The Food-Focused Bride: Cocktails, Wine and Beer

By: Cameron Curtis

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Photo by: Stephen Murello ©Stephen Murello

Stephen Murello, Stephen Murello

I am getting married in 81 days. Yes, the countdown is on. And while I've been slowly trying (albeit unsuccessfully) to phase alcohol out of my wedding diet, I'm certainly looking forward to all of the options on the big day.

First, the signature cocktail. As I'm not a fan of naming my drink after myself, my fiance or my marriage, we'll just be serving Sangria. Since stone fruit will be in season around Sept. 7, I'm going to serve a modified version of a traditional White Sangria (pictured above), adding in peaches and plums, if they are available. I suppose I could call it Wedding White Sangria, but it would taste exactly the same.

It has crossed my mind to have the bartender make these Red and White Sangria Pops, as well. But I think local sparkling wine and the White Sangria will suffice for cocktail hour.

I'm getting married in East Hampton, N.Y., so I'm trying my best to source as many elements of the wedding as possible from local vendors. The sparkling wine featured during cocktail hour will be from one of my favorite South Fork vineyards, Wolffer. The other weekend we did a tasting on the vineyard's beautiful stone deck and selected the Cool as Well sparkling wine, made from 100 percent Chardonnay grapes. It was fresh and fruity but also very food friendly.

During dinner we'll also be pouring locally sourced wines, with a white wine from the South Fork and a red wine from the North Fork. Channing Daughters Vineyard in Bridgehampton, N.Y., makes excellent Chardonnays and Bedell Cellers in Cutchogue, N.Y., makes a delicious Merlot. In fact, the 2009 Bedell Merlot was chosen for President Obama's 2013 Inaugural Luncheon.

We'll likely keep whatever beers the restaurant has on tap, and hopefully that'll include Greenport Harbor Brewing Co., a favorite of ours and a spot we've visited many times during trips to Greenport, N.Y. I'm not up for the trip to Boston or the 7- am call time, but the limited-edition Brewlywed Ale from Samuel Adams seems like a fun option. You can buy the Belgian-style ale for one day only, on Wednesday, June 26 , at the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston. In fact, I like the idea so much that I'm even considering giving a name to my signature cocktail.

Cocktail, Wine and Beer Ideas for Your Wedding

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