Start with the Menu, Not the Wine List

The most common mistake at events is choosing wines first and fitting the food around them. It works far better the other way round. Once you know the menu — the canapés, the starter, the main, the pudding — the wine list almost writes itself, because each dish is telling you what it wants.

The guiding principle is simple. Light dishes need wines with freshness and acidity, so the food isn't overwhelmed. Rich, roasted, slow-cooked dishes need wines with weight, tannin and warmth to stand alongside them. Get that basic balance right and you will flatter the catering far more than any expensive bottle chosen at random ever could.

Crisp Whites for Lighter Courses

If your event opens with canapés, a seafood starter or a salad, reach for something with a bright, clean edge. Acidity cuts through oil, butter and dressing, and resets the palate for the next course — exactly what you want at the start of an evening.

• Sauvignon Blanc, Picpoul de Pinet or Albariño with smoked salmon, prawn cocktails, oysters and light fish canapés.
• Chablis or unoaked Chardonnay with chicken liver parfait, creamy fish dishes and buttery sauces.
• Dry Riesling or Grüner Veltliner with Asian-inspired bites, Thai fishcakes and anything with a little chilli or lime.
• English sparkling wine for the drinks reception — the crisp apple-and-brioche character handles salted nibbles, blinis and fried canapés beautifully.

Serve these well chilled, around 8–10°C, but not ice-cold. Too cold and you lose the aromatics that make them worth pouring in the first place. A goat's cheese and beetroot starter is the one to watch: a grassy Sauvignon works, but a dry rosé often works better.

Fuller Reds for Roasts and Rich Mains

The main course usually decides the shape of the whole wine plan, and for good reason. Roast lamb, beef, venison and slow-braised dishes need a red with enough structure to match their intensity.

• Rioja Reserva or Châteauneuf-du-Pape with roast lamb, rosemary potatoes and rich gravy.
• Malbec or Argentinian Bonarda with grilled steak, barbecued meats and peppery sauces.
• Shiraz or Rhône Syrah with venison, game and anything smoked or spiced.
• Chianti Classico or Barbera with tomato-based pasta bakes, aubergine dishes and pizza-style buffets.

Serve fuller reds at 16–18°C — cellar cool rather than room warm. If a venue is hot, an hour in a cool room before service makes a real difference. Tannic reds turn harsh when they're too warm, and that's the fastest way to make good catering taste ordinary.

The Middle Ground: Rosé, Sparkling and Lighter Reds

Not every menu falls neatly into light or rich, and the middle ground is where thoughtful hosts win. These wines are versatile, food-friendly and increasingly what guests actually want to drink.

• Dry Provence-style rosé with charcuterie boards, grilled vegetables, mezze and summer buffets.
• Pinot Noir or Beaujolais with duck, pork belly, salmon and mushroom risotto.
• Champagne-method sparkling throughout a reception — it pairs with almost everything salty or fried.
• Off-dry Riesling, Sauternes or Tokaji with fruit tarts and crème brûlée, and vintage port or tawny with the cheese course.

A useful trick for buffets and standing receptions: choose one white, one red and one sparkling that each work across four or five dishes. Fewer, better-matched wines always beat a long list that suits nothing.

Non-Alcoholic Options for Every Course

Roughly one in four guests will want a non-alcoholic drink at some point in the evening, and a lukewarm orange juice doesn't count as hospitality. Plan an alcohol-free pairing for each course with the same care as the wine.

• With canapés: alcohol-free sparkling wine, or sparkling elderflower with a twist of grapefruit.
• With lighter starters: cucumber and mint pressé, dry apple aperitif or a light kombucha.
• With roasts and rich mains: a dark berry and rosemary cordial topped with soda, or a distilled botanical spirit with tonic and orange peel.
• With pudding: cloudy apple juice, spiced pear pressé or a good alcohol-free espresso martini.

Serve them in proper glassware, poured at the table alongside the wine, and brief your serving team to offer them first rather than as an afterthought. Guests who aren't drinking should never have to ask twice.

Practical Numbers and Serving Notes

Budgeting matters as much as pairing. A 75cl bottle gives six 125ml glasses, so a seated three-course meal typically works out at around half a bottle per guest, rising to a full bottle per head for a long, lively party. For a reception, allow two to three glasses per guest in the first hour, and always order a little more white and sparkling than red — it goes faster, especially in warm weather.

Finally, taste everything before the day itself. A short tasting with your caterer, two or three weeks ahead, lets you check how each wine behaves with the actual food rather than the idea of it. Chill the whites, open the reds in good time, keep water on every table — and your guests will remember the evening as effortlessly generous, which is precisely the point.