Selecting wines for an Art Exhibit

I have been asked by 4 local artist to select 4 wines for their upcoming show. They want to have 4 distinctly different wines so that the guest can discuss the wines and the art and try to match what the wine they think goes with which artist work. I have specifically been asked for one red, one white, one rose, and one sparkling and preferable no two from the same country. The price target was $8/bottle but I was given allowance to go up to $10 if needed. Since the artist are buying all the wine to be poured for fee, the lower I can keep the price the better. I have a couple of decent shops locally and am close enough to DC that wine availablility should not be much of an issue.

Appreciate any suggestions for either a single wine or all four.

The tight-end has eased past the line of scrimmage, found a few yards of space, looks back expectantly towards the quarterback, who throws him a slow lob pass... just enabling the defence to hit him at full pelt as he receives the ball. Yes that's a hospital pass for sure

I'm not quite sure what to suggest. There's not many $8 wines I'd spare too many words for and I'm not quite sure what they're expecting for the price.

Some thoughts though.
- As artists I guess they might look for variety and extremes.
- Moscato D'Asti might be cheap enough and would certainly provoke comments.
- Chile should be a good filler for white or red (Montes Reserve range might just squeeze in on price and both Sauvignon Blanc and Cab Sav have enough about them).

Best of luck!!

regards

Ian

I have one suggestion. Choose at least one wine from Bully Hill. The late Walter S. Taylor, the founder, was somewhat of an artist in his own right and designed all the labels, some of which are quite artistic. Their whites are better than their reds and they make decent bubbly too, all of which should be in your price range.

I've been buying a modest red from Spain as a case-stuffer: Domino de Erguren Protocolo 2004. It's from Castillo and goes $7-8 a bottle. Fruit-driven, rich and lush. Well-balanced for its price range. If it were served at art shows I attend, well, I would attend more.

Protocolo is an excellent idea. Here are a few more:

Fossi Rosso: A light blend of various vintages of Chianti (the currrent incarnation, I'm told, has a tiny amount of '74 Classico Riserva in it), and great label art, and about $6 a bottle:



Another cheapie, this time with abstract label art, is Borsao, also $6:

[img]http://www.tienda.com/images/largesize/wn-91.jpg[/img]

A nice cheap white with a distinctive peach note would be Domaine du Pouy, around $8; actually any Cotes du Gascogne white will probably do the trick.

A second cheap white, and clearly distinct from the du Pouy, would be Casal Garcia Vinho Verde, around $7.50:

Thanks for all the suggestions. I had not even considered the label art. I will have to add in that factor also. As Ian mentioned they are looking for variety not sure about extremes but probably correct. While the idea is to get people focused on the art in a fun manner the one thing that scares me is if one wine is generally not as well received as the other three and a majority of the people associate that wine with one paticular artist it may not be fun. I have learned that the artist sterotype of being particularly sensitive to criticism both real and imagined is generally true.

Any suggestions on a specific sparkler or rose. Everything so far is red or white.

White:

From Argentina, Bianchi New Age White (a 50/50 blend of Malvasia and Sauvignon Blanc). Off dry, fruity, and aromatic. I tried this at an industry tasting last week, and it was one of the more interesting $10 whites I've had in a while. Importer: http://www.quintessentialwines.com

An Argentinian Torrontes would also be an interesting option. If you want something French, Gascony produces cheap whites of wildly varied quality (some quite good, some equivalent to jug wine).

Santa Rita 120 is an option for inexpensive, good for industrial-scale whites and reds from Chile.



Red:

The Spanish reds that others have suggested are good ideas, but I'd want to save Spain for the sparkling wine.

Want a $10 merlot that is actually interesting? Try this from Chile: Santa Ema 2003 Reserve Merlot (another one from the same tasting). Importer: http://www.wineofakind.com

Other options:
Boutari Kretikos Red (Greece) - http://www.paternoimports.com
Fairview Goats Do Roam Red (South Africa) - http://www.goatsdoroam.com
Italy also has some inexpensive reds. How about a Primitivo (aka Zinfandel)?



Rose:

Lots of dry roses from Rhone/Provence regions of France.

For something more interesting, try this from Italy for about $10: Antichi Vigneti del Cantalupo 2005 ""Il Mimo" Nebbiolo Rose Colline Novarese DOC, sorry no national importer information for you. In Chicago, it's imported directly by Maverick, a local distributor.



Sparkling:

Spanish Cava is your best bet for inexpensive sparklers.

For something a little more off the wall, how about a demi-sec from South Africa? Pearly Bay Celebration Sparkling. Importer: http://www.57mainstreet.com



Let us all know what you end up selecting and what people thought of them.

Thanks Andrew. You and I were thinking along the same lines it seems. When I was asked to do this and before I requested suggestions here my initial thought was
Sparkling = Cava
Red = Italian
Rose = Provence
White = Southern Hemisphere 2006 vintage.