Party planning : wine

So I'm trying to nail down the wine order I want to make for the party on Friday. I'm having a little difficulty ...

... because most Egyptian wine is dreadful. Totally undrinkable. And it's embarrassing for me to offer my guests something I wouldn't drink myself. I mean, check out this wine guide to Egypt. 'Nuff said.

OK, who am I kidding? I would drink it. I do drink it. I do complain, but I still drink. And forunately there are some that aren't quite as awful.

Drinking in Egypt is a little tricky because the government has passed all kinds of laws to encourage the sale of Egyptian booze. There are basically 3 Egyptian beers, two of which are Heineken knock-offs (Stella and Sakkara). The only thing I can say for them is they're cold. And I don't like the 3rd beer (Meister), or a 4th (Luxor) that some of my friends like. Wretchedly disappointing. As for the Egyptian wine, occasionally you get what you pay for, as long as you're not buying from a hotel. The rest of the time they should be paying you to drink the stuff. And don't get me started on the foreign wine situation ... did I ever tell you about the bottle of 2006 Louis Jadot Beaujolais I saw for USD $100 in the Grand Hyatt? That's a bottle we used to buy to have with burgers back home, for not more than $9. The duty-free allowance is 4 bottles per person, which I tend to use up on hard liquor, since I'm not touching the methanol-laced stuff they make here.

I found this hilarious blog with tasting notes from Egyptian wines. Some of my favorite passages are "this wine had a promising nose of paraffin and Nivea cold cream," and "this wine has an antiseptic nose of melting nylon and acetone ... but those are quickly overwhelmed by the taste of black plastic garbage bags which lingers into the finish." Thankfully I wasn't planning to serve any of these wines.

I'm planning to call Drinkie's and have them deliver some red and some white. Any preferences? I was thinking about the Cape Bay red and the Sheherazade white. And does anyone think "champagne" is a good idea?