When Michelle and I got married last October, we did not stress over the wines as so many couples do.
That’s because we knew that, although there would be a few wine connoisseurs in attendance, the vast majority of our guests would be happy with pretty much anything we poured.
So, on each table, we placed one bottle of rosé, one bottle of an off-dry white blend, and one bottle of red wine. We bought the rosé and white blend by the case, and tapped our personal stash for the various reds — which ranged from fairly inexpensive blends to a few top-of-the-line Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings.
There were seating assignments for the guests, but we made no attempt to match the best bottles with the connoisseurs; we just placed the bottles on the tables at random. Once the connoisseurs saw that there was a different red at each table, it was fun to watch them try to do some trading with folks at adjacent tables.
For toasting, we bought several cases of sparkling wine — not the ultra-expensive stuff from France, but a very nice Prosecco from Italy. Again, we knew that very few in the audience would be able to tell the difference, and besides, we had dedicated the day to raising money for veterans in need, not spending money on things we didn’t need.
Allow me just a brief tangent: In lieu of gifts, Michelle and I asked our guests to make a donation to the BVL Fund. It’s an organization that provides recreation, entertainment and other needs for America’s hospitalized veterans, and also supports other vet initiatives. And unlike so many not-for-profit organizations, far less than 10 percent of all money raised goes toward administrative costs.
We were thrilled to raise $5,000, and BVL is using that money to build a lighted flagpole, bench and small garden to provide a welcoming entry at a vet services office in Santa Ana, Calif.
Back to the wine: While we chose a sparkling wine from Italy for the toasting at our wedding, there were other choices from other countries available — including France — that would have been just as enjoyable without busting our budget. Don’t believe it? Check out the Sparkling Elegance Collection by Vinesse. You can get special pricing on this for a limited time by being part of our Cyber Circle email savings program.
When you buy wine wisely — and Vinesse curates every sampler with both quality and value in mind — you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to open it and enjoy it.
Michelle and I got married (to each other) only once, but we plan to keep enjoying good wine — including good sparkling wine — together for the rest of our lives.
