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As the lifestyle of Cambodians accelerates, wine and champagne are important elements to make the party and the wedding reception swing to is fullest potential. Cambodians are starting to appreciate wines and champagnes for many occasions, and also complementing them with hard liquors, which is where Hennessy comes to the fore.

Hennessy has been available in Cambodia for just over 15 years, and Attwood Import Export is the sole distributor of all its product ranges.

The range is extensive and includes:

Cognac: Hennessy

Whisky: Glenmorangie

Champagne: Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Dom Perignon, and Krug Wine: Terrazas from Argentina, Casa Lapostolle from Chile, Cape Mentelle from Australia, Chandon from Australia, and Cloudy Bay from New Zealand

Liqueur: Grand Marnier from France.

We asked the Hennessy expert for some guidelines on what tipple to choose to really make that wedding party a big hit.

For the newly weds, what are your tips for choosing champagne and wines for their wedding function?

Choosing wine for weddings can be tricky and expensive. Generally in Asia, red wine is more popular for functions such as weddings, social occasions, birthdays, etc.

We would highly recommend the Argentinean wine, Terrazas, which has that something special because the grapes are grown in higher altitude of Andes mountains.

For champagne, we recommend Moet & Chandon, the champagne of success and glamour. Couples getting married will surely want to have a champagne toasting to symbolise the beginning of a successful journey as partners in life.

Could you give us some tips about how to best serve champagne?

Sure. One bottle of champagne serves six glasses. Best to drink champagne hilled at 10ºC. Don’t serve it in a cup glass, otherwise the bubbles will evaporate too fast. Flute glasses are usually the best option.

Cambodians generally are not overly knowledgeable about wine and food pairing. Can you give some guidelines?

Wine and food pairing is something very personal. There is no right or wrong about what food should pair with which type of wines. You can eat and drink what and how you like to enjoy it. But there are some basic rules of thumb as guidelines. Red wine goes with red meat, and white wine pairs with lighter dishes like salad or white meat.

For wedding functions, do you recommend customers buy your products directly from Attwood, your distributor, or from any smaller retail shops?

We recommend buying from our distributor, Attwood Import Export or its official wholesalers. Attwood will advise customers accordingly on their wine and spirit selection based on the function’s scale, guests, and budget plus any other factors which may have bearing, etc.

From now and until April 2012, do you have any promotions for wedding functions?

Every year during the “wedding season”, we offer gift-with-purchase promotions on our key brands – Hennessy cognac, Glenmorangie whisky, Terrazas wine and Moet & Chandon champagne to reward customers. Talk to us when you are buying our products. And cheers!