wines for weddings

[atrichter]

Next month I am getting married in Boothbay Harbor.

To date, this is our wedding menu and the wines we have selected and purchased so far;

Garlic herb pasta, with sauteed scallops and sauteed vegetables,

Beef Wellinton station (sliced to order),

Stuffed mushrooms, stuffed cherry tomatoes, stuffed herb cucumber slices

Assorted small quiche,

Cheese and crackers, veggie and dip, fresh fruit,

cider cheese apple & liver pate pear,

Sliced French bread with smoked salmon and fresh basil salsa

Sliced French bread with a mushroom herb pate

Chicken puffs and crab puffs

1999 Lydia Vernaccia di S. Gimignano Melini

1999 La Male Terre Bourgogne-Chardonnay-Jaboulet-Vercherre

2000 Salice Salentino Rosso Vendemmia

(2 whites, one Italian and one French; 1 red Italian)

This is where I seek opinions, for I have an opportunity to buy cases of the following wines, at very reasonable prices, and hope that some of the 'cyber wine drinkers' can rate these wines for me;

1) Calif. wines

a) Beringer-White Merlot '99

b) Coastal Vintners/Eagle Creek-Chard.'00

c) Mont Pellier-Chard.'99

d) Rabit Ridge/Sonoma-Mistique '97 (Is this a red or white wine?)

2) Australian

a) Stonehaven Reserve Wines/Padthaway-Chard.'97

3) Portuguese

a) Casa Da Vila Verde/Vinho Verde D.O.C.'99

4) Spain

a) Coto de Imaz Rioja Grand Reserva D.O.C.'91

5) German

a) Madonna/Hevl zu Herrenshein-Baron von Heyl Q.B.A. '98

6) French

a)Graves/Chateau Doms-White Bordeaux '98

b) Cotes du Rhone/Chateau du Trignon Cuvee Celestine '99

7) Italian

a) Le Coste Bianche from the Piedmont region-Chard.'99

b) Ca'Domini from the Veneto region-Chard.'99

Please share your experience(s). ATR

[rickster]

You would probably get a better response if you moved this to the Wine board.

[Craig Camp]

...and here you are magically on the wine board.

I have been a fan of the Rhone wines of Chateau du Trignon for years. I am generally not enthusiastic about Italian chardonnay with a few exceptions from Friuli and Trentino/Alto Adige. Those two 99's don't sound promising. 1999 Vinho Verde sounds a bit old - same for the Beringer White Merlot and the 1997 Stonehaven Chardonnay.

[redwinegulper]

As Craig was mentioning, some of the wines are a bit old, and old is not a good thing with many less expensive wines. Therefore I get the feeling that someone is just trying to dump off some wine on you...and it your wedding. I would go to the biggest wine shop in the area...tell the manager you are having a wedding, and what would he recommend in your price range. Ask him to keep it simple, and no obscure wines. But 3 different whites and reds in your price range. Get your spouse to be and a couple close friends...and pull some corks...if you like buy it.

[Sparkitus]

I might advise you that all you really need is one more red, unless your guests are pretty heavily into wine. But it's a wedding, and everyone will be there for you, not for the wine list. You have already selected an intelligent range of wines, go with that and keep it simple for your guests. I might humbly suggest you pick a Merlot or a lookalike for those who just want a glass of red wine they can be comfortable with in case they don't know what the Salice is. Congrats, by the way.