<p>I have a question for those who ‘know’ wine. I’ve agreed to host a gathering in my home and have a few bottles of wine to share. The organization will pick up the tab, so I don’t have to bear the expense myself. Having said that, I don’t want to buy expensive wine. Others are bringing appetizers and fruit/cheese platters. We are expecting about 20 people. Buying wine is somewhat intimidating to me and thought I’d ask for help! Any particular favorites?</p>
<p>What price range? Do you have the chain Fresh and Easy near you?</p>
<p>I would pick up both white and red. There are some really great wines these days in the $5 - $10 range right now. Not sure if you are asking for actual suggestions of brands or quantity or what varietal, but these are the ones my “group” tends to go-to and they are all very reasonable as we’re all “cheap” and these aren’t embarrasing when true wine industry friends show up. For a hearty red we’re drinking one called Menage a Trois these days. For even “cheaper” wine Two Buck Chuck from Trader Joe’s and Crane Lake merlot are not bad. I’ve never met a Pinot Grigio I didn’t like lately so that’s a “safe white.” I also like Lindeman’s Bin 65 and Estancia Chardonnay which are pretty easy to get and reasonable. I’m guessing there are probably far better wine folk on the boards so perhaps you’ll get some more ideas. I’m not a huge sweet or Piesporter fan, so no advice there.</p>
<p>I am a white wine drinker. I really like any New Zealand sauvignon blanc. They are very light with nice fruity smell, not sweet. Cloudy Bay, Gold Water, Spy Valley, Oyster Bay…They are usually around 15-20. Whenever I have ordered one of those bottles (and they are not expensive at most restaurants), people have always enjoyed it.</p>
<p>I’ll have to try your suggestion Oldfort. I’ve had such bad luck with savignon blanc. I like fruity but I’m not too fond of sweet. My h doesn’t drink and I prefer wine to mixed drinks or beer so it’s all about “me” and I like to break out and try new things. I had a wonderful strongly spicy, peppery red last winter and “forgot” to write down the name and I’m still kicking myself about that one.</p>
<p>I used to drink a lot of chardonnay, but now I find it to be too heavy.</p>
<p>If you like champagne, but do not want to pay the French price, I have found this
<a href=“Schramsberg Vineyards - Landing Page”>Schramsberg Vineyards - Product Detail: Mirabelle Brut Rosé (1 x 750 ml);
very drinkable.<br>
It’s Schramsberg Mirabelle. It scored 93 points, and the price is around 20-25. </p>
<p>I like to serve some bubbly before we move on to wine. </p>
<p>I would like to hear what other people like too. I am always interested in trying something new.</p>
<p>On chardonnays, we also like Lindemann’s Bin 65. Slightly more, but still reasonable (usually low teens) is Kendall Jackson.</p>
<p>And I’ll confess to really liking two buck chuck, even though around us, it’s three bucks.:)</p>
<p>My husband says I’ve never met a wine I didn’t like. I like the yellow tail reds. $6-8 a bottle. Like the Kendall Jackson noted above. If you have a Bev Mo near you they are having their 5 cent sale. Second bottle is 5 cents. Two bottles of the yellow tail resever(I can’t tell the difference) would be $16 or $17 , plus I am sure they woul help you with choices.</p>
<p>Go to your local wine shop (in my case, that would be the wine woman at our local grocery store, but this is Oregon, where we make some of the best wine in the world). Tell them your average price range (I would say $15/bottle is fine) and that you want six bottles. Let them pick the bottles and make it a range of whites and reds. </p>
<p>Me, I really like our local Oregon wines, partly because they’re local, and partly because we make the best Pinot Noirs anywhere.</p>
<p>6 bottles for 20 people dmd77? Not with my crew of friends LOL. I guess we quaff our wine. Anyway there are also some wonderful box wines and you can get really cute stands for the boxes for cheap. A year ago we had a party over the holidays. A couple friends who are deep into the wine biz and very “snoidy” came and as a joke I bought box wines. But actually these two said that in general terms there are some nice box wines and they managed to say it with straight faces. A box of red and a box of white would work for your party. I like the Bandit Pinot Grigio and the Fish Eye Pinot Grigio and the Black Box Merlot all if which I pick up at the local supermarket.</p>
