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I <3 a good cabernet, but Oliver Wineries has a great Soft Rose wine. I would think microbreweries would be preferable if they're just as cost-effective, since they'll give some local flair :).
I only drink white wine, and I love a great Reisling. My husband likes Merlot and Cab Sauv's. I'm not much of a beer drinker but I like Miller Chill which is a little "limey" and similar to Corona only a little more carbonated. I think a Corona type beer would be a great choice for an afternoon/summer reception. Coors Light and Bud always seem to go over well with the men too.
Wine: These are all under $15, some under $10 but I can't guarentee all of them are (if you buy by the case it will be cheaper!) Ravenswood, Little Penguin, Yellow Tail, Sterling, Estancia, Selbach etc.
Beer:I like smaller breweries. My favorite is Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City, but they only deliver to the Midwest. I definately prefer an artisan brew rather than a generic American beers like Coors, Bud, Miller, etc. Blue Moon is one of the few mass-produced American beers that I like.
If you need a good cheap champagne I recommend Verdi Peach Sparkletini. My brother had it at his wedding and everyone RAVED about it... I found it in the grocery store and it was only $5.49!
Ohh, love this thread. We are hitting up Trader Joe's for our wine and beer. They have an amazing selection of wines in the $5-$10 range. It's 10% off by the case, too.
We're still deciding on wines (one pinot, one shiraz), but we think we have the beers settled.
1. Guiness (Irish family, 'nuff said)
2. Secret stash of Young's Double Chocolate Stout for FI, my brother & dad, and me.
3. Murphy's Irish Red
4. Sapporo or Ashai (I think that's how it's spelled)
5. Oranjeboom
6. Honey Moon (Blue Moon's summer beer)
We love Hoegarten, but I just can't bring myself to serve this at my outdoor wedding. The double entendres would never stop 
.
EDIT-forgot to mention we'll be doing Sake instead of Champagne.
Oh man, I love both. With wines, the most "friendly" white wines are chardonnays or sauvignon blancs (lots of people are turned off by sweet reislings, which I don't get because I love them!). And for reds, cab sauvs are great. So are pinot noirs, but they tend to be pricier :/ Keep in mind if you buy it by the case, most wine shops will give you a 10-15% discount. I'd get in touch with a local wine shop. They're smart and will hook you up!
With beer, microbrew allll the way. New Belgium has a good, accesible beers. Everyone loves Fat Tire (maltier red). They also make an IPA called Ranger that is great. And you can trust any of their seasonals. And the best part about New Belgium is they're typically available all over the US. In CA you'd likely be able to find Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (a classic and also accesible to most types of beer drinkers). I'm a major beer snob and am semi-familiar with CA microbreweries (more so Oregon and WA), so I'd be happy to give more suggestions if you want :)
@Stumptown Lady: sorry but I'm going to have to disagree with you (at least as it applies to my circle of family and friends).... i don't know ANYONE who will touch a chardonnay. I was starting to wonder why anyone still makes it lol. Most people I know (myself included) prefer a riesling or a pinot grigio over most everything else :)
@Scottielass, Just curious, not trying to be rude, but have you had sake? It's... an acquired taste. And your average joe would probably rather dump it down the drain than drink it. If you're set on sake, maybe do that for you and your husband, and still do champagne for the guests.
I wanted to showcase some local boozey gems. Also, since our wedding was in the summer we wanted the beers and wines to be light and on the fruity side. Here's what we served:
Beer - Stella Artois, Santa Cruz Ale Works Hefeweizen
White Wine - Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay, Beauregard Vineyards ($15/bottle purchased on sale at the winery)
Red Wine - Pinot Noir, Carmel Road Winery; Malbec Reserva, Bodega Norton ($12-15/bottle at Costco)
Champagne - Martini and Rossi Asti $10.99 at local liquor store (People were RAVING about this stuff. It is SO GOOD, fruity and light. Absolutely perfect for a summer afternoon.)
We are having prosecco instead of champagne...it's cheaper and I like the flavor better. The beers we like and will most likely use come from breweries local to Austin. For beers you can get nationally, I suggest Blue Moon, Sessions (the bottle caps have rock, paper and scissors icons on the inside) and the Sierra Nevada beers.
@abbyful: Nope, we're still doing sake. We love sake, our friends love sake, my parents love sake. If it's good sake, served correctly, it's very smooth.
A lot of people don't like champagne either. At least with sake, they only have to down one shot. We won't have a bunch of half glasses of champagne sitting around after the toast.
Some of my favorites are Oak Grove Chardonnay (about $7.99 at Total Wine), Yellow Tail (both Chardonnay and Shiraz). Kendall Jackson also makes good wine--most I have tried have been quite good. I will say that the types of wine people will drink really depends--most of my circle of friends enjoy red wines (cab, shiraz, malbec) and the drier whites (chard and sauvignon blanc). Folks in my family, on the other hand probably prefer sweeter wines like reisling or gewurztraminer. I would say getting a mix is probably good. If you are near a Trader Joes, I would get some cases of each kind--very inexpensive, but drinkable wine.
