[seattle] wedding, plus wine steward recommendations

[trochee]

it's my job to arrange the liquor, wine and beer for the wedding. It's been fun, but I'm definitely happy that we're approaching the end of the planning-and-doing for all this: there's been a lot to do. I'm pretty happy about it all: it's definitely our wedding, and we've done a lot to make sure it stays there. Everything we've chosen has been us choosing, and that makes me happy and proud of us.

Planning the alcohol has been pretty easy so far: spreadsheets are kinda dorky fun, and budgeting with a good spreadsheet is fairly easy. Beer has been no problem: Mac and Jack's, a Seattle-area microbrewery that doesn't even sell in bottles (or have a web site!), is what I usually order in a bar, and it's really good. It's also local, which is a plus. Likewise for liquor: we're not doing too bad as long as we have Tanqueray for imtboo's favorite, Tanqueray and Tonic. (okay, there aren't any local gin-makers, AFAIK, and that's all right.)

But wine! wine is a doozy. I just started looking at choices for wine, and it's kind of overwhelming. Neither imtboo nor I is a wine snob connoisseur so we aren't the sorts of people who will appreciate the difference between decent wine and $50/bottle excellent wine.

I found the rather overwhelming Cork'd wine-tasting/purchasing online social network, but their idea of cheap wine is "less than $20 per bottle". I'm a plebeian: to me, "cheap" is less than $6, and "reasonable" is less than $10. Both imtboo and I like the idea of serving our guests local wine (where "local" is "Pacific Northwest", not necessarily "Puget Sound").

So I guess what I'm looking for is (for each of red, white, and bubbly):

• Pacific Northwest
• less than $10/bottle
• better than expected for its price

Considering the volume (at least one case of each), that's not too crazy, is it? or is my sense of wine costs way off?

I guess that's enough to go ask somebody. Anybody have a wine-steward at a Seattle-area store that you particularly trust?

Comments

[esk.livejournal.com]

i'm not a wine expert, but i don't think your expectations are too crazy - it doesn't seem like wedding guests are usually looking for snob-quality wine, anyway. i really like some of the columbia crest two vines reds - i've had the merlot-cabernet and shiraz and they are both quite tasty. they're from washington and i usually see them for around $8 a bottle.

[localcharacter.livejournal.com]

Go to Pete's supermarket in Eastlake (http://www.petes.cc/). I don't remember the names of the specific people there, but they'll definitely work with you on a practical request, without going all snobbish.

I'm afraid I'm so long out of the PNW wine scene that I can't remember any names. Oregon makes great Pinot Noir, but it ain't cheap.

[tulip-tree.livejournal.com]

ditto this recommendation... my dad likes Pete's. Actually, I'll ask my dad tomorrow if he has local recommendations - he's got a far better memory for wine than I do, and he's definitely interested in the <$10 price range.

[localcharacter.livejournal.com]

Oh also, just a footnote to your wine-selection criteria: Don't forget, there's a French aspect to this event too. They may have a different understanding of what is "basic" and "reasonable" in wine—without the least ill-will, but still potentially awkward. Emphasizing that you selected local wines may give you just the backup you need.

[boobirdsfly.livejournal.com]

heh, my family actually knows very little about wine and frankly couldn't care less.
we are so not stereotypical french that way !
they'll like local wine for sure !
:)

[champignon.livejournal.com]

we have Tanqueray for imtboo's favorite, Tanqueray and Tonic.

That soon-to-be wife of yours had some good taste. :-p

Yeah, you can get very tasty wine for under $10 a bottle. Even for cheaper than that. I recently paid $60 for a case of malbec that is very tasty.

Unfortunately, I know nothing about the question you are actually asking, so I be quiet now.

(I'm happy I get to meet you soon! Thank you for your hospitality! :-) )

[beckyb.livejournal.com]

Actually, the best possible/most accessible recommendation I could make for recommendations would be the advisor and her husband. Might not be the most comfortable people to ask but definitely a great chance of really good answers. They seek the answers to these questions on a regular basis.

[writeanya.livejournal.com]

trader. joe's.

go to the wine buyer there -- or ask who's into wines there and they will wax rhapsodic, give you what you need, and i think also give you a case discount.

frankly, for our wedding, we got "la boca" malbec and it rocked the house. $2.99/bottle from Chile. if you somehow decide to go not local, argentinian and chilean wines are wonderful, and reasonable. again, see trader joe's.

fwiw.

[ctseawa.livejournal.com]

One of my foodie friends who's heavily into wine has this to say:

I'd just send him off to Woodinville to taste, just go to Chateau Ste. Michelle and to Columbia for "reasonable" WA wines.

Also send him: http://www.woodinvillewinecountry.com/wwc.php

Local gin

[(Anonymous)]

Well, it's still a ways off (and your event long past), and you may not consider it local per se - but all those caveats aside, Dry Fly Distilling (http://www.dryflydistilling.com/distilling.htm) is about to start operations in Spokane in a couple of weeks. They want to make single-malt, but they're going to start off by making gin & vodka since those don't have to age at all.