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- Written by Guest Blog Guest Blog
- Published: 26 June 2018 26 June 2018
A memorable wedding for me is not made up of bride gowns or witty speeches. It is, of course, the wine list that strikes the chord. A good wine list can renew faith in the institution of marriage. It can restore the deepest respect for the happy couple who bear the responsibility of coating the palates of their most discerning guests.
A wedding I attended this year was so dry and the wine list so badly unattended that the smiles of the happy couple were marred only by the stain of absence lingering on my mind. By contrast, much speculation surrounded the wine list of Prince Harry and Meghan Merkle. It has been leaked in bits revealing the presence of English, Burgundian, American and, of course, Champagne.
We would expect nothing more of a royal wedding but in these days of royal prudence and careful budgeting, I was amused to hear one of the celebrity wedding planners commentating on the occasion saying, “We must remember, Meghan will probably be buying her own dress… she has after all made a bit of money from her acting career!”
So who covered the wine? I would like to think that Charles, with his passion for Champagne Bollinger would at least boot it down to Aÿ in the Jag and pick up a few cases. For the American wines, I expect a worthy merchant in London could step in?
The Queen also now produces her own sparkling, so there is no reason why she shouldn’t show it off at her grandson’s wedding. It would be churlish not to!
It leads me to think what would I serve, given a healthy budget, at my own equivalent bash. I came up with the following list:
Arrival: Bride Valley Brut Reserve, English Sparkling Wine (England)
Speeches: Champagne Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvee (France)
Wines for the meal:
White - Shabo Telti-kuruk Grande Reserve 2016 (Ukraine)
Red - Roccolo Grassi, Valpolicella superiore, 2012 (Italy)
Afterwards:
Domaine Bory Rivesaltes, 1927 (France)
Of course at the end of all this, local beers from barrel and cask would be offered to assist with ongoing revelry and rehydration.
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