Happy Friday,
I’m standing up in a wedding this weekend. Congrats to Brad and Kate!
And while I’m used to giving wine as a gift, I’m sure many beginners are afraid to give their friends a bottle.
So, here’s a couple tips to help you gift the perfect wine.
Brian
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Tip 1: When in doubt, give a bottle of Champagne.
You should always have two bottles of Champagne in your house.
- Keep A Bottle On Ice
- Have One Ready To Give
It’s the perfect gift for any occasion, because everyone loves getting Champagne almost as much as drinking it.
I gift the Moët & Chandon most often. It’s widely recognized and consistently good.
Tip 2: Magnums Show You Care: Give The Gift of Large Format
Big bottles are showstoppers. Plus, you don’t even need a gift bag.
Plop down a magnum (2x a regular bottle), and everything else will look like plonk.
Tip 3: Buy Something Nice, But Not Too Nice
When I was working in wine retail, I always tried to redirect people trying to buy something expensive.
Because the problem is that most of the expensive wines available at retail are ready for storage, not sipping.
Instead, aim to spend on something in the $30-50 range.
You’ll find plenty of options, and most of these wines are more easily enjoyed today than expensive Cabernet, Brunellos, Burgundy or Barolos that fetch top dollar.
Tip 4: Don’t Give Away Your Personal Favorites As Gifts
You’ll avoid getting hurt feelings if the host doesn’t open it. Or worse, they open it and don’t enjoy it in front of you.
Save your favorite wines to open on your terms, and share them when you host.
The golden rule of wine gifting: Give others the wine they want to be drinking.
Free Run Juice
*free-run juice is a wine term for the grape juice that comes from their own weight prior to pressing. These are weekly tidbits that came out from my own wine reading.
Did someone say celebrate?
If you’re giving the gift of Moët & Chandon, you might as well know how to pronounce it.
This has to be one of the wilder SNL skits I can remember, and it’s hard to believe it got on TV nearly 10 years ago.
Wine Pairing Guide For Charcuterie
I didn’t know I needed this guide until I read it.
Here’s a Tweet from Wine Folly on putting together an amazing charcuterie board, plus it contains a fantastic pairing guide.
Brian McCann 🍝🚢