Drinks

Tygirljojo

So, refreshments wise, this is what we're thinking:

Alcohol:
Regular beer (on tap)
Light beer (on tap)
2 white wines
2 red wines

Non-alcoholic:
Water (duh)
Strawberry citrus sparkling punch
Coke
Diet Coke

Toast:
Choice of Asti Spumanti or sparkling cider

FI thinks we should also have Sprite as a soda option.  I know the caterer uses Sprite to make the punch, so I think it's unncessary - if they want non-caffienated they can have punch.  What do you guys think? 

And still deciding on wines but we know we'll do a merlot as a red and a chardonnay (yelch) as a white.  Anyone on here semi-familiar with wines?  I need someone to bounce ideas off of.  We're looking at using Columbia Crest's TwoVines wines since they come in magnum bottles.

dreamwinds

I love wine, but don't drink Columbia Crest.

What kind of food are you wanting to pair these wines with, potentially?

Tygirljojo

We do sometimes, depending on what it is.  We recently discovered the TwoVines when we saw them at Costco and for our budget and our taste, it's about right for us.

App:
Prawns w/cocktail sauce
BBQ Meatballs (makes FI happy)
Caprese salad skewers

Main meal:
Greens salad with raspberries, blueberries, candied walnuts and raspberry vinegrette
Grilled chicken marinated in lemon, garlic sauce
Grilled salmon with dill butter
Veggie primavera
Bread & butter

A fair amount of food with strong flavors/higher acidity levels.  We're getting a Merlot for FI but I prefer smoother reds like a good pinot noir (out of budget).  As for white both of us tend to prefer sweeter whites like Reisling, but we've heard a sweet would be a bad combo with the strong taste of our meal. So we know we'll do Chardonnay (which neither of us likes really) since it's the "staple white"  Our options for the wines: http://www.columbiacrest.com/twoVines/wines/

alyssa324

I am not here to help but......holy sh$t you have to think about all of this to pick out wine. Agh... I will be posting our menu ater LOL we are not wine drinkers

dreamwinds

I think a nice sauvignon blanc might be a good middle ground between the oaky butteryness of a chardonnay (which I really don't like), and the sweetness of a riesling that is difficult to pair with foods. Sauv-blancs tend to be fairly crisp with a light fruity (or sometimes floral) flavor to them. I think Columbia Crest has a sauv-blanc, if not, any Sauv-blanc from the New Zealand Malborough region will be good and hopefully can be workable with a budget.

Or, consider, perhaps, a viognier, which is a great summer sort of wine that is just a little bit sweeter than a sauv-blanc, but not as sweet as a riesling and works well with most seafoods and foods in general but can stand up on its own too.

As for another red option, have you tried any zinfindels or sangioveses? I'm not sure what your budget is for wine, but a few years ago the FI and I discovered this winery that makes a really tasty zinfindel that's fairly value in terms of bang for buck from Napa Cellars. At the time, we got it for 16 dollars a bottle cause we ordered a case and got percentage discounts. It stood up really well against steak and lamb, but was a great wine just to drink on its own too.

Does your venue allow for magnums? One of the venues we looked at had recently got burned by magnums and specifically listed 750ml or less bottles, or they'd charge double the corking fee.

Hope that helps a bit.

dreamwinds

Oh! Also, wines from Argentina and Chile tend to be really cheap. Malbecs from Argentina tend to be decent in general, but there are some potential misses and run anywhere from 6-12 bucks, but don't let the price deter you. For some reason, wines from that region tend to be really cheap.

And for something entirely different and totally unsolicited (but while we're on the subject of Chile), I love this Chilean sparkling wine called Fresita. It's basically strawberry champagne and is soooo good.

Tygirljojo

No restrictions at our venue for alcohol, plus bartender we are hiring from our caterer which is why we get to choose what we want to supply.

I've been recently turned onto Sauvignon Blancs.  They're tricky, though, kind of like Pinot Grigios.  I've had some that are more crisp while others are smoother bordering slightly sweet.  I actually had a glass of Columbia's Sauv Blanc last night for the second time.  Okay, a touch too crisp for me personally.  I have not yet tried Voignier, so I will look for that. 

FI and I started getting into Zins a year ago when he was down in CA for a work trip.  And we tried a Malbec a month ago which was quite good, just double the amount we want to pay per bottle for the wedding.

