Christmas Gifts For The Wine Lovers

A Christmas gift for the wine lover in the family would seem to be the easiest present to find. Go to your friendly neighborhood wine shop and pick up a bottle of wine. Thank you very much, your job is done, time to see what else is on the list.

However, you might want to hold on for just a moment Santa Claus. Like so many things in life, this is never as easy as it looks.

If the wine drinker in the family only drinks one kind of wine all the time, the job is easily accomplished by buying that one particular wine. Most wine drinkers, however, enjoy the variety that the wine world offers the discriminating drinker.

In this case some questions need to be asked. The initial factor to determine is whether to get a bottle of red or a bottle of white wine. Dessert wines and sparkling wines are also quite popular at this time of year.

A second way of narrowing the wine search is by sticking to a particular country or wine region. California Cabernet Sauvignon, Australian Shiraz, or French White Burgundy (Chardonnay), are all particular wines from specific regions that can help narrow a search.

Many regions have also experienced great success in a particular vintage. Wines that come from a particular vineyard can be especially reliant on a good vintage. 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet and 2003 Chateauneuf du Pape are just a couple of recent vintages that have achieved great acclaim.

Finally, price is always an important consideration. Excellent wines are available anywhere from $8 to $800 a bottle. The choice is yours.

Besides a bottle of wine, there are many other appropriate gifts for the family’s wine connoisseur. Magazine subscriptions, special glasses, special corkscrews, books and videos abound for the wine lover. And just in case anyone is thinking of their favorite wine writer, any of the abovementioned items would be quite lovely.

(Newtown resident and wine enthusiast Steve Small is the general manager at Yankee Wine & Spirits on Queen Street.)