to have at least one wine to compete with the cocktail menu. In this case it is best to go with a wine best paired with cheeses, as charcuterie is common during happy hours.

Try this 2019 Corteza Vineyards Barbera, which will pair nicely with any and all charcuterie components. This wine’s natural acidity and supple tannins are perfect to balance and cut through rich foods like parmesan, gouda and burrata.

Dinner Service

If you plan on having a dinner service with your reception, it is important to pair your menu with complimentary wines. Here are a couple common wedding reception options and perfect wines to pair with them.

Duck / Salmon

Although these are two very different meats, they both have a rich and creamy flavor profile that needs a bold wine to pair. It is important to find a wine with bold, dark fruit flavors to cut that richness.

In this case, the 2020 Cline Petite Sirah would be perfect. This wine has bold, lingering flavors of blackberries and mocha that are sure to go nicely with either of these dishes.

If you’re also looking to add a vegetarian/vegan option like grilled Portobello mushrooms, this wine would be a great match as well.

Steak

There are many different types of steak commonly found at a wedding reception’s dinner menu, but to be safe, it is important to find a versatile wine that can pair nicely with any red meat that you throw at it.

The solution to this is, and always will be old vine zinfandel. Old vine zinfandel is commonly known to pair well with anything that you find in a meat aisle, but the heartier the better.

Look for Cline’s 2020 Ancient Vines Zinfandel, which will pair well with any and all steaks you pair with it. The wine is fermented in open top concrete tanks, providing a perfect environment for both rich flavor and color extraction. The flavors of cherry, vanilla and mocha combined with the quality of a smooth medium body are perfect to compliment but not overpower any steak.

The Toasts

Possibly the most important events that take place during the reception are the toasts. It is important to make sure that you are pouring something special and something that your guests will enjoy, as to not take away from the moment.

For the toasts, it is common to pour champagne, or rosè. If you are going to buy champagne, that is great, but it will not be cheap. A great alternative, that can be just as amazing, but will save you a few dollars that can be put towards another area of the wedding, is using rosè.

Try this fresh 2021 Mourvèdre Rosè from Cline in Contra Costa county. It has a great balance of sweetness and acid, giving off a lively mouthfeel with notes of plums and strawberries.

This wine is sure to give a great impression to all of your guests, and add one more amazing memory to complement the wedding toasts.

A Final Note on Wine for a Wedding Reception

A wedding day is remembered forever. It is important to do everything you can to make this day all amazing memories, and this includes all of the little details, like what wines you present to your guests.

All of these wines would create an amazing memory for a day filled with amazing memories, and are sure to make any wedding a little more special.