Open Bar?

Denise40 · August 2014

I'm having an open bar with top shelf liqueur. We bring the liqueur. That's not the problem.. Should I have wine and if so, what kind? I only like a few myself but not sure what others might like. TIA

mysticl · August 2014

I would do wine. I suggest a red and a white but I'm not the right person to give you specific kinds.

Lauderdale Pink · August 2014

You should have wine also. I would use a Chardonnay for white and a merlot for red. These are options that would allow you to use a less expensive label without quality issues. Other whites, ex. pinot grigio, are more "taste specific" and heavier reds, say pinot noir or chianti, don't translate well to a less expensive label.

southernbelle0915 · August 2014

I agree with PPs - you might want to have basic wine choices. Id go with a Cabernet sauvignon and a sauvignon blanc for your red and white.

I am not a fan of chardonnay - especially the stuff usually served at weddings.

Maggie0829 · August 2014

Yes, you should definitely have wine. I prefer white so I can only offer suggestions for that. I would have a Riesling and a Pinot Grigio. I absolutely detest Chardonnay, especially the crap that is usually served at weddings. If I were you I would buy a few bottles of different reds and whites and have a wine tasting party at your house. Then serve the one's that are most well liked in your crowd. I would have at least two kinds of both white and red.

Denise40 · August 2014

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. A wine tasting party would be fun. I like sweet desert type wines myself so this will be fun.

manateehugger · August 2014

Chardonnay is such a tricky choice. If you don't know your wine, I suggest avoiding it. I can't stand most American Chardonnays, and I'm a huge wine drinker (and cheap chardonnays should be illegal - they're usually God awful).

Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc are good standard whites; Reisling is on the sweet side, but most enjoy it. I'd have at least one sweet and one on the dryer side.

For reds, Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon are decent choices. I like adding in Malbecs or fruitier Zinfadels too.

ashleyep · August 2014

Maggie0829 said:

Yes, you should definitely have wine. I prefer white so I can only offer suggestions for that. I would have a Riesling and a Pinot Grigio. I absolutely detest Chardonnay, especially the crap that is usually served at weddings. If I were you I would buy a few bottles of different reds and whites and have a wine tasting party at your house. Then serve the one's that are most well liked in your crowd. I would have at least two kinds of both white and red.

Chardonnay is one of these things that I have to force down a glass of before I can enjoy it at all. Then I'm fine drinking it for the rest of the night.

I love reisling, but I would say that Chardonnay and Pinto Grigio or Sauvignon Blank are more standard if you only have one or two options

MandyMost · August 2014

Not to offend anyone, but it seems as if the older crowds often default to Chardonnay for a white, and younger crowds default to a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Honestly, I've never met anyone under the age of 40 or so who's ever ordered a glass of Chardonnay, but it's what my aunts all serve at parties.

My venue is suggesting 2 reds and 2 whites. That way you can do a heavier red and lighter red, and a sweeter white and a dryer white.

banana468 · August 2014

I'm going to echo @MandyMost and see if you can serve two reds and two whites. I'll drink chardonnay but I don't like very heavy oaky ones which makes ordering it at wedding a roll of the dice. I've also found that merlot is not very full-bodied for my taste especially when I'm eating red meat. However, they're both popular choices for a lot of people. I'd add a Sauvingon Blanc and a Cabernet Sauvignon as other options.

ohannabelle · August 2014

MandyMost said:

Not to offend anyone, but it seems as if the older crowds often default to Chardonnay for a white, and younger crowds default to a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Honestly, I've never met anyone under the age of 40 or so who's ever ordered a glass of Chardonnay, but it's what my aunts all serve at parties.

My venue is suggesting 2 reds and 2 whites. That way you can do a heavier red and lighter red, and a sweeter white and a dryer white.

I would think the opposite, being an actual older person. I have not one friend who would drink Chardonnay. I think it's more of your aunties thing, not an age thing.

NYCMercedes · August 2014

This oldie hates Chardonnay with a passion. Why do people generalize?

Denise40 · August 2014

I can bring whatever I want since I will be paying for it. The bartender will be the one serving it. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm a Moscato kind of girl lol.

cafarrie · August 2014

We brought all our own alcohol as well, but decided it would be a huge pain to try and estimate with hard liquor. Most of our crowd is beer drinkers so we had 4 different beers 1 dark, 1 "lite", one summer shandy, and one wheat. Wine: Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio and a small amount of white zin (sweet obviously - and we have a few grandmas and cousins that drink exclusively white zin, lol). Wine was very well received and we had almost none left over! We picked a mid-price brand and waited for it to go on sale at our local grocery store. We wanted a couple choices other than beer and wine, so we had margaritas (pre-mixed Jose cuervo brand) and a sweet sparkling red moscato. Everyone seemed happy with the selection and I think as long as it's free people won't complain about the choices - especially with top shelf open bar!!!!

bahamabride2015 · August 2014

ohannabelle said:

MandyMost said:

Not to offend anyone, but it seems as if the older crowds often default to Chardonnay for a white, and younger crowds default to a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Honestly, I've never met anyone under the age of 40 or so who's ever ordered a glass of Chardonnay, but it's what my aunts all serve at parties.

My venue is suggesting 2 reds and 2 whites. That way you can do a heavier red and lighter red, and a sweeter white and a dryer white.

I would think the opposite, being an actual older person. I have not one friend who would drink Chardonnay. I think it's more of your aunties thing, not an age thing.

Lol I think the moral of the story here is nobody likes chardonnay.

Denise40 · August 2014

I will make note of that lol

JoanE2012 · August 2014

Denise40 said:

I can bring whatever I want since I will be paying for it. The bartender will be the one serving it. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm a Moscato kind of girl lol.

Me too!

peachy13 · August 2014

MandyMost said:

Not to offend anyone, but it seems as if the older crowds often default to Chardonnay for a white, and younger crowds default to a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Honestly, I've never met anyone under the age of 40 or so who's ever ordered a glass of Chardonnay, but it's what my aunts all serve at parties.

My venue is suggesting 2 reds and 2 whites. That way you can do a heavier red and lighter red, and a sweeter white and a dryer white.

sooo true in my experience. my friends and I (late 20's, early 30's) drink Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc. Moms and aunties are strictly Chardonnay.

At my venue we're doing open bar with wine choices of Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Pinot Noir.

KatieinBkln · August 2014

Chalk me up as another Chardonnay-hater. I have had exactly ONE that I liked, and it was a highly untraditional, unoaked version.

Cheap Chardonnay is an affront unto god.

But, to offer some help: Trader Joe's and Costco are good places to get the kind of quantity you'll need at a good price. Sometimes they are so good about discounts that you'll be able to afford a nicer wine than you would otherwise be able to. If you walk in with a budget and a headcount, the staff at both places should be able to get you set up nicely.

southernbelle0915 · August 2014

KatieinBkln said:
Cheap Chardonnay is an affront unto god.

This!!!

Open Bar?

Re: Open Bar?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards