Hello, our credit union BOD & executive staff is having dinner at a local mid-priced steak house. I’ve been asked to select one red and one white (we’ll get several bottles of each). I know the wines aren’t really earth shattering, but I’m unfamiliar with most of them, and would rather not spend time looking for reviews.
Limit is $75/btl. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
WINE LIST 9-17.pdf (163 KB)
Tough list, but if I’m choosing for a crowd (assume some prefer white wine), I’d go for the Girard Chardonnay and the Ferrari Carano Cabernet.
Agreed, it’s not easy. Most biz crowds are fairly happy with anything with alcohol in it. So don’t kill yourself trying to please them - just pick something that will put a smile on your face. The Nozzole Chianti (Sangiovese) would be good with the food. The Faiveley Bourgogne Rouge (Pinot) will be softer but also very food friendly. What do you like more - Sangiovese or Pinot? Go with that 
. On the whites I have no clue.
I’d go with the J Lohr Hilltop and the Giant Steps Chardonnay.
A little stretch can get you some nice reds (they said average $75, right?).
$107 for Rombauer Cougar juice, YIKES!
+1 on Girard Chardonnay, with Hanna Sauvignon Blanc (on the btg list) as an alternative.
Steakhouse = Cabernet, but I’ll fudge with Don David Malbec really good, under the radar because not from Mendoza; alternative is Marques de Riscal Rioja.
Broad appeal is key here, and keeping the bill well under the maximum is always a good idea.
Dan Kravitz
not what you asked for but the Fontanafredda moscato could impress for aperitif / dessert.
(caveat - I’ve not tasted this label / producer, but talking of other Argie malbecs) but I might be tempted by the Argentinian Malbec as a safe bet with steaks. Muga’s white should be decent as well. All well under budget.
For civilians, the Hall merlot is a soft palate easy way to go.
Should be fine with steak.
The Faiveley is a good call, too!
Whites: average the cost and go Nickel & Nickel. It’s just malolactic and oaky enough to please civilians yet not terrorize your palate.
I completely agree on the J. Lohr Hilltop (decent cab). For whites id go with the Girard chard reco.
Chandon Brut and Faively
For the record, I would have gone J. Lohr Hilltop but OP said limit is $75/bottle. I took that to mean per bottle, not averaged over the two selections. If that’s the case, then I’d probably order the cheapest Pinot Grigio at $32/bottle and then the 2016 BV Tapestry at $105/bottle!
Thank you all, I have a shortened list to work with. Cheers!
This is the correct answer
As long as you are confident that people whose preferences you largely don’t know will enjoy sparkling and base level Pinot with steak.
Do they have corkage? If it isn’t crazy you could find much better wine to bring and stay within budget.
No corkage in Colorado, unfortunately
Looks like a list written by a big distributor, or the selection in the area is terrible. If you can go to a sparkler, the Lucien Albrecht Cremant d’Alsace rose is at least usually a solid wine.
Cakebread sauv blanc
Leviathan Blend
Good luck. Don’t go too crazy over this. I used to have to pick out wines for dinners at a conference I went to twice a year. Some of the people did not like wine. About half the people had cocktails before dinner and I doubt they could taste the wine.
For example, one of my partners (now 91 and still doing well) usually had a couple of martinis before dinner and could only taste the most powerful of wines by dinner time - his palate was largely shot. One time I remember him not liking a wine I selected (because it was a more elegant wine he could not taste) and stopped saying anything because others started talking about how much they liked the wine.
Pick what you would like to try and you will be fine.