“I wish everyone could learn this material. It would be a different world.”

Wayne and Michele Klein are Missionaries to the Family currently hosting The Choice Wine at their parish in Naperville, Illinois. They participated in The Choice Wine when it was first launched and are now introducing it to couples from the newly engaged to those married 50 or more years.

A parish new to The Choice Wine in Fredericksburg, Virginia, had more than 275 people attend their first session in February. One of the coordinators shared, “The feedback we received was fantastic! Please keep this ministry in your prayers!!!”

In the eight years since it was filmed live over Valentine’s Day weekend in 2014, The Choice Wine has touched thousands of marriages. We asked couples across the country to share some thoughts on how the program has impacted their marriage…

“There are elements of Choice Wine that just get stuck in our heads. The first time we went through the program our kids were still living with us – now one is out on her own and the other is graduating college. The Choice Wine has helped put perspective around the love and fun we have with each other as our lives and marriage evolve. It is great to hear the various talks and be able to say “Hey! Us too!” The greatest element is that it is fun to spend life with my best friend and God is happy for us.” – Deacon Gerald and Michelle

“We enjoyed spending time with other couples. The Choice Wine provides good content to discuss handling the difficult situations in marriage and helps us see how important our Catholic faith is in our vocation.” – Al and Angela

“We wish we had access to Choice Wine earlier in our marriage. It supported some of the things that we had done as a couple and that was beneficial. But there were things we learned that would have helped us build an even more solid foundation for us and our family in our faith journey.” – Matt and Lisa

“I think it helped us as a couple to be much more committed to praying together daily each morning. We enjoyed the feeling of being supported in prayer by other couples and inspired by their experiences of the Holy Spirit working in their lives and marriages.” – Mike and Marcia

“We started this partly as a way to do something together and grow as a couple. We encourage other couples to make this a date night.” – Wayne and Michele

Kathryn and John are engaged to be married and attending The Choice Wine with Wayne and Michele’s group. “When we saw the flyer, we knew we were meant to attend. When I called Wayne to register we discovered that he had just met my father a few days prior. That was even more proof that we needed to attend The Choice Wine.”

“The program is encouraging us to have some deep conversations we never considered. We are getting to know each other on a deeper level. After small group discussion we often continue the talking about the questions hours after leaving.”

“Steve shared that he promised Shelly to never talk negatively about her to others. We embrace tips like this and adopt them. One couple shared in week 1, ‘When I got married, we became one. That meant that if someone hurt my wife, it hurt me. If something was bad for my wife, it was bad for me.’ I will cherish this advice.” – John and Kathryn

What would you say to couples considering attending The Choice Wine?

• “Go with an open mind, sit back and listen. It is a good opportunity to form lasting friendships.”
• “Come have fun with us!”
• “It is a great time to consider the elements of a fun marriage, a marriage that will help you be amazed with each other every day.”
• “Couples should attend the Choice Wine so they can have an enjoyable night of learning, bonding, fellowship – and wine drinking!”