Wine makes such a great gift, holiday or not. We are such fans of consumables as gifts because, hey, no waste or returns! And, really, is there a better way to bestow awesomeness upon your loved ones than by giving them a bottle of deliciousness?
While gifting wine is awesome in theory, picking out the actual bottle to give can be a bit tricky, especially when it is someone you do not regularly share a bottle with. For this reason, we tapped the wine-expert brain of Paula Moulton. Paula is an author, contributor for Wine Enthusiast, and is currently one of only 20 people in the world who has passed the wine course earning the prestigious Cordon Bleu Wine Management degree in France. So, when we say she knows wine, well, we mean it.
Check out her five tips for gifting the perfect bottle of wine any time of year but especially this holiday season!
The 5 Tips
- Be adventurous. Dare to be different and pick your wine based on the beauty of its label, if it fits in with your price range. You may be surprised to learn that wine labels oftentimes reflect the personality of the wine in the bottle, so perhaps your eye will be your trainer for the evening.
- You want to branch out and try wine from other countries, so research your host/hostess and bring a wine from the country of their origin.
- Remember the weather. Is it cold and time for something hearty or is it unseasonably warm out? Pick your wine based on the outside temperature.
- Don’t forget to share. Wine is about sharing, so bring the gift of wine based on what you would drink yourself.
- Break the rules. Your host/hostess is making pizza, but you only drink white wine and you’ve heard that red wine is traditionally paired with pizza. You might be surprised to learn that a full-bodied white and even a sparkling white or Champagne pair well with pizza. So, go ahead and break those old wine rules!
We adore these wine gifting tips! After all, isn’t this season all about sharing and finding the right mix of following old traditions and creating your own new ones? What is your favourite wine to gift?