Photography: True Photography
We chatted with Patricia Britton, who started local wine import business Le Vigne with her husband. And she gave us some ideas for pairings with a typical wedding banquet besides the classic reds and whites.
1) "Actual, Spanish red-wine-based sangria — it has all the flavours you would get if you made it yourself with the fruits in it. You pour it in a tall glass with ice from a bottle — and it's a cheaper alternative plus it's refreshing. We sell Penasol Sangria bottled and ready serve!"
2) "Recently, I've sold Molo8 lambruscos, a different red wine. This is a bit of a frizzante, a little sparkling, but it's not frothing, [it's not a champagne] and it's red. Comes with a champagne cork, though, but it's just a little pop…"
3) "Much of the time, wedding dinners mean Chinese banquets and I think whites would go better, but Asians still feel 'If I have to spend money, it's gotta be red. Why should I spend money on something that's white?' It's the visibility. The 'in' thing for the youngsters? Moscato, moscato all the way; a lot of the time, youngsters' palates can only take 'sweet', they can't appreciate the dry stuff."
4) "For the open bars, we have been getting people into whiskies and aged rums. Japanese whiskies have come up quite a bit. Very easy to drink but now very over-priced! We have a good selection of Scottish whiskies, especially — including rare and high age-statement whiskies and single casks."
5) "If you have an open bar…one thing that some places are doing is using grappa. And there's one grappa-based vermouth that we brought in [good for mixers]. I like gin, the ladies would love it, even simple G&Ts, you get the right gin, it's lovely."
Visit Le Vigne at 72 Namly Place. Call (65) 6314-1597, email le_vigne@singnet.com.sg or visit www.singaporewines.com.
