wines to go with beef or sea bass at wedding?

positivenote

HI guys, we are getting married in june and are looking to go north to get the wine after been charged 17euro a bottle of the house wine at the receiption. They are going to charge us 10euro corkage but if we can get a few bottles at 3 for 10 up north buying about 50-60 bottles we'll save a few bob. We dont drink wine ourselves so we would have a notion what to get. Can anyone recomend a red a nd white ti have at each table given the main course options are beef or sea bass. I have looked on sainsburys website and there seem to be a few at 3 for £10 but as i say i havent a clue what is good bad or vinegar...
Thanks in advace

CL32

Don't forget, corkage is one of the few things you can haggle with and get good results. I know people who have asked for the corks back to keep tabs on the wine they have supplied. (Alot of wine is left over after wedddings and taken home by staff, and i know of one case where a couple supplied 200+ bottles of wine and every one was opened before kick off, and he has what was left undrunk going mouldy in his shed with plastic caps on them)

Can't help with the choice I'm afraid. Unless you are in with a wine crowd, I'd say that over half your guests either like 'red' or 'white' wine so I wouldn't worry too much about grape/region/chateau/year etc. Go for a new world crowd pleaser if you are unsure.

MattKane

Hey, you'll need a white for the fish and a red for the beef. Usually around half a bottle for each person is enough. Some, like ourselves, will buy back any unopened bottles so that's worth trying to find someone who does that if you head up north. Generally you'll get a wine that's not so common with a higher price vs quality ratio from an independent wine merchant as opposed to a supermarket.

All the best!

the beer revolu

To be honest, the chances of any wine at 3 for £10 being any good are very slim.

positivenote

thanks for tha advice so far guys. the hotel are saying they charge 10euro a bottle for corkage, so if we buy 50 bottles at 3.50 a bottle (3 for tenner) we'd be saving a few bob not choosing the 17euro house wine they are offering.
Any recomendations on names would be great... i dont even know what you mean by saying a new world wine, such is my ignorance

muckety

Sainsbury's has Palo Alto (red) at 3.99 sterling, with a further 5% for 6+ bottles. There is a reasonable wine (Carmenere which is like merlot, blended with Shiraz). Sadly, the white Palo alto is not on special but there other whites at 3 for 10.

Marks and Spencer don't do a 3 for 10 but they do have wines at about the same price when you buy them by the case (eg 45 stg for a case of Ruy Diaz Verdejo WHITE and Gaston de Veau Merlot 48 swg) if you buy in NI - which would be worth checking out.

CL32

positivenote wrote: »

thanks for tha advice so far guys. the hotel are saying they charge 10euro a bottle for corkage, so if we buy 50 bottles at 3.50 a bottle (3 for tenner) we'd be saving a few bob not choosing the 17euro house wine they are offering.
Any recomendations on names would be great... i dont even know what you mean by saying a new world wine, such is my ignorance

Heh, I'm no wine buff either.

Old world wines are French / Italian / Spanish etc and (I think) are usually named by region.

New world wines are Aussie / New Zealand / South African / Chilean etc and (I think) are named by the grape variety eg Shiraz, Merlot etc.

Honestly can't help on the names though. If you or the other half have a favourite wine that you trust you should probably go with that. (Once its not Buckfast or you'll make the front page of the papers)

BeerNut

CL32 wrote: »

(Once its not Buckfast or you'll make the front page of the papers)

Not in Armagh, you wouldn't

trackcar

Hi

I got married last year and was in a simmilar situation, I also have a friend who is a continental truck driver and was taking wine back from france cheap,
I ended up going with the hotel wine for the following reason, the wine which the hotel will stock will be of good quality, It's hard to know what the quality of the wine you may buy in a supermarket will be like, Also
how much wine do you buy, you run a risk of running short or having a
large supply over, some simple sums,

if you buy 50 bottles at € 3.5 and pay €10 corkage thats € 675
60 bottles @ 3.5 + 10 = € 810

where as if the hotel uses 50 bottles at € 17 that €850

on the whole cost of a wedding 30k + saving € 175 is nothing
plus you do not have the hassle, turst he in the few days before the wedding you will have enough on you plate, enjoy your day.

thepotrovk

why dont you try to import from spain... dirt cheap over there and you will get a bargain even tho you have to pay import tax. There are some websites aroung, google for "rioja" or " ribera del duero". They shoud speak english, mail them and ask them

george.derek46

@positive note - Te Awa Boundary is a smooth red wine that pairs well with Beef . Saw this food pairing recommendation on bottlenotes.

noby

trackcar wrote: »

Hi

I ended up going with the hotel wine for the following reason, the wine which the hotel will stock will be of good quality, It's hard to know what the quality of the wine you may buy in a supermarket will be like, Also
how much wine do you buy, you run a risk of running short or having a
large supply over, some simple sums,

Just to balance the discussion, when we were getting married we got a price per bottle of the house wine. When I asked what the house wine was I was told they had no idea, and would be basically whatever they have that week, ie whatever container load they got on special offer.

We went to our local wine shop, and paid the same price for a bottle and corkage as we would have been charged for brand X house wine.
The guy we dealt with was really helpful, and suggested wines for us to try before committing. Also, like MattKane mentioned, they may not have 3 for a tenner type deals, but wine shops will usually throw in a free case or something. I'd definitely look at a wine shop as well as the supermarkets.

You don't have to be a wine expert - if it's light and easy going (especially the white) people are going to like it.

katy77

Does anyoe know a good place to shop for wine in newry - want to get my wedding wine - how many bottles am i allowed bring back south?

BeerNut

You can bring as much as you can carry. I'd say the supermarkets would probably be best for price.

Seaneh

Go to O'Briens, ask to speak to a manager and see if he can get you a dela on a couple of cases, I know for a fact that when supplying charity events and weddings a bluk load they are very felxable because they have a massive mark up on a lot of their exclusive wines (wine they import).

reilig

Getting married in July. Have negotiated with the hotel for a flat rate of €200 corkage. Bought 70 bottles of white and 60 bottles of red - all Jacobs Creek in Enniskillen last week. Cost £4.99 or €5.30 per bottle in total. Bought it in the offlicence of a Centra Supermarket. Had to order it and collect it 4 day later. Saw it in Supervalu for €12.99 a bottle today. A lot of people like Jacobs Creek, we're having Beef and Salmon and banquet manager in the hotel recons that the Jacob's Creek will go perfect with it.