Carpe Wine: ‘Tis the season of wine gifting
Carpe Wine
Elaine Schoch/Courtesy photo
‘Tis the giving season and when you need a fail-safe gift, a bottle of wine can always work. The challenge comes when trying to decide what bottle of wine to gift. It isn’t as simple as grabbing the first bottle you see on display at the local wine shop. Let’s dive into some essential tips to ensure your wine gift is memorable for all the right reasons.
Stick with what you know they like
If your friend always orders a merlot or chardonnay when you’re at happy hour or out to dinner, finding a good bottle of that varietal is a slam dunk gift. Check the ratings on Wine.com or Vivino or ask your local wine shop for their recommendation. You may also consider giving them a bottle the two of you have shared together in the past, with a note reminding them about the experience.
Use wine travel experiences
Have you recently visited a wine region and found a winery or wine you love? Grab a bottle from there and share a few stories about your trip. Better yet, if the giftee has visited a region, or has talked about wanting to visit a region – “Oh, I’ve always wanted to visit Italy,” – pick up a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco. Not only is it thoughtful that you remember them talking about the wine region, but it’s a great conversation topic.
Make your own wine gift basket
Pre-made wine baskets might be easy to grab or order online but they’re typically expensive and do not always include good wine. Consider making your own. Pick a theme such as wine and chocolate, add a bottle of Port and cabernet sauvignon along with some delicious chocolate truffles. Or, pick a region to highlight such as France and include a red from Bordeaux, Burgundy and a bottle of Champagne. Throw in some French cheese and your gift will be the star of the night.
How much to spend?
As for how much to spend on your wine gift, it’s totally up to your budget. If the giftee is not necessarily a big wine person, buying an expensive bottle will be completely lost on them. If your giftee is a big wineo, it might be intimidating giving them wine. In this situation, ask for help at the local wine shop.
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For an easy suggestion on pricing…
- For casual acquaintances: $15-$35
- For good friends: $35-$60
- For friends who are wine enthusiasts: $50-$150
If gifting a bottle of wine is still to intimidating stick with wine accessories: Champagne glasses, a nice wine key, or if you want to go big, go with a Coravin, which can allow you to drink from a bottle of wine without ever opening it. I love mine!
When in doubt
When in doubt choose bubbles. Champagne is always associated with a celebration – a holiday, birthday, dinner party or just friendly gathering. Champagne also tends to pair with just about every food you may find at a holiday gathering. My favorite go-tos are, Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon, Billecart-Salmon, Laurent-Perrier, Taittinger and Nicolas Feuillatte.
The packaging matters almost as much as the wine
Make sure to include a note with the gift. This is especially important if you have a story to share about the wine or a reason why you picked it – “I know you love pinot at happy hour so I wanted to bring a little more happy to your hours!”
When it comes to gift wrap, I tend to opt for a simple wine bag with tissue paper or wine gift box. But I have seen people literally wrap wine bottles in wrapping paper with the bow. I do not have the patience for that. Another simple wrapping tip is to just tie a bow around the neck and hang a cute Christmas ornament off the bottle.
One of my new favorite wine accessories for wrapping wine is Coaster Greetings. They’re one part coaster and one part greeting card. There are a variety of fun greetings to choose from that are printed and inserted into a clear, plastic coaster – and you can personalize them with a handwritten note on the back. The enclosed greeting has a perforated edge that hangs from the bottle and can easily be removed to just be a coaster. It’s like a greeting card that never gets thrown away.
Cheers to a successful wine gifting season!