I'm all about the locals when it comes to beer - my current fave is Goose Island 312, which is a Chicago brew. I tend to like the lighter, less malty beers. Love red wines, mostly merlots, Red Devil and Menage Trois come to mind for the best bang for your buck (keep in mind, I'm definitely no expert!)
It is hard to make everyone happy for beer/wine at weddings. We just kept it simple and went with a standard white zin (Beringer) and a merlot (no idea), this seemed to cover the masses- none of us had expected it, but wine made up the majority of our alcohol tab (like 75%!).
We had a few of the mainstream beers available. I wish that we had the time/budget for a keg of microbrew!!! But in the end everyone seemed happy, no complaintes, everyone just wanted something to sip on while visiting.
One wedding I went to had a keg of a microbrew wheat beer- it was a huge hit! The guests blew the keg before dinner had even started (nobody was abusing it either).
Any suggestions for affordable wines (under $10)?
Barefoot wines are delicious, or even 2 Buck Chuck (Charles Shaw) is good for a GREAT price if you have access to Trader Joes. Otherwise Marcus James and Little Boomey's is good.
What are your favorite types of wine?
Shiraz is my absolute favorite or a nice Merlot
What are your favorite beers?
Heinekin, MGD, Spotted Cow, Blue Moon, Corona
Do you prefer mainstream beer, or microbrews?
Either one are fine by me, but I do prefer light(er) beer.
p.s. If you have access to World Market they offer inexpensive wine and beer from around the world (hence the name :>). And they have delicious coffee !!
I like Pinot Noirs and Chardonays.
My fav being Talbott winery and Hahn Winery (Monterey County)
Hahns other lable Smith & Hook also has a good Cabernet
I noticed your from California, I would recommend going wine tasitng to find a wine you like. It's fun and if you go to place with a couple of wineries that have a couple types you like, I'm sure you'll find something good!
If you're looking for something a little cheaper...go to Cost Plus they have some really good wines. One of my favorites: Cupcake Winery (Chardonay) or Over the Edge (new zealand pinot noir)
We've got our beer list figured, we've settled on Yuengling & Sam Adams Oktoberfest, and we know we're also going to be serving hard apple cider (still settling on a type). We've yet to narrow down our wine options though - I'm working my way through the Trader Joe's options before I decide. :)
There are a LOT of great wines under $10 a bottle (especially if you can buy in bulk at a discount - our local liquor store gives a 10% discount off the price if you buy by the case). I would suggest hitting up a good liquor store for a tasting/recommendations. My favorites are a French Rhone red (a blend): La Viellie Ferme. The Robert Mondavi Private Selection/Reserve are also good. There are several Spanish whites just over $10 (about $11-12) that are really good too, and a great non-oaky Chardonnay is a French chardonnay: Macon-Lugy, which is about $10.
I personally don't like most Reisslings or Chardonnays, because they are too sweet, and I don't like sweet wines with food.
Beer-wise, I like imports and microbrews: Sam Adams, Bass, Shipyard, Smithwicks, etc.
Thanks so much, bees!
I come back after catching mad men, and see you've all given me so many helpful suggestions! I am from Monterey County, which totally has it's share of awesome wineries. I will be trying to incorporate local wines, but it can be a little crazy trying to predict what types of wine people enjoy. You've all really helped with that!! I have so many to try out, now. I love getting feedback from the hive, and I'm totally looking forward to tasting some of your favorites!!! :)
Not a big beer fan, but LOVE Coronas with lime, especially in the summer.
As far as wine goes, I love white wine.. preferably Riesling.
Any suggestions for affordable wines (under $10)? Fortino Winery in Gilroy (where I got married) has annual sales. I think there might be one now... they have a burgundy wine for 10$ and twice a year everything is 40% off. Check out fortinowinery.com. I also think Mirassou is a good cheap wine.
What are your favorite types of wine? I love Zinfandel, Cabernet, any full bodied red. Also, pinot noir is gooooood. Go wine tasting! You live in a good area. Go to Big Sur, Napa, Sonoma, etc. and look for sales at wineries...the wine will be better and sometimes cheaper too.
What are your favorite beers? Gordon Biersch! We got kegs from them and they have blueberry and pumpkin beer too. Call micro breweries and see if you can order kegs.
Do you prefer mainstream beer, or microbrews? MICROBREWS!
I think mainstream beer is best for everyone.. Our venue only served imported beers- Heineken, corona, bass, new castle and maybe some more i just can't remember. My favorite beer is bud light though lol or boulevard.
As for wine Menage a Trois is a great red blend that we used at our wedding. it was around $7. Any viognier is my favorite for whites ;-)
Ditto on Blue Moon for the beer. And since your wedding is in the summer a Corona or Bud Light Lime would be good.
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Hey bees! I'm totally overwhelmed thinking about what types of beer and wine to serve at our wedding. Our reception is outside at an orchard ranch from 3-9, and we'll probably have about 100 guests. Our venue allows us to provide our own beer & wine only.
Any suggestions for affordable wines (under $10)?
What are your favorite types of wine?
What are your favorite beers?
Do you prefer mainstream beer, or microbrews?
I'm interested to hear what everyone else likes. Thanks for opinions!! :)