<p>oldfort obviously doesn’t live in NYC. </p>
<p>I LOVE Cloudy Bay. At the buy-rite at about 29th & third Avenue, it goes for $28 dollars a bottle…which is FAR and away the lowest price I"ve found in mid-town or the Upper East Side. I get Kim Crawford at the same store for about $16 a bottle. While I prefer Cloudy Bay, it isn’t worth the price differential.</p>
<p>Rawson wines from Australia are good and to my mind amazingly cheap. We’re talking $7-9 a bottle. </p>
<p>Monkey Bay–again, not in the same league as Cloudy Bay, but okay–is $9.99 at the same store.</p>
<p>Castle Rock Winery. Well priced and impeccable taste. We are partial to the Pinot Noir.</p>
<p>I am partial to wine from Chile and Malbac from Argentina. I think you can find some nice bottles around $10. I’ll have to look for some Oregon wine as I have never had any.</p>
<p>I hate sauvignon blanc - to me it tastes like grass most of the time - so you might want to pick something else as well. The big bottles of Yellow Tail Chardonnay are fine for an everyday wine. Most Pinot Grigios are clean and easy to drink and not too pricey. We frequently drink the various Yellowtail reds, but I don’t like any of them nearly as well as the Chardonnay. Unfortunately I’ve come to the conclusion that to really like a red I need to pay the extra bucks. I’d count on at least .5 liters per person.</p>
<p>jonri - NJ, less tax.</p>
<p>My H has accused me of just drinking and not paying too much attention to the price.</p>
<p>$28 for Cloudy Bay??? $20 here in California… One NZ SB that I like in the same quality range - but usually $15 is Dog Point. Both Dog Point and Cloudy Bay are a clear notch above for me and worth the premium.</p>
<p>I’d get an assortment of wines so that people can chose what they want - and so that they can perhaps try something new. One bottle of wine is 5 glasses - so if you figure 2 glasses per person, 8 bottles total. 3 Glasses - 12 Bottles. One thing to consider is that do if you cut it close, several people will end up with very little choice (e.g. all that will be left is one bottle of red/white). </p>
<p>I’d also look for second labels - where a premium winery makes a second, less expensive brand. I have found quite a few good values this way. </p>
<p>Being from CA, my suggestions are going to have a real slant towards West Coast and OZ/NZ. I’ll shoot for $15 - 20 a bottle on average.)</p>
<p>Assuming 10 bottles, I’d go with </p>
<p>3 Sauvignon Blanc (Dog Point)
3 Chardonnay ( Sonoma-Cutrer’s Sonoma Coast Chardonnay or Logan “Sleepy Hollow Vineyard” Monterey Chardonnay (second label from Talbott).</p>
<p>2 Pinot Noir (Oregon or Monterey/Santa Barbara - Snosrap is another good second label to look for) or Merlot (Alexander Valley)</p>
<p>2 Cabernets (Kalinda Napa Valley, Majella “The Musician” Cabernet-Shiraz Connawarra)</p>
<p>I agree with 10 bottles for 20 people.</p>
<p>for twenty people I would
get 11 bottles.
A bottle of a dry apple or pear cider for those who don’t drink alcohol and half reds/whites.
2007 “Walla Voila” Chenin Blanc,
Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Gris,
a Madeleine Angevine from Lopez or Whidbey Island Vineyards,
and a Chardonnay and Semllion Blanc from Chateau St Michelle,
most are about $10-15.</p>
<p>For red wine my favorite is merlot and I really like these wines
[Eliseo</a> Silva](<a href=“http://www.eliseosilva.com/]Eliseo”>http://www.eliseosilva.com/)</p>
<p>For a modest wine, I like the Cambria Chardonnay, around $20/bottle here in SoCal. Their pinot noir isn’t bad either. </p>
<p>I’m afraid that my tastes are in the $30-$50/bottle range. Which is why I don’t have wine all that often but when I do, I really enjoy it. (And tonight we have company! Yay!)</p>
<p>Some of you drink a LOT… traditional catering count is 4 1/2 glasses per bottle. Six bottles let some people have two glasses, some have one. Since mention was made that “the organization” was picking up the tab, I assumed it was work-related (and therefore somewhat sober). It occurs to me now it could be a fundraiser, in which case you DO want to get everyone thoroughly tipsy.</p>
<p>We got everyone thoroughly drunk at our wedding for 33 bottles for 105 people, which works out to a third of a bottle/person, which in this case would be 7 bottles, not six. If you get 11 bottles, I’d make sure you can return anything that’s unopened.</p>