Gifting Wine

This is the season for gifts.

What wine makes a great gift?

For me I gift various bottles of Turley. I love the wines and I find outside the wine world most have never heard of the wine. Also the unique bottle is always a hit!

As much I hate to give up the wines I love I truly enjoy to give!

What do you gift?

Not everybody likes Turley. The east coasters see more European wines and could actually be offended by an over-extracted, high octane wine.

Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to have you gift me some Turley, that’s in my wheelhouse.

Knowing the palate of the recipient would do wonders for gifting the appropriate wine, unless, of course, you’re trying to unload your Turley.

I don’t find the more recent Turleys as over extracted or high octane. I find them down right pleasing, but I won’t thread drift.
I give older, less expensive wines. They appear higher value than they really may be. They are more integrated so even a non geek palette gets them. Ojai, Jaffurs and Tensley make great Syrah/Rhone blends that with 5 - 10 years on them are outstanding. Most at release are under $25.

After watching my niece scrunch up her nose, say “Eeeewwwwww!”, and dump a glass of Ponsot down the drain, I discovered the gift card to be the safest bet.

Yep. +1

If I’m gifting wine to someone that doesn’t know anything about this hobby, I re-gift the Yellowtail that someone brought over. Wines like that are more appreciated [winner.gif] than a (fill in the blank).

Champagne is the easiest to me. Who doesn’t like champagne? Depending on who it is it will be either something relatively mainstream, to perhaps a recent vintage offering, topping out at a grower champagne for those who would appreciate it.

If I don’t know the person’s preferences, I’d rather go with Italian cookies. Who does not like Italian cookies?

Me. I suppose it’s inappropriate to use the champagne.gif emoticon in this instance, eh? neener

Ooooooo, with a bottle of 2004 Felsina Vin Santo! [wow.gif] [cheers.gif] Yeah, boy… I know what I’d digging out of the rack soon!


If I don’t know the person’s preferences, I’d rather go with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Who doesn’t like chocolate covered peanut butter?

… oh, maybe diabetics and/or people with nut allergies. blush


I stand by my recommendation.

[highfive.gif]

Man, I could crush a bag of the mini Reeses right now. Don’t get see them so often out this way… usually get a couple big bags when going stateside…

I would have said this myself a few years back. Over the last four years while visiting my son, I have stopped at Chambers in NYC quite a bit. They stock Turley. Not all the Turley’s, but those that they find to fit the bill. There was a recent Turley Carignane that they recommended and I think it would have pleased quite a few with the “East Coast Palate”.
Digression and thread drift fosho, but one of my favorite PG pinots is the gone-but-not-forgotten Four Winds bottling. The Four Winds vineyard was precariously situated on a cool windy site that did not produce fruit every year and tended to be quite aromatic and less fruit forward. Jim Anderson used to comment in the newsletters that for some reason, the Four Winds was particularly popular among his East Coast customers. There really is such a thing as an “East Coast Palate” evidently.

Wow you own a wine shop and would recommend a gift card!

I agree Champagne is always a good choice!

A grower Champagne for sure for a special person.

I generally don’t give wine unless I have at least a vague idea about a person’s preferences. If I do, I usually just give a bottle from my cellar that I think they will like. This often works out well, because most often the recipient likes wines that are a bit more fruit forward than I prefer, which means I get to clear cellar space and don’t have to worry about a bottle going to waste, and they get a bottle with some age and generally of a much higher quality than they would buy for themselves. Win-win.

Your comment is one I will jump on. I happen to have a bunch of Australian wines that I fell in love with 10 years ago. My desire to drink them has faded. I will keep the Turley which I love and gift the Aussies.

If I am giving a gift to someone who is really into wine, I try to find a bottle that aligns to their tastes but that they probably can’t get. So I am looking for something that isn’t available at their local retail and bonus points if its not available at retail at all. This is one benefit of being on too many lists, especially those that make some wines available to only list members.

If I am giving wine to someone who likes wine but isn’t consumed with the hobby, I look for a quality bottle at a reasonable price that they can reload on locally if they find they like it.

Lastly, if going to a party of someone who will drink any swill, I will rummage through my regret purchases for one or two bottles to take with me. Only downside is that I might get one in return at some point in time in the future since they think I must like it if I gave them a bottle.

I give dessert wines if I give wine at all. Less palate restrictions.

I don’t think any single category of item–wine, chocolates, etc.–works as an ideal gift choice for all recipients. You really have to know the recipient to know what they would appreciate the most. Some folks would love an interesting bottle of wine; others don’t like wine at all or would be happy with a case of Two Buck Chuck.

A gift card is the safest choice IF you have no idea what the recipient wants/needs.

Bruce

I usually don’t gift wines. My friends with serious cellars are too hard to buy anything for and my friends who barely know wine never seem to like much of what I give them though they have been pretty good wines.