How to buy wine for weddings and celebrations

 How much wine do you need and what styles work best?

Selecting the right wines and quantities for your wedding is just one of many decisions that need to be made – All fun of course but it is A LOT, so let me make things easier when it comes to your wine choices. 

You may be asking, will I have enough? Will I be judged for my wine picks? How much do I need? Food pairing? Argh! With 25 years in the wine industry, I've guided countless people through this exciting part of planning their celebration. Here’s everything you need to confidently choose wines that you and your guests will be surprised and delighted by. 

How Much Wine to Buy?

As a rule of thumb, guests typically consume around half a bottle per person during a standard event (4-5 hours). If your wedding is longer or features heavier drinking crowds (like all my friends and family), allow for two-thirds of a bottle. Remember, white and sparkling wines tend to be consumed slightly faster than reds at weddings, especially in warmer months.

A general breakdown for 100 guests might look like this:

Sparkling Wine

25-30 bottles, based on 1 x glass per guest for toasts, plus extras for top-ups. A glass is typically 125ml and there are 6 glasses worth in each bottle. 

White Wine

30-40 bottles for the warmer months as it’s popular throughout the reception and dinner. If it’s a winter wedding, this can be skewed to 30. 

Red Wine

20-30 bottles for weddings in the warmer months and 30-40 during winter. 

Rosé Wine

If you’re offering rosé, for a general mixed crowd, a ratio of 2 bottles of white to 1 bottle of pink is about right, where the total quantities of white and pink together is as it would be above for white wine 

Pro Tip!

Always round up. When you’re in the throws of your event, you will want to know that you will not run out of vino. It’s amazing how the mindset changes from watching the pennies to wanting everything to be perfect at any cost overnight.

Sale or Return?

The great thing about buying wine for weddings and large events is that most wine companies will agree to take back full cases of wine that haven't been touched. This makes rounding up a much happier thing to do. However, from experience, it’s actually rather lovely having a stash of your special wine left after the event to be enjoyed post-wedding on anniversaries, later parties or even gifted.

Great, All-Rounder, Off-The-Beaten-Track Wines

Choosing crowd-pleasers is key. You’ll want wines that appeal broadly, complement the food AND fit your budget. If we’re honest, many of us also don't want to feel judged by our wine choices for being too ‘cheap’ or basic’. Fear not, however. There are some excellent, more off-the beaten track choices that won't invite negative preconceptions, will make you look good AND will give your guests something deliciously different to discover. 

Here are some of my own go-to, wine style suggestions:

Sparkling Wine

Want Champagne but have a Prosecco budget? Look to wines made in the same ‘traditional method’ as Champagne, but that come from less famous places: 

Crémant: This French fizz often uses the same grapes as Champagne as well as the same method, but they come from other, less glitzy French regions. These offer the closest flavour profile to Champagne but are often half the price. Or less! It’s also the ‘in the know’ option if you want to avoid the stigma of Prosecco. 

Cava: Many folks are coming back to Cava after finding Prosecco too sweet but not wanting to spend a fortune. These are dry and complex sparklers, which usually use local Spanish grapes. This means they can often be a bit more rustic with their notes of chalky, tinned pineapple, but they are awesome with food – and great value. 

White Wines

There are two popular wine grapes that split the judges and make people very sniffy: Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Avoid this problem by going for something with enough fruit and body to please the Chardonnay fans and enough zippy acidity and freshness to keep the Savvy B fans happy. Here are some excellent, lesser-known,  all-rounder white wines that will make you look smart and that your guests will love!

Fiano - Hailing from Campania in Italy, this grape makes a delicious, medium-bodied white wine with subtle orange, lemon and pineapple notes. It’s refreshing and easy going without being too much of anything - or too bland!

Sicilian Whites- Sicilian wines taste of sunshine. Fact. The local grapes Grillo and Catarratto, whether together or alone, give elegant, white notes of white flowers with fresh white peach and a slick of salinity. It’s hard not to love them. 

Verdejo - Verdejo, the grape, makes wine that has some grassiness like a Sauvignon but it's more subtle, with a more rounded, tropical profile. The Spanish Rueda region is famous for this grape and the wines are usually fabulous value. 

Red Wines

Going too heavy at the reception is a no no, even in the winter, so save those big reds like Cabernet Sauvignon, Rioja and Malbec for the meal. Less tannic, lighter reds are better when you’re standing around and some can even be chilled. Here are some less obvious wine styles to try:

Saumur-Champigny - Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, which is what makes Saumur-Champigny, has a refreshing, leafy, cranberry and red berry crunchiness to it. It’s tangy but not tannic so it can take some chilling down. 

Nero D’Avola - An excellent mid-way red wine style is the Sicilian staple grape Nero D’Avola. Unpretentious and characterful, it can be a little rustic, like a baked strawberry pie but it’s a crowd pleaser, is versatile and can also take a bit of chill. 

Mencia - Watch this space – Mencia, the northern Spanish grape will be the next big thing! Making tart and tangy reds packed with notes of violet, red cherry and splash of spicy cassis, Mencia will cover you from reception and canapes to beef and it can be chilled. The ‘Triple Threat’. 

Primitivo  - If it must be bold and fruity but without the whack of tooth-drying tannin some grapes can give you, Primitivo from Puglia is your wine guy. Tasting like chocolate dipped raisins and figs, it’s got lots of juicy personality. 

Wines for Wedding Cake & Puddings

The golden rule for sweet treats is that wines must be as sweet or sweeter than the food, else they will taste acidic and weedy and the food will not taste good. A good off dry or sweeter fizz often surprises and delights people as it just works with cake. You don;t even need to tell them it’s sweet; they’ll ‘read it’ as fruity, when it’s in the glass.

Try these:

Moscato D’Asti - Moscato is the one wine that tastes of grapes. It’s a fun and frothy sparkler, usually low in alcohol (around 5% ABV) with pretty pear and peach flavours. Drunk chilled, it balances the sweetness of a traditional wedding cake with icing well but can also take white sponge with a filling. It’s a lot cheaper than Champagne too as well as being a more interesting choice. 

Demi-Sec - The term ‘demi-sec’ means ‘semi-sweet’ in French and often, but not always, refers to sparkling wine. Less sweet than Moscato, this will have just enough to take you through cake but will also work with any cheese.

Want more wine skills yourself? Sign up for free newsletters featuring wine tips, recommendations and special offers. Want to go deeper? buy our bite-sized, video wine course and learn in less than five minutes a day!