A lot of people enjoy getting wine as a gift during the holidays. I know I would like it. I’m all for it. I do get this question frequently, “What makes one wine bottle a better gift than another? There are so, so many to choose from.”
Good question. Let’s go over things to consider.
Wine is a great gift because there’s a price for everyone. Wine is an option regardless of your budget. You can get a decent bottle for as low a $10. You can spend $20, $40, $80. It goes on up from there.
Something you can always consider is buying it by the case so you have some around during the holidays. Get yourself some wine gift bags, which I get from Amazon for under a dollar, and anyone you visit will appreciate it.
So what do you pick?
If you are buying a case like I just mentioned, look for deals at the grocery stores. For Thanksgiving, I found 3 different bottles there from Chateau Ste. Michelle, 2 reds and 1 white, that normally run $18. They were on sales 2 for 1. I brought home 18 bottles for Thanksgiving. The leftovers we’re putting to good use for the holidays.
I always recommend you look for something you can’t find just anywhere. Avoid something like a Meiomi Pinot Noir. I really like this wine. My wife’s a big Pinot fan and it’s my niece’s favorite. The problem is it’s a big seller. I see it sold at my local Miami Cuban bakery and my cousin’s gas station.
So instead, do a little exploration. Show the person receiving it that you did a little work. We’ve had people reach out to us now in the holidays asking us for recommendations.
Here are three we recommended. Why do we think these ones in particular make good gifts?
- They taste great and will be liked by most people.
- They are under $20.
- They aren’t ones you’ll find at the grocery store (or my cousin’s gas station).
Let me go over our picks. We can make them available via our connection with my sister-in-law’s wine shop and have them delivered.
We’ll be releasing a video tasting of all three of these soon.
Inicieri Abisso Cataratto 2017
This is white from Sicily. As a wine region, Sicily isn’t as popular are Tuscany, but they produce good wine. Since they aren’t that popular, you are more likely to get really good quality wine for a lower price.
This one is made from Catarrato grapes native to Sicily. It’s used a lot for light, easy-drinking white wines. It is grown almost exclusively in Sicily and it still one of Italy’s most commonly planted grape varieties.
This bottle in particular is refreshing and light. It’s great as a summer wine. Being from Miami, we have summer year-round, so why not have it whenever. It has a lemon, pineapple and even a hint of grapefruit.
We had a tasting and most everyone there enjoyed it.
Giuliano Rosati Rosso di Toscana 2017
This is a Super Tuscan. That sounds really cool (like something out of Marvel), but this just means it’s a Tuscan made wine custom designed by the wine maker. It doesn’t follow a wine standard like a Chianti or Rosso di Montalcino does. The winemaker is the artist and does his best for the year’s batch.
Because Sangiovese is common in the region, you’ll find that typically in Super Tuscans. I’ve had some blended with Syrah, Cab, Merlot and other varieties.
This one is a Merlot and Sangiovese blend. I found it a bit earthy with the taste of mineral. It’s definitely dry, somewhat acidic and really smooth going down. It has a hint of pepper and even chocolate. It’s well priced.
Giuliano Rosati Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2016
This third one’s included because I love Montepulciano d’Abruzzo. In this one, you taste cherry and oak nicely mixed together. It’s a little sweet, but not too much. You taste some pepper in there. I am a biased towards this because this type of wine is my favorite. I know you’ll like it too.
All three of these are Italian from wineries that aren’t huge and they aren’t sold just about everywhere.
If you would like, reach out to us and we can get you a few bottles, a case, whatever you like.
