How to Give Wine Without Looking Like Uncultured Pigs
A preference for wine can say a lot about a person’s taste in every way. Do you like roasting red meat over an open fire and then tightening your cigar tightly ? Are you dreaming of pristine beach weather and salty oysters all year round? These aspirations call for a variety of wine pairings, which in themselves constitute a culinary school created by centuries of painstaking study.
This holiday season, you should consider donating wine, but only if you are serious about your work. It’s easy to treat someone to wine under the guise of thoughtfulness, but grabbing any old two-dollar Chuck off the shelf can be a cheap and easy gift. If you are looking to give someone the right wine, here are a few things to consider before heading to your local bottle store.
Know the recipient’s taste in food
To find the right bottle, you need to know the recipient of the gift well. Wine fumes are a wide church. This quest is best done when the recipient of the wine is a true gourmet. You don’t need to be a sommelier to know the basics: lighter meats and fish tend to go well with white wines, while bolder reds go well with darker meats.
Food & Wine provides some general information about seafood and wine pairings:
Silky white wines like Chardonnay from California, Chile or Australia are delicious with fish like salmon or any seafood in a rich sauce.
And red meat combinations:
Californian blends of Cabernet, Bordeaux, and Bordeaux are great for steaks and dishes like lamb chops with fluffy herbs. The firm tannins of these wines refresh the palate after each bite.
If you’re not sure what your intended recipient’s taste is, you can ask a few subtle questions to uncover it. Ask what they cook for dinner this week and if they have any restaurants they like to visit. Knowing about the general taste of this person’s food will be enough to set you on a path to wine that they will likely start buying regularly on their own.
Get an idea of where this person likes to travel
Wine-producing regions are scattered throughout the world , and it is likely that the taste of this person’s wine will be combined with his penchant for learning about certain cultures. The recipient does not need to be an experienced world traveler, but if he turns out to be an angry Francophile or romanticizes the Tuscan hills, he will probably appreciate something from France or Italy.
If you’re not entirely sure where this person got their passport stamped, perhaps ask where they would ultimately like to visit. If they have always wanted to visit South America, perhaps Argentine malbec or the spicy Chilean Pinot Noir will suit them. Understanding which destinations are traveling on their wishlist can help you better understand which region of the world to take a bottle from.
Take a look at the strange, funky wines
If you think the recipient will appreciate it, don’t hesitate. Not all wines adhere to centuries-old traditions, and if unconventional taste is the pride of this friend or family member, definitely consider expanding with orange wine or Pétillant Naturel (Pét-Nat for short).
Orange wines are not made from oranges, but by a more patient, new adaptation of traditional white wine. As the wine enthusiast explains:
Orange wines, also known as skin contact wines and amber wines, are made from white grapes. They have the flavors of white varieties with the texture and tannins characteristic of red wine. This is the result after the grape skins have been fermented with the squeezed juice.
Pet-Nat also infiltrates unconventional territory and can earn you a few fan points. They are crispy and effervescent and have their roots in a long tradition of winemaking. AsVinePair explains :
The wine is bottled until the first fermentation is complete, which allows the production of carbon dioxide from the natural sugars contained in the grapes. Méthode ancestrale was originally used in Limoux in southern France in the early 16th century by wine-making monks.
If the wine you have picked has a rich history, your friend will have even more reasons to drink the bottle with great pleasure.
How much should you spend?
It all depends on how much the recipient appreciates the gesture that went out of their way to find the perfect bottle, and how much they generally love the wine. But if you’re buying it for someone who truly adores your efforts, set aside a budget worthy of any traditional holiday gift. However, you do not have bankruptcy.
As Alexandra Schrezengost, founder and CEO of event management company Virtual with Us , told Robb Report :
The correct amount to spend on a bottle for someone is the amount you were going to spend on a tech gadget, kitchen tool, gift card, or whatever else you were going to give that person. It is relatively easy to find a rare or well-aged bottle at a specialty liquor store: just call the phone and talk to a local vendor about the amount you want to spend. But keep in mind that a $ 40 bottle can be as enjoyable as a $ 200 bottle, while also instilling the idea that you value the recipient’s excellent taste just as much.
When in doubt, choose a versatile wine
Fortunately, if you’re pressed for time, you can thwart your guessing game by choosing a wine that goes well with just about anything. Some versatile wines are Riesling, Gamay, Pinot Noir, Barbera and Chenin Blanc, according to wine site Decanter .
As a general rule of thumb, you can avoid anything too sour unless you’re trying to be bold or daring in your gift. As Decanter explained Sunny Hodge, owner of London-based wine bar Diogenes the Dog, “Good versatile wines are expected to be harmless, so avoid very sour white wines, large tannin reds and [everything] too dry or too sweet. “
Chat with a local vintner
You now have an arsenal of knowledge to take with you to the liquor store. Whoever is behind the counter should be able to help you expand that know-how and maybe even help you dig deeper underground towards a fantastic result. Your local wine merchant will help you find the right price and possibly recommend a delicious new orange wine or Pet Nat. You can get ready with the script, but , you have already learned, has more than equip you so you can go there as an experienced professional.