Fund raiser wine suggestions?

An organization I'm connected with is planning on buying some wine, (wholesale, temp liquor license obtained) and selling glasses as a fund raiser/wine tasting. The expectation is about 150 people, three to four bucks a taste - I'm thinking eight cases or so of decent but not expensive wine - two cases each of four different wines maybe two red, two white, probably all on the less than bone-dry side.
I've thought about a Syrah or Zin, or Pinot Noir for the reds and Gewurz or Viognier or Semillon for the whites (I really don't want Cab Sau and Chard). Any and all recommendations from this board would be very welcome. Any party planners out there?

...two white, probably all on the less than bone-dry side...

Riesling is the first thing that popped into my mind. Also - you may want to consider a bubbly. Assuming the participants are not wine geeks, an lineup showing the wide varieties of wine styles might work, such as 1. Bubbly 2. Riesling 3. Lighter body red (Bojo or Chianti) 4. Heavier bodied red.

Riesling is the first thing that popped into my mind. Also - you may want to consider a bubbly.

Riesling was also my first thought, or, more precisely, German riesling. A basic bottling from a very good German producer would be a palate awakening experience for many, I think.

I personally find Viognier and Gewurztraminer much more challenging on the tongue--at times it can feel like my tongue is getting hit by breakers on the seashore. I certainly wouldn't offer both as I suspect those that find perfume and broadness less than appealing wouldn't care for either wine.

If you could find a decent well-priced bottle, perhaps a white Bordeaux?

And I'd toss a Nero d'Avola in the ring for reds--really cheap and I think you could find one that all sorts of folks find really appealing.

The caveat here being that I am biased toward expanding people's options--if you think they'll want a Chardonnay, offer a Grüner Veltliner--if you think they'll want a Cabernet Sauvignon, go with Cabernet Franc. But that is just me . . .

An organization I'm connected with is planning on buying some wine, (wholesale, temp liquor license obtained) and selling glasses as a fund raiser/wine tasting. The expectation is about 150 people, three to four bucks a taste - I'm thinking eight cases or so of decent but not expensive wine - two cases each of four different wines maybe two red, two white, probably all on the less than bone-dry side.
I've thought about a Syrah or Zin, or Pinot Noir for the reds and Gewurz or Viognier or Semillon for the whites (I really don't want Cab Sau and Chard). Any and all recommendations from this board would be very welcome. Any party planners out there?

Jon,
Since you're going to get 8 cases, you might as well get 8 different wines to account for as many different tastes as possible. For reds, I'd suggest a Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Shiraz/Zin; for whites, I'd get a Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and White Zin (!!). If you feel like getting a sparkling wine, you might substitute that for the SB. Before suggesting specifics, I'd like to know what your budget/price point is, as that will color my suggestions.

Mark Lipton

Decent but not expensive wine?

CdR comes to mind. One that is drinking well now, that isn't funky/bretty or too tannic. Something medium bodied and not too dry. TheVins de Vienne CdR comes to mind.

Bryan

why would anyone pay $3 for a taste of 'decent' wine? isn't there a 'best practice' standard where you are? others don't do this? you probably should charge $50+(around here is it is $75-$200) to get in and nothing for the individual samples. the wholesalers will make a contribution to your charity in exchange fo the opportunity to sample their wines to an appreciative audience.(you buy the wine; they write a similar check to the charity). the wholesaler reps should be there to talk about the wine. for that number of people they will only need 2 bottles of each wine - ok so some of them will run out. 1 oz pours only. i've done these for 20 years and you don't need to reinvent the wheel. have local restaurants there as well - serving samples - for free. they want access to these people as well; AND they want to support local charities. you are shooting way to low here. (the 8 case number is probably correct; but you need a much larger number of wines to make it interesting. you need about 1/5 semi-/sweet wines and almost 40% dry red)

Thank you all for the suggestions, which I will print out and discuss with the guy putting this together.
And David - the community from which the participants will be drawn are, by and large, redneck farmers (and of course there's nothing wrong with that) - there are no best practices; next election we're all voting for indoor plumbing. We'll be lucky to net $50 let alone charge that as an entry fee. (Believe me, I'm only half kidding.)

For whites I might go with one dry, one off-dry. Say a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or an Albarino from Spain as the dry wine and a German Riesling Spatlese as the off-dry. Crowd pleasing whites could also be a Moscato d'Asti from Italy or Torres Vina Esmeralda Penedes from Spain (85% Moscatel and 15% Gewurztraminer.)

For reds a Cotes du Rhone is a good suggestion. A Beaujolais Cru (or possibly a Beaujolais-Villages) would keep prices reasonable. I do feel you should have at least one American wine in the mix so possibly Echelon Pinot Noir or a Columbia Crest Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon blend on the lower price range or Frei Brothers Pinot Noir or Steele Carneros Pinot Noir in a medium price range. A Ridge Lytton Springs might be a revelation for most of the tasters.

If this is a fund raiser for a worthy cause, my first priority would be to try to make sure I can sell as much wine as possible. That almost surely means compromising between wine-geek principles and the reality of popular taste.

I won't tell you what popular taste dictates - I think you know. So I suggest trying to meet those expectations with a wine that you can live with.