How To Give Wine As A Gift: 5 Simple Tips to Ensure Your Wine Is Well Received
If you know nothing about wine, picking the perfect bottle is a monumental task. But fear not.
Here are 5 simple tips for gifting wine that will impress.
- When in doubt, give Champagne
- Always go for the bigger bottle
- Buy something nice, but not too nice
- Don’t give away your favorite wine as gifts
- Skip wine all together
Let’s dive in and discover how combining several of these tips guarantees you’ll be celebrating with smiles.
Tip 1: When in doubt, give a bottle of Champagne
Champagne rarely disappoints. And when you splurge for it, people notice.
Now, there are certainly values in non-Champagne sparkling wines, but do you really want to explain the nuance of Crémant to your recipient?
Gifts should never have to be explained, and Champagne doesn’t even need an introduction.
My go to Champagne brand for gifting is Moët & Chandon. It’s widely recognized by winos and non-winos. Plus, it’s consistently good.
Tip 2: Always go for the bigger bottle
Anyone can buy a regular bottle of wine. And nothing is sadder than handing your host a bottle that looks like you grabbed it at gas station a couple blocks away.
But, big bottles are showstoppers. When you bring a magnum (2x a regular bottle) or larger, you’re going to turn heads. Plus, you don’t even need a gift bag.
Plop down your bottle, and everything else will look like plonk.
A great wine retailer will have a several bottles to choose from and may even have some hiding in the back. Always ask.
Another great source for deals on large format: Winebid.com. This link will take you to the large format listings in ascending price. Test your luck bidding for wine at their online auction.
Tip 3: Buy something nice, but not too nice
When I worked in wine retail, I always tried to redirect people gifting expensive wines.
The problem with expensive wine: most of it isn’t ready for drinking. Lots of expensive wine, 50+ USD, would benefit from a few years storage.
Instead, aim to spend on something in the 30–50 USD range.
You’ll find plenty of options, and these wines are more easily enjoyed today than expensive Cabernet Sauvignon, Brunellos, Burgundy, or Barolos that fetch top dollar.
Tip 4: Don’t give away your favorite wine as gifts
You should save your favorite wines for yourself. Because when you share something you love, you put incredible pressure on the recipient. You say, “You’re going to love this. It’s my absolute favorite.”
Now, what happens when they don’t like it?
Giving away something you like is a terrible strategy for any gift, but especially wine.
Open your wines on your terms, and share them when you host.
The golden rule of wine gifting: Give wine that others want to be drinking.
Tip 5: Skip wine all together
This seems like defeating the purpose of this article, but here’s the thing:
If someone really loves wine (like me), it will be very difficult to impress them with a gift.
So many times my friends will try to find an obscure bottle and impress me with a wine fact. As they share the story with me, they read through my horrible poker face that I already know the ending.
Instead, go for the untraditional. Pick a vodka, whiskey, rum or tequila. Spirits are always appreciated and last far longer than a bottle of wine.
But if you’re stuck on wine, consider gifting dessert wine or Champagne (Tip 1). I’d argue that more wine drinkers and collectors feel they never have enough of those.
So, what is the perfect wine to gift?
Practicing these tips over the years, I’ve discover there is one foolproof gift:
An ice cold magnum of Champagne.
When you thrust that lovely, large bottle into the hands of the recipient they’ll have no choice but to open it.
Why?
They’ll likely have nowhere to store it, and the cold factor makes enjoyment seem immediate–as if you brought if for them for this occasion.
Now, large format Champagne isn’t cheap, but giving a gift that everyone enjoys is priceless.
Do you want to get less dumb about wine?
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