A recent wedding wine survey, conducted by WeddingWines.ie and WeddingDates.ie found that 3 in 4 couples prefer to supply their own wine for their wedding reception, rather than opting for hotel wine.
For those bringing their own wine, more than 7 in 10 couples are paying less than €8 per bottle for corkage, with 1 in 6 claiming free corkage from their wedding hotel.
Of those couples purchasing hotel wine, over 40% reported paying €15 or less per bottle.
Ciara Crossan, CEO of WeddingDates.ie, acknowledged that hotels have reacted to the tough economic environment: It’s interesting to note that both wine prices and corkage charges in hotels have fallen significantly in the last two years. So, whilst hotels are fighting to keep the wine business themselves for weddings, they’ve also been pushed hard on corkage charges by couples keen to save money by buying their wine elsewhere.
Almost 1 in 4 engaged couples are considering buying their wedding wine from online retailers, versus 1 in 5 from traditional off-licences or wine stores and 1 in 5 considering supermarkets.
