A good friend of mine asked me if I could meet her and a friend who is getting married this summer. She wanted me to recommend wines for her wedding.
I never really thought about how much of a challenge it is to plan for a wedding: invitations, and location, dress, etc. I am sure the wine selection takes a back seat.
It was great to help my friend out, but it sure got me thinking. Who will be there? What time of year is the wedding? What will be served? Budget? How many people will be there? Do you want a champagne toast? Sit-down dinner? Buffet?
I tend to think a good wedding planner will have a list of go-to wines at different price points to help with the decisions. But I think it would be fun to do some exploring and figure out on my own what wine to serve.
Start simple
First things first: Keep it simple. I would serve one sparkling/champagne, one white and one red. If the wedding was in the summer, it would be fun to serve a rose instead of a white.
Think about the food that will be served: beef, chicken and/or seafood? It is much like picking wine for a wine dinner: Match the wine to the food. Lighter fare, lighter wine; heavier fare, heavier wine. Most people will serve lighter dishes for their spring and summer weddings.
There are a lot of affordable and delicious white wines from Washington that I would recommend to serve at a wedding. A few white varietals I would serve include a Pinot Gris, a drier-style Riesling or a Sauvignon Blanc. I would steer away from a Chardonnay (unless it is un-oaked) since many of them are too heavy to match lighter fare.
Airfield Estates out of Prosser makes an outstanding Pinot Gris, as well as un-oaked Chardonnay. Ryan Patrick also makes a great un-oaked Chardonnay. Haystack Needle/Eye of the Needle Winery out of Woodinville makes a white Harvest White that has won many awards and is a perfect wedding white. Milbrandt Vineyards makes some great whites, as well as reds for great prices.
One winery that way delivers above its price point is Columbia Crest: Its Two Vines Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon would be great wines to serve at a larger wedding where you need to be a little more cost-conscious.
This is a good time to bring up some of my favorite value-driven reds. Once again, Eye of the Needle Winery has some great, lighter, red blends that would be great for a wedding. Also, many wineries have Syrahs that are a little lighter in style and approachable. Boomtown, which is Dusted Valley’s second label, has excellent value-driven Syrahs, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon; they have a tasting room in Woodinville.
Hands-on planning
March is Washington Wine Month and a good time to do some exploring and enjoying of the many amazing wines out there. There are many wine events going on, culminating in the large Taste Washington event on March 23 and 24 at Centurylink Field Event Center.
This would be a great event to attend to try wines from more than 200 wineries and food from numerous restaurants. Get a group of friends together, break out a notebook and do some investigating.
Make what can be an incredibly stressful event to plan a fun learning experience. Let the wedding planner deal with the flowers, cake, etc. — get out there and drink some wine and plan.
JEFFREY DORGAN, the Washington Wine Commission’s 2009 Sommelier of the Year, is the wine director at Sullivan’s in Downtown Seattle. To comment on this column, write to QAMagNews@nwlink.com.