By Lisa Katic
Giving the gift of wine does not have to be complicated or expensive. The staff at Wine Gallery 108 relish finding the perfect gift for every occasion and for the many different palates we know exist.
First off, many of our customers want to bring a special gift of wine to a friend’s house for a party, celebration or dinner. For this occasion, we recommend a light, fresh sparkling wine, either white or rosé. These can range from $17 and up, which is why we often ask customers for a price range so we can stay within their budget.
Another option is one of our best-selling reds from Bordeaux. It is a great value for its quality, and the label and bottle give it a very elevated feel. We sell this wine often for hostess gifts and dinner wines.
With the holidays right around the corner, we are starting to get requests for Thanksgiving wines and wines to give as holiday gifts. Some general categories for the coming turkey-centered holiday are riesling or white Burgundy if you are looking for a white, and pinot noir, gamay, grenache or, for some, zinfandel if you prefer a red.
A sparkling wine is always a great start for this meal and can carry you through many of the traditional dishes on the table. Bubbles, especially very dry sparkling wines, pair well with the richness of the Thanksgiving table because they refresh and cleanse the palate after bites of rich, fatty foods.
Don’t overlook Virginia for your Thanksgiving table, either. Our local wineries make viognier, cabernet franc and chardonnay that pair beautifully with turkey and all the trimmings, and it’s a great way to support growers right in our own backyard.
And don’t forget dessert – a sparkling riesling or a Moscato d’Asti is lovely with pumpkin pie, while a tawny port or Madeira are a natural match for pecan pie. If you’d like to keep it local, Virginia producers also make late-harvest petit manseng that works well with either.
If you are shopping for someone and don’t know their specific tastes in wine, the staff will most likely recommend what we call a “crowd pleaser.” These are wines that appeal to a variety of palates, whether bold and rich or fruity and easy-drinking. We can recommend crowd pleasers in the sparkling, rosé, white and red categories. Each of these types of wine has a flavor profile that is middle of the road in terms of acid, tannin, oak or any other element that might be unappealing to some tastes.
Then there are the gift requests for the wine lovers in your life. Of course, we love these requests because we can dive deep and go off the beaten path. In this case, we recommend lesser-known regions like the Canary Islands, Jura, Corsica, Virginia and Beaujolais, especially cru-level Beaujolais.
In addition to focusing on region, we might point out a wine made from an unusual varietal like trousseau, pineau d’aunis, perricone, sciaccarellu or sylvaner. These wines are
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