Select one white and one bubbly from these wines for an event with 100 people.

Which two - one still and one bubbly - would you select for an event with 100 people

We are having a 40th Anniversary party for my law firm and we are serving white wine and bubbly. The poll represents the four whites and three bubblies in contention. I will be having a blind taste off among my partners for the final selection, but if you want to weigh in, please vote in the poll and comment below with your explanation. Please also note that this is NOT the Kobayashi Maru. You do not get to reprogram the simulator and select other wines. Aubert, PYCM Chassagne Motracjhet and Taittinger Comte de Champagne would have been tastier choices, but I was already outvoted on that issue.

Food will be assorted hors d’oeuvres, cheeses etc.

I have always found the Vielle Ferme wines to be a solid value and versatile for this sort of setting. Gruet seems to have fallen off their game in recent years given the change in ownership. Between the other two, I think the St. Hillaire has the edge and probably gets a little more cachet from the French heritage.

Happy 40th!
fred

Any celebrity clients showing?

Whichever ones comes in a double mag format, so you can update your profile pic.

As I’ve posted many times I’m a huge fan of the VF white so that was an easy pick.

Another vote for Vielle Ferme. It’s not a great wine, but at it’s price point it’s hard to beat.

For bubbles I’d probably go with Gruet. I haven’t had it since it was purchased (2014) and I’ve heard the quality has dropped. Nevertheless, the others aren’t terribly exciting, and having a sparkler from New Mexico is interesting, even if the wine isn’t.

Big groups of unknown wine appreciation means going with crowd averages and not own taste. In my experience big crowd = oaky chardonnay

For the whites I will throw in a vote for the Jacquere. What a lovely grape, and although I have not had that producer massive quality bang for the buck - the Jacquere I had last year delivered $30-50 quality for $15.

As others have noted Gruet quality has gone down. If you can find any bottles that are only from the New Mexico fruit you may be okay, but any bottle labeled with “America” as the origin won’t be the same as what we all fondly remember of Gruet. Freixenet isn’t that great either although I’d bet you could find better Cavas at a similar price point. That leaves the Saint Hilaire as my default choice from your list.

Good thing I know where the reserve wines will be poured.

May my shop bid to cater this?

I was just at Gruet 2 weeks ago for a tasting with a group. Definitely quality has dropped since being bought by Brown. I voted for the St. Hillaire.

Slurping noodles will ruin the carpet.

Not if we permanently destroy the carpet before your managing partner discovers.

The Chard is likely to be most “accessible” to non-geeks. I voted for the Rhône because I think it will be better and more interesting.

Lots of votes for Gruet but I really dislike it, and it has performed poorly in a couple of blind tastings, so I’ll swim against the stream and vote for the Saint Hilaire. Freixenet is kind of blah and is too well known as a cheap bubbly to impress/hold any snob appeal if that’s a factor.

Curious to hear what you choose and your rationale.

As others have mentioned, current releases from Gruet are
a) not from New Mexico fruit, and
b) nowhere near as good as they used to be

I voted Saint Hilaire as pretty good vs pretty mediocre (at best) for the other two. OTOH, if the Gruet actually says ‘New Mexico’ vs ‘American’ I would go for it.

I voted Jacquere. However it would depend on the weather. If it’s going to be cold (and it has been a little cooler than usual… but only one inch of snow last night), the Rhone or Chard might make more sense. In Perrin we Trust.

Dan Kravitz

Agree about Gruet not being what it once was when labeled “American”.

Voted St. Hilaire and Le Vieille Ferme.

I sell St. Hilaire, Gruet and Le Viellie Ferme so…

JD

Definitely the Comtes

Didn’t realize Gruet quality had dropped so much, haven’t had one in a long time. Please change my vote to the St. Hilaire.