Wines for Gala at the Nat'l Air & Space Museum

[Witty Wino]

Hello all you wine experts out there! My husband and I really enjoy wines, exclusively reds in our home. Here's my dilemma. I am in the meeting planning business and have the honor of planning a gala for about 350 people to be held at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum. We are working with a local destination management company in D.C. that gave us a list of wines to choose from for the gala dinner. I must admit that I haven't heard of most of them. Can someone out there please help me with this list as I don't want to have our wines be a flop. We'll be serving a high end "surf and turf" menu. Here are the ones the company recommends.

Whites:
Estrella Chardonnay
Redwood Creek Chardonnay
Cypress Chardonnay
R.H. Phillips Sauvignon Blanc
Snoqualmie Sauvignon Blanc
Bella Sera Pino Grigio

Reds:
Redwood Creek Merlot
Estrella Merlot
Mirassou Pinot Noir
Torrato Chianti 2002
Belmondo Merlot 2001

Blush:
Beringer White Zinfadel 2003
Sutter Home White Zinfadel 2002

Sparkling:
Simonet Brut (France)
Dom St. Michelle Brut (Washington State)
Hacienda Brut (California)

Have you ever heard of or tried any of these wines, and what did you think of them? Can you describe whether they're dry or fruity, or what type of finish they have? The gala planning committee will likely ask me for my recommendations on a conference call scheduled for July 7th. So, anything you can do to get me your thoughts before then would really be appreciated.

Thanks for your help,
Witty Wino