This A.M. I was going to give a 20 year old Barolo to someone, and then realized the recipient would not stand up the bottle/decant for air or sediment. So I reversed course with a 2011 vintage Barolo instead, going the angle of (i) drinkable now, (ii) doesn’t need air, (iii) no sediment, and (iv) and a favorite producer for a personal touch. It’s not the highest scoring wine, but I thought this wine may been more pleasurable than a wine costing +100% that needed special handling.
So was wondering, how do others on the board give gifts to non-wine geeks? Ideas that come to mind are (i) burgundy (just so expensive), (ii) young Cali pinots (I like Oregon with much age and have found them to occasionally shed a lot of sediment), (iii) new world cabernet/cabernet franc/pinot and (iv) very young early drinking vintages of Nebbiolo (e.g., 2011, maybe 2014?). Sauternes or Tokaji could be a good gift, and something new for someone with no prior experience… but dessert wines don’t resonate with me for a business gift.
Just curious, are other categories that come to mind or current strategies you pursue? Disagree with anything above?
I would never give someone a barolo as a gift unless I knew they liked it. I would either go with 1) Champagne (my most common gift) 2) Bdx/napa cab 3) Burgundy
If I knew the person wanted to explore different wine regions I might give them something interesting like Bierzo, different Rhone/Rousillon wines, or Mourvedre.
In the past I was giving away a lot of Sea Smoke/KB pinot as wedding presents.
My brother has a special memory of Rivers-Marie as he was first introduced to them while dining at French Laundry on honeymoon. I just gifted him some of their Pinot and he was ecstatic
Almost 100% of the time I give them champagne. Everyone likes it, or at least appreciates it for the celebratory mood it sets, there is no fuss to it – get it chilled and drink it down – and it will rarely get stuck in a cabinet over the stove.
This. Mainly because I usually have a stash of them so I can readily select an appropriate one. Also I end up giving Rose a lot because that’s what my non wine geek friends drink.
I would never give someone a barolo as a gift unless I knew they liked it.
This. It’s more likely to misfire as they won’t particularly care for it. Unless you know their taste, most non wine drinking people like something with a bit of fruit so that’s what I’d give them. Not everyone likes Champagne or bubbly wine - we rarely drink it and I’ve re-gifted plenty.
I agree with Greg on Champagne. Most recipients stick it in the closet or fridge waiting for a special occasion or re-gift it. I give Vouvrays, everyone likes them and they can be opened on a Tuesday night. There are many decent Vouvrays at good prices.
For a non wine geek, NV Champagne.
Unless I knew they had a fondness for a particular type of wine.
In that case, something relatively young and ready to drink.
I feel that I think about champagne as more of a house warming gift, but less of as a ‘thank you’ gift. Maybe because I don’t drink champagne and thus am biased against it, but I also feel a personal red can be appreciated by non-wine geeks. They won’t know the difference between Barolo and Bordeaux, etc., but I think they will be able to tell a better wine from a lower quality wine. And if they know you are a wine geek, I think that adds a nice touch. I’m going to stick to low-sediment / drinking window reds!
Give only box wines. Easy to wrap. Can stand upright or on its side. And has a spill proof spigot. j/k
For those that like wine, but don’t really know much about it, I usually give something that I have a connection with or know something about. Usually something middle of the road, like Champagne (as many already mentioned, a really nice Rose, bright Pinot, or new world cab. And, I write a note about where it came from, any interesting facts about the vineyard/winery/grape along with a few tasting notes.
High-end SVD CA pinot like Rochioli or Littorai. Drinks plush but not spoofy. That touch of sweetness appeals to the unwashed masses. Plus it’s not hard to “understand.”
Honestly, I’d rather receive champagne as a gift than almost any other wine. You can’t really go wrong with giving (or getting) a Grand Marque, while unless someone knows my exact taste it’d be hard to give a wine in the regions I’m interested in that I would really appreciate.
Yes, I’d only give Barolo to someone who is familiar with and affirmatively likes Barolo. The old bottles require special treatment, the young bottles need long decanting, and even when aged/served the right way, they’re just not something that most people are going to appreciate, especially in any proportion to the cost.
The biggest thing I’d say is to apply what you know about the recipient, and give something he or she is likely to like. Make it about them more than about you. If you’re buying a birthday present for your 15 year old nephew, you’d get him something a 15 year old boy likes, right? Same thing here. Save your Chinon, Jura, Barolo, Wind Gap and so forth for yourself or people you know like those sorts of things.
Champagne is an easy go-to. But the other thing I gift with frequency is Sauternes. I find few people buy Sauternes for themselves… but every time I open something like a 2001 Tour Blanche or Suduiraut at a dinner party, it’s guaranteed to get people ooh-ing and aah-ing, whether they’re big wine drinkers or not. And the source of a bottle of Taittinger Comtes becomes easily forgotten 2 years later… but a Sauternes is likely to be associated with the giver.
I disagree with this idea of automatically going to champagne. There is so much wine knowledge on this forum and so many non wine geeks would benefit from this. Giving someone their first burgundy or Barolo is unique and thoughtful. Giving something you have personally selected for a reason is even more thoughtful. Maybe they won’t like it and their expectations are too high, but that’s OK in my book. I still prefer the idea of gifting an experience or thoughtful gift versus a gift that is intended to be re-gifted.Perhaps price point is also a factor; most folks won’t spent $75-100+ on bottle of wine, so it is easier to wow them with something that punches above they drink in wine as you move up.
In my case the recipient is super wealthy and I gifted him a $100 2011 Barolo you cannot find anywhere; I believe he enjoyed receiving a gift of wine that was my favorite producer, the thought that I put in (saying he need not worry about decanting or sediment), and will drink it happily. I didn’t even tell him he cannot find it anywhere. I did manage his expectations by telling him it wasn’t the fanciest wine out there. And he will drink it with close family soon enough.
Maybe if I liked champagne and could give a story behind it I would do champagne. But I still prefer to give something more likely to be drunk than re-gifted, and if folks know you thoughtfully picked something out I think they are more likely to appreciate the gift. And for folks on this board , that thoughtful process takes all of 60 seconds to look at your cellar tracker.
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