The truth is that finding the perfect wine to give as a gift can be hard. A lot of blog posts out there tell you to buy fine wine for any occasion ranging from $50-$100, but not everyone has that kind of money to spend on a gift. If you do, that’s great! I know for a fact that I can’t afford $50 wine as a gift even though I would love to. The beautiful thing about wine is that there are some great ones in every price range.
Before buying someone a bottle of wine as a gift, I suggest reading these tips so you can be confident in your purchasing decisions.
Know your host.
Know the person you’re gifting wine to. Get to know what kind of wine they like. Try to subtly ask them or get someone else to ask for you if you don’t know. If they have traveled anywhere that they have fond memories of such as France or Italy, giving a gift of wine that reminds them of that country would also be a wonderful idea. Even wine that reminds them of fun trips to other wine regions like Oregon would work as well. Another note is if they don’t like wine, don’t buy them wine!
For example, my friends and family know that I love Italian wine and had such an amazing time living over there, so if they ever wanted to give me wine as a gift, they know that I would enjoy anything from Italy.
Another option is that you can bring a wine that you enjoy drinking so you can talk about it. You can point out the flavors and aromas and you can also explain what that wine pairs with.
Know your budget.
Figure out how much you’re willing to spend on a bottle of wine. You wouldn’t want to gift a $6 bottle of wine to a host that has spent hours planning and cooking a meal. If that $6 bottle of wine was spectacular, you could give it as a gift, but I’ve personally never had a cheap bottle of wine that has tasted THAT good. For a host that has been preparing for hours, I would say $10-$25 for a bottle of wine will work, but it doesn’t have to be those prices exactly. For other occasions, it’s really up to you to decide how much you want to spend. I would advise to spend a little bit more for weddings (possibly splurge a little more for a bottle of Champagne). Wine is also good for celebrating promