Originally Posted by
slawecki
i am uncomfortable with the Cooks. it is a $5 bottle of wine. the korbel and chandon are both sound.
we have hosted a number of parties for employees who are not wine drinkers(or drinkers). Asti has always gone over very big. it is not slightly sweet(m&r is pretty sweet to a wine drinker), and is also low in alcohol.
i would split the order, and get about half asti(i am not familiar with gionelli), and half korbel or chandon.
although not offered, there are a number of italian rose bubblies that are half sweet. they really go over big with most everyone.
Good sound advice.
For most inexperienced palates, the M&R Asti, sweet to champagne afficionados, will go over big, as much a thrill asa $100 bottle would be. I second the recommendation of the pink Italian bubblies. "Color" thrills.
There's nothing wrong with the Korbel or the Chandon, neither distinguished but certainly up to the audience. "Chandon" may be a name with a little more glitz associated with it. IIRC, the Korbel is even "hand-turned".
It's well to recall, that as "Vermouth" was developed to find markets for local wines otherwise unsaleable, and "Cognac" was the result of how to get rid of local wines that even the locals found unappealing, "Champagne" seems likely to have been the result of a locally-based attempt to take otherwise unappealing wine and add pizzazz and marketabilty to it. Whether it was an old monk, crafty and innovative 18th century winery owners, borrowing from others, the discovery of a potential for effervesence perfected by adding sugar, or simply the result of a group grope (unlikely), they struck gold.
Wine, any wine, should be selected to match the palate of those drinking it, not to impress them with the host's pocketbook's potential.