Wine Can Always Make A Good Gift
Wine as a gift has many guises. Taking a bottle to dinner to show appreciation, picking a special bottle(s) to celebrate an occasion, a case of a specific vintage marking an anniversary it goes on and on….
And when it comes to choosing the wine for a gift we can help you narrow the selection to hopefully picking something that a) won’t get left on the shelf b) passed on to the next dinner host c) be consumed without notice.
If you know the recipient well, this can be easy-especially if you visit your local independent wine merchant. If you know the grape variety favoured, a well educated advisor will show you safe options and hopefully include a couple of alternatives (of course still taking into consideration the style that the recipient enjoys). For example here in Crossgar a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc such as Heart of Stone is a popular safe option for those who enjoy that style. An alternative to this would be something like the Soalheiro Alvarinho-intensely flavoured with stone fruits. I know I like gifts that take me out of my comfort zone.
Soalheiro Alvarinho
£13.50 / €18.49
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The hard part comes when you don’t really know the recipient all that well.
But there are always clues to look out for. I like this bit - I'd make a great wine sleuth.
-Have they talked about where they holiday? If they spend every summer in the south of France then a southern French bottle may be a good start.
Lascaux Domaine Cavalier Blanc
£9.75 / €14.50
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-Maybe you have been at their house for dinner twice before and you have had Spanish style food both times-it’s a good bet that a Spanish wine would complement the food they like to eat.
Bod. Paco Garcia Rioja Crianza
£13.50 / €18.99
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-It is a big birthday coming up and all you know is they were born in 1975 and they are always reminiscing about 1993, the year they travelled Australasia and had not a care in the world.
Kilikanoon M Reserve
£39.99 / €51.95
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The most important thing to remember is that a good wine merchant’s staff can do the work for you. We are here to ask the right questions, look for clues, recognise specific vintages, match wine to food, pick out wine regions, and choose a gift that will always be savoured. And of course we can wrap for you.
