I Need Help Picking High School Grad Party Wines!

WINE TALK
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It’s that time of year! My eldest (son) is graduating HS and I’m in charge of wine for the party.
No problem you say?! To ratchet up the degree of difficulty, we’ve decided to host the party with 3 other families.

I presented my initial red and white options put together on short notice out of the cellar to the other families which they loved:
Reds:
-Seghesio Sonoma Zinfandel, $17 or
-Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha, $17
Whites:
-Kono Marlborough, NZ Sauvignon Blanc $13 or
-Whitehaven NZ Sauvignon Blanc $15 (These are 2 of my wife’s favorites).

Then I told them the prices. This is the moment in this scene where the needle abruptly scratches across the record- What?!
$2-Buck-Chuck came up entirely too often, which I think is now $4-Buck-Chuck. After much back and forth, I negotiated our bottle price limit up to $10/bottle with a promise that I would still taste test options under $10 including box wine.
Since then I’ve realized inflation has pushed some of my go-to party favorites over the $10 threshold.

Other pertinent details:
We’re projecting 250 attendees. Plan to serve beer and wine. I recommended 48 bottles of a single white, 48 bottles of a single red for simplicity- but am open to 2 reds and 2 whites, mixing in a rose. Party is 3pm to 7pm on a weekend. Serving pulled pork sandwiches, various sides, appetizers, cake, desserts.

I had high hopes based on previous experience for Costco’s Kirkland Sonoma Co. Old Vine Zin 2021, $9.90. But it was not to be. I could tell it was zinfandel, but it’s overly sharp and tastes like a spicy, cherry cough drop covered in toothpicks. The finish lasted 5 seconds, does that actually qualify as a “finish.” So I need help.

My wife, who knows me too well, has already forbid me from serving more expensive wine but telling the other families it cost just $10/bottle. This might not stop me, but I’d like to make an honest attempt.

One red, one white, $10/bottle limit. I’m open to two whites, two reds, mixing in a rose, using box wines. I’m open to most wines, but they need to be crowd pleasers for non-wine drinking folks, so maybe no Furmint or AFWE wines. This is pop-n-pour territory, there will be no decanters.
Any recommendations?

2

La Vieille Ferme ?

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Vinho Verde manages to avoid being terrible at $10.

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:rofl: maybe a shorter finish would be preferred!

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5

Let the grads pick their favorites? :innocent:

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Hah! I was bummed. I often opt for Kirkland wines at house parties where Apothic Red abounds and have usually been pleasantly surprised. Not this time!

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One of the other parents pitched the idea of an alcohol-free party in part because of all the kids present. Their spouse cut them off by saying, “how do you think I’m going to make it through this party?” That was the end of that.

8

Bogle PS?

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9

Jesus, what kind of poors do you associate with?

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10

I haven’t had it lately but Domaine de la Patience has been a consistently good value over the years and they offer red, white, and rose versions of a 3L box wine called “From The Tank” which comes in under your limit.

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I really struggled to find wines in that price range for my children’s school auction…15 years ago! Shopping in PA where I could not get any expert help, I focused on Importer with Dan Kravitz’ Hand Picked Selections being a repeated success.

At today’s prices I would think you’d need to go boxed.

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The Rose will definitely do the trick. It’s like making love in a canoe but has enough flavor elements to pass as wine. It’s $9 a bottle in Whole Foods. Can find the mags for $15 here and there.

The have Chardonnay and a red too, but I’ve never tried those.

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13

Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve Rouge for $10.99 at Total Wine. Volume discount should get you under $10.

Vihno Verde for the white.

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14

That was my first thought as well

The white is my favorite but the red isn’t bad.

15

Villa Borghetti Pinot Grigio. Like $7 at TJs.

They also have some decent Puglian wines under $10 if you’re looking for Zinfandel richness.

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I’ve never had these but these seem they would be crowd pleasers at $9-10/btl

https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1729398&searchId=079580e2-7b4b-42ae-9b9c-5b2f45b4f438&searchServiceName=klwines-prod-productsearch&searchRank=1

https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1558286&searchId=14356218-ca21-4751-8f3c-3613048c55ef&searchServiceName=klwines-prod-productsearch&searchRank=2

The charles smith chard or sauvignon blanc are $10, and aren’t awful.

https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1642385&searchId=079580e2-7b4b-42ae-9b9c-5b2f45b4f438&searchServiceName=klwines-prod-productsearch&searchRank=9

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17

This seems like a ton of wine given the type of party. That’s two glasses for each of those 250 people and I would assume that at least half those people are underage, don’t drink or prefer beer. Are you sure you need that much wine? Perhaps you could use the implied budget you established based on 96 bottles at $10 per and buy fewer bottles of higher quality wine…like the ones you listed?

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18

Look into wine available in kegs.

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19

Totally agree. And then you’re going to have cases and cases of bad wine left and what are you going to do with it?

Having said that, every group is different in terms of how much they drink and how much of it is wine. But I agree with James that that sounds like way too much, especially for a 3-7 party.

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High Noon and White Claw. Know your audience

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