The Gift of Wine – Way Better Than a Gift Card
There are so many opportunities to give gifts this time of year that it boggles the mind, or at least it challenges the average shopper. How many times have you been out and about trying to conceive of what kind of gift to purchase for someone only to balk and go with a gift certificate or something else equally banal? Well, I’m here to tell you that there is an easy remedy for this situation, at least when you’re buying for adults – that remedy is wine.
Think about it, wine is celebratory. It has an affinity for the dinner table, a social lubricant, classy, ubiquitous in our culture and media, and as statistics prove wine consumption in the United States is currently at its highest level ever! Face it, wine makes a great gift these days.
Consider how versatile the world of wine is at this stage in history, and what it can mean to have so many fantastic options available to you. Never before have wine-loving Americans had such a wide and diverse range of vino available to them in the American marketplace. In the wine store I manage, for instance, one can buy everything from a French muscadet to an aglianico from Taurasi; a pinot noir from Central Otago to an amigne from Vetroz; a roussanne from McLaren Vale to a viura from Rioja. The possibilities are endless, which means there are many opportunities for you to dazzle someone with the gift of a bottle of wine made with a fashionable varietal from an interesting new region.
Further, unlike many of today’s anonymous consumables, every quality wine has a place of origin and a story it’s just waiting for someone to discover. Wine geeks like me and my friends can spend hours talking about the climate, soil, vintage conditions, winemaking techniques, etc. that were instrumental in helping to craft a given wine from a given producer in a given year. Uncovering and discussing these details can be half the fun of drinking a bottle of wine, even if the level of geekery is less than full blown.
So before you concede to apathy and go reaching for that lame gift certificate think about buying a bottle of wine for that special someone. Each bottle has a lot to offer its recipient besides just a fine beverage, and the recipient will remember who brought them such a unique and satisfying gift…and that can’t hurt. Do your friends and family really need another gift card anyway?
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