All for one: Wines that work for everyone

You can't please everybody, the cliché goes. Well, I'm not a big fan of clichés, and I'd like to prove this one wrong, at least when it comes to wine.

Last week, my way better half and I were sipping a white blend called Airlie "7" (see Wine of the Week, at right). It was soft and approachable but had layers of flavor and enough minerality and acidity to give it backbone. It struck me that this wine had something to offer to both novices and seasoned wine aficionados.

There have to be more wines like this, I thought, that a group of people with varying degrees of experience and expertise -- which is to say, most any gathering -- could all enjoy.

Entertaining is hard enough, with all the planning and prep work; the last thing a host needs is to spend a lot of time agonizing over just the right wine(s) for everyone. So I asked merchants to recommend a red and a white that would (a) have the broadest possible appeal, and (b) be priced in the $15 range. Their responses:

Greg Varner, Excelsior Vintage: "The Tremonte Sangiovese ($14) is very soft and straightforward, lovely stuff. The Fournier Sauvignon ($14) is stunning, a connoisseur's wine that's very approachable and well-rounded, with nice fruit and backbone."

John Lenzmeier, On the Rocks (Hugo): "The Waterbrook 'Mélange' red blend ($15) has great flavors with very silky, smooth tannins. D'Arenberg's 'The Stump Jump' white blend ($12) is mostly riesling, but the other grapes add a lemon and orange crispness."

Anissa Gurstel, Pairings (Minnetonka): "The Avignonesi Rosso Toscano ($16) is easy to drink but has complexity and structure for people who like great acids and tannins. The Le Poule Blanche white blend ($12) is unoaked, so it has crispness and that refreshing element, and the blend makes it interesting."

Robert Vold, Napa Valley Liquors (Otsego): "The Elk Cove Pinot Gris ($15) is fruity enough for novices and really has good structure. The Small Gully Formula: Robert's Shiraz ($15) has so much flavor and a nice little chocolate finish to it."

Tim Burg, North Loop Wine & Spirits (Minneapolis): "The Casale del Duccio Chianti Classico ($16) is one of the most approachable Chiantis I've had in a long time. And the Patricia Green Sauvignon Blanc ($16) has good weight for a sauvignon blanc, as grassy as a New Zealand sauv blanc and a little richer than one from California."

Michael Grabner, Century Wine & Spirits (Chanhassen): "The Evodia ($9.49), a garnacha from Spain, has amazing aromas that just waft out of the glass; it's a really pretty wine. The Wente 'Morning Fog' Chardonnay ($11.49) is lighter-oaked and has nice fresh apple flavors, and a little bit of gewürztraminer to give it some spice and aromatics."

Bill Ward • bill.ward@startribune.com Read Ward on Wine at startribune.com/blogs/wine.