Fine Wine For The Holidays

Perhaps no one has stressed the beauty and enjoyment of drinking wine better then Ernest Hemmingway, "In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a greater giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism... it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary."

Many that drink wine will tell you that it is a true experience. Very similar to the joy and delight one has when eating their favorite food, the enchantment can be intoxicating. Wine as a gift is ideal for many occasions, especially when there is a celebration taking place. Graduations, engagements, weddings, housewarming, birthdays, dinner parties, and the holidays are all perfect celebrations that can be enhanced with a good bottle of wine.

If you are not a connoisseur then choosing a good bottle of wine can be a little tricky. Whether you are buying the wine for yourself or as a gift, knowing what your preferences are when it comes to wine is important. If you do not know the preference of the person you are gifting the wine to I recommend giving a bottle of you favorite wine. The sentiment combined with the bottle makes a truly unique gift.

If you are shopping around for a bottle of wine and want to make the gift special you may consider adding a gift of wine glasses, or a gift basket of wine and cheese and perhaps fruit. This says that not only does the person you are gifting to important but you really want them to have an experience with the wine. Looking to a make a romantic evening with the one you love, then a basket filled with your favorite bottle of wine, a couple wine glasses, candles and fruit can be a wonderful invitation.

Keep in mind that fine wine does not have to be expensive to be good. There are many wines available that will not cost you a week's salary but as equally enchanting. To find these wines you can spend some time at a wine shop, or even a good grocery store that has a bountiful selection will have a specialist there that can help. You can also search the internet and look for affordable bottles of wine that have won awards.

I recommend visiting a local winery so that you can do a tasting of the different types of wine they have to offer. This will at least let you figure out the type of wine you prefer, red or white, sweet or dry and this will help you in making choices elsewhere. Most labels will give you an idea of what the taste of the wine will be like.

If you live in an area where there doesn't happen to be a winery close then hold a wine tasting party. Invite your friends, ask each to bring a bottle of wine, you can even set whether you want a single type of wine, say Reisling, or if you would like everyone to bring their favorite bottle of wine, and then you purchase a two bottles for the party. Put out some cheese and bread and fruit, I also recommend getting oyster crackers or the wafers that are sold to help cleanse the palate in-between tastings. This can be a fun night where everyone gets to broaden their wine preferences.