That Fresita champagne/sparkling wine sounds delicious - I'll have to look for it! Where do you find it?

And perhaps another dumb question - do all our wines have to be from the same vineyard?  Do they all have to be magnums?  I figured my way around that was to not display the bottles, but rather have sign posted listing the wine and beer choices, although I'm not sure what exactly to list for wine choice info (i.e. type, year, and region or include vineyard?)

dbraulik

My 2 cents is that you do need to have a Sprite/7up choice. I have been to many weddings/events where people want the carbonation... but they don't want fruity or cola. Is the caterer going to let you serve some of their Sprite? Maybe a carbonated water?

darby0422

I 2nd the Sauvignon Blanc choice.  It will go with your food selections much better than the Chard.  I think Viognier would be a great choice too, but since a lot of people are unfamiliar with it, I would stick with the Sauv. Blanc.

You can use whatever winery, vineyard, bottle size you want for your selections, just post the varietal on your signage, not the winery.

If you want some really great wines for an even better price, check out the "Under $7 Wine Buys" selection in the Specials category at www.esquin.com They are my favorite wine merchant in the Seattle area.  They are really friendly, helpful and have a huge selection.  Their website gives really great flavor descriptions, too.

It might be fun for you and FI and maybe even your local WP to have a wine party and pick up several bottles to try and see what you all like best.  This is also a good way to explore varietals you might not usually try, because you aren't out much $$ for a bottle.

Good luck!

karebear219

We didn't have sprite. We did have sparkling cider, but not one bottle was opened, so now I have eight bottles in my fridge. Since you have the punch, I think you are good.

jennlin

we gave our guests one beer choice (m&j), and they were plenty happy with it...i dont' think a light is necessary....for the caloric conscious, they can choose something different..at least that's my opinion. we didn't even come close to going through our 1 pony keg with 170 guests, so i wouldn't think you need 2 kegs on tap.

Tygirljojo

Yeah, looking at our selection of alcohol vs. non-alcoholic beverages, adding in the Sprite might be good to sort of even it out, although I probably will only have like half the amount of Sprite available as I would do the Coke/Diet Coke. 

Sounds like FI and I need to try the voigner soon.  

Jenn - FI and I like the light beer (Red Hook's Slim Chance) and I am calorie conscious, especially now.   Plus, we're going to have the kegs set up for the RD for serving then as well and knowing how our crowds are, we likely will go through most of the beer.

dreamwinds

Latching onto what Darby said, on your wine list all you really have to put down is the varietal of wine, but if you had time and wanted to get 'fancy' you could possibly do something like this:

Sauvignon Blanc
Washington 2008

Merlot
Washington 2004

Some people are really interested in where the wine is from or the year. XD

And yea, you can use whatever wines you want, mix and match with whatever tastes best that fits your budget.

As for Fresita, I can't find it in Seattle so I've usually ordered a case from online somewhere in the past and hoarded it for special occasions. It is just so good. I wish there was a distributor in the area. Every once in a while, I call in to local wine shops to see if they can get it for me since that'd be the easiest and cheaper option to buying it myself online. XD If you ever get the chance though...

KST_

OOooh....slim chance is soo good! It's the only drinkable light calorie beer, but it has good flavor

Personally, I don't really think you need the Sprite separately.

Tygirljojo

Dream - thanks, I like that idea with the varietal, region and year.  I'll likely do that.  About how much does the Fresita run per bottle?  Next time you order a case, I might be interested in going in with you on part of it with a couple bottles so I can try it out.  Sounds like something that would be good to share with the BP or have at a shower.

KST - I know, right?  About as close to a good micro taste as you can get with a light beer.

niq24601

Speaking as someone who didn't drink Sprite when I was a kid, I would have Sprite or Ginger Ale.

sarack

I would offer sprite. I wouldn't want coke or diet coke..

Is it bad that I don't care what will taste best with what we're serving?? I'm just gonna get 3 buck chuck....

Jennlin- your 170 guests didn't go through a pony keg? omg.... so does that mean I shouldn't get tw kegs for my like 100 guests?

jennlin

sarack~ depends on your crowd and other drink choices i guess..i really thought i had a heavy beer crowd..but we still had 1/3 left...we also had i think 5 wine choices and 3 mixed drink choices....so that probably limited the beer..