Margie and I spent a couple of weeks struggling through the horrors of taste-testing wines for the various courses of the Fancy Dinner. It was a dirty job, but someone had to do it.
(We actually brought the “rejects” along with us for hors d’oevres, which everyone enjoyed.)
The wines, per course:

• Appetizer: Coppola Bianco ($8) – a full-bodied white, slightly fruity, that stood up well to the Supreme Sauce.
• Soup: Conde de Valdemar Rioja 1997 ($13) – spicy, and a match for the tomato-pepper soup.
• Dessert: I Vignaioli di S. Stefano Moscato d’Asti ($11) – flowery, slightly effervescent, and a fine complement to the various sweets.

As you can see, the prices were highly reasonable. While I’m sure that more expensive wines would have added greater subtlety and flavor, they were not, in fact, missed in what we presented.
For the eight people, we went through about a bottle and a half per course. The entree course was a nice Bordeaux provided by the host (two bottles worth). Had they not provided one, I would probably have suggested a Cab or a Zin for that installment.