Educating oneself about wine and enjoying its many varieties has come roaring out of the old-money’ed estates, whizzed through the pretensions of the nouveaux-McMansions and has–like golf before it–settled into a comfortable niche as a pastime in America’s middle-class. We may still pick up a Whopper for lunch, but we’d better have a clue which wine would go best with it.
Along with this trend has come great popularity for wine-themed décor, regional wine-country cookbooks, under-the-counter wine refrigerators–and weddings themed around wines and/or held in a winery setting–usually old-world charm, either French (gentrified country) or Italian (Tuscan rustic) in style. Just the name of a vineyard on your wedding invitation is enough to impress your guests–because the historic link between wine and nobility/wealth lives on.
If you happen to live in a community that has wineries nearby, whether of long local standing or the full gamut of new ones cropping up–ranging from garages with hand-painted signs to full-fledged chateaux, you’ll be able to Google up a list of prospective venues in no time. As you visit some of them, however, you will quickly learn that even the most modest vineyards are venue-priced to maintain that historical “wine-means-wealth” association: compared to other (non-wine) venues, even the humblest winery venues will generally be overpriced, with very few amenities (chairs, tables, linens, etc.) included for the money; and although the better-established vineyards will have every amenity available, this is only if purchased through them, and at top dollar (think premium-priced, mandatory “house” catering–many have arrangements with exclusive über-gourmet French restaurants) and exclusive service of their priciest wines. So–just as with all other things “wedding,” there is a definite price range, but understand in advance that this range begins quite a bit higher than what you might expect, and with a farther-reaching spread. If your heart is truly set on a winery wedding, do some price-research first, then decide if your budget can be ratcheted up a notch to get what you want.
So, then–what can you do if you’re nowhere near a winery? Or if you rented the least-expensive vineyard hall in a burst of enthusiasm, but in truth are finding its version of “rustic” is a bit more on the barn-y side than you’d really hoped for? You create the ambiance yourself.
So, if you’ve rented a less-expensive winery, you will still have accomplished the upscale impression you had hoped for on your invitations, with its name as your location. If there is no local winery, scour the nicer local restaurants, hotels, ballrooms or historical mansions for rent; a great banquet room at your uncle’s country club, even a small but nicely-done rental hall. Get the same impression across on your invitations by using the “Reception” line to read: “Reception and Wine-Sampling to Follow.” This kills two birds with one stone: it puts out the same wine-centric impression, and should also serve to put your guests on notice that this is more of an adult affair, where children may not fit in.
Once you’ve settled on a place, if it’s an actual winery, you will have also accepted their rules about serving their wines, and will have to consider this as part of the cost. If it’s a small winery that doesn’t require you to use a “house” caterer but still restricts you to serving their wine, you can economize by buying the minimum required amount of their wine, augmented by a case of two of something less expensive but good–then give it a long warm soak in the bathtub, scrape off the labels and replace them with beautiful labels that you can design and print yourself on (Avery #5164, 3.3” X 4”) shipping labels–see example, below:
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The guests will find them novel and festive, and you can mix them in among the “house” bottles (from “under” the bar) with nobody the wiser. If you have designated on your wedding invitation that this will be a “Wine-Sampling,” you will save further expense by limiting your beverage choices to only beer and wine and a few selections of soft drinks–rather than outfitting a full bar. If it’s a rented venue with no serving rules except perhaps to require a licensed bartender, you can serve this wine “of your own label” without worrying about it. If it’s a restaurant or club where you cannot control what you’re allowed to serve, you can still use these personally-labeled bottles of inexpensive wine, unopened, simply to further your wine theme, as décor items on your dining tables–however, you should let your contact person at the venue know this, so that there is no misunderstanding.
If no winery is nearby and you have found a satisfactory venue, you might check with a wine shop or a large grocery store that has a good wine selection, to see if the shop might provide a wine steward from the store or wine department to pour a limited variety of wines, in return for your purchase of wines from their store, and find out how much it would cost both for the amount of wines needed plus the services of the wine steward, who would enhance the experience for your guests by being be able to tell them a thing or two about the wines they select. If the stores themselves do not offer this service, ask the manager to contact a representative of one of the wineries directly, to see if they might provide this service along with the purchase of the wine, as a marketing tool. Again, you can mix in your less-expensive “custom” bottles of wine, either for service or wine-oriented table décor.
For the hall itself, blend elegant with rustic and be amazed at how much less barnlike a room will look by dressing its windows and door openings. For this purpose, I have gone to an online housewares catalogue, Brylane Home (http://www.brylanehome.com/decor/Scenario-Sheer-Voile-Scarf-Valance-and-RodPocket-Panels.aspx?PfId=7915&DeptId=15286&ProductTypeId=2&PurchaseType=0) and purchased long, sheer window scarves (very long–either 144” or 216” in length) in a color that goes well with grapes and leafy grapevine garlands–such as a burgundy or rust-type shade. (You would only need the longer scarves if your windows are quite large, or if you have a double doorway, although for amaller openings you could cut them in into 4 pieces instead of 2–see directions below.) Similar window scarves are also in the J.C. Penney catalogue at http://www3.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?ItemID=16370e0&ItemTyp=G&GrpTyp=STY&ShowMenu=T&ShopBy=0&SearchString=drapes&RefPage=SearchDepartment.aspx&s4PageSize=15&CmCatId=searchresults&Search1Prod=True&S4Filter=N%7c4294966835%2b4294967159%7cNtt%7cdrapes%7cNtk%7csearch_all%7cNao%7c0%7cNty%7c1%7csid%7c1218887B9C98%7cNtx%7cmode%2bmatchallpartial%7cNtpr%7c1%7cNtpc%7c1&Refinements=4294966835%7cProduct+Type%7ccurtains+%2b+drapes%7c4294967159%7cItem+Type%7csheers. (The Penney’s selection is more limited as the only color that works well is “Cinnabar” (a shade between burgundy and rust), and the longest length it comes in is 120”.)
Valance instructions: When looking at costs and how many to order, be aware that these scarves are going to be cut into halves lengthwise (run a simple, narrow sewing-machine hem down the cut side to finish it) to yield two pieces, which makes one window valance; or, as mentioned, the 216” length, can usually be cut at the center across the width of the fabric, as well as cutting it in half lengthwise, giving you four pieces, or two finished valances out of each “scarf.” Press all wrinkles out of the fabric after hemming, and tie the two pieces together end-to end in a simple knot, with about 5” of fabric as the “tails” of the knot. For each valance, you will need one (two is better if your budget will allow) 5-to 6-foot garland(s) of grape leaves–these come in green or in slightly “autumn-turning” colors–and a cluster of 3 bunches of artificial grapes at the top center (I recommend a grouping of the three most common colors of grapes–one of green, one of dark red, and one of “white” grapes tinged with red.) Cut the grape-leaf garlands in half (or use one on each side if you’ve allowed two garlands per window), and tuck one end of each half into the knot. Wire the 3 clusters of grapes together at their top stems, then slip the wire beneath one fold of the knot to secure them (the wire concealed by the grapes.) If you want to give it a more “bridal” look, buy a bolt of 36”-to-44”-wide tulle in ivory or white, and lay it alongside the colored “scarf” fabric before–pardon the pun–tying the knot.) These valances will need 3 hanging points–one at each top window at the corner, and one at the center behind the grapes. Naturally your venue will have rules against putting up anything requiring nails–but since these don’t weigh much, they can be held in place with plastic wall hooks that adhere to the wall and remove cleanly later (available at Office Depot, the medium-sized hooks come in 6-packs for $7.49–you will need 3 for each window or door: http://www.officedepot.com/a/browse/command/N=5+371568/–these can also be purchased in the Office Depot (or Staples) store, as well as Walmart, K-Mart, and Fred Meyer). Purchase some thin (1/8”) ribbon in a color to match the fabric. Slip the ribbon through the center knot at the back and make a small loop for hanging the grape-cluster knot at the center. For the corners, cut a 1-foot length of ribbon, and tie into a loop, gathering the fabric at each upper-corner of the window or door and using the loop to hang on the hooks. Spread the grape-leaf garlands gently atop the fabric, and arrange the lay of the fabric and grapevines to your liking. Voila! Elegant wine-country window treatments. An example is shown below:
A nice touch for the reception are a few bistro-height tables. As it happens, wine casks are just the right height for this purpose. Square ivory table-toppers allow the casks to be seen for what they are, but give them a civilized look. Two or three in a room will give guests a place to stand and converse alongside the dance floor, while definitely putting a “vineyard” stamp to the theme. If your event is at a winery, it should be no problem for them to bring out a few of these for your use. If your event is wine-themed but not at a winery, ask–again–a wine shop or your local grocery store if they have a couple of casks in their back room that they use as displays–perhaps they would be willing to rent them for a modest price.
For the banquet table or miscellaneous décor, fruit bowls or candle-holders in wrought iron strike the right balance between rustic and cultured, and go well with a winery theme–and with a bit of shopping you can even find pieces with a grapevine worked into the scrollwork:
One of the most noticeable décor items at any wedding is the wedding cake. The simple elegance of an off-white cake garnished with a few tumbling clusters of tiny champagne grapes and leaves could not be more perfect.
Because wines so typically go with cheeses and fresh vegetables and fruits, it’s a unique and theme-enhancing idea to have a pretty table set aside dedicated to a variety of cheeses and crackers for guests to nibble (stick picks in each variety, labeling the cheeses); and to include on your banquet table a platter of fresh fruits, a green salad, an assortment of olives–black, green and the red Kalamata; the currently-popular Caprese Tomatoes–alternating slices of tomato and soft mozzarella cheese garnished with fresh basil and drizzled with basil-flavored olive oil– makes a beautifully colorful addition.
For inexpensive and fun wine-themed favors, consider wine-cork-replica candles to burn in an empty bottle of wine your guests have enjoyed. At $5.95 for 16, they come in at just over 37 cents per favor–plus, perhaps, a quick wrap with colorful ribbon printed with your names and wedding date. They are available at http://www.lakeside.com/catalog.asp?Ntt=wine+cork+candles.
A winery-themed wedding is a sophisticated and convivial choice, and has many elements that can be played upon to bring out the theme in a way that’s just right for the level of formality you choose.
7.16.09
Photos courtesy of www.artandsoulphotographyseattle.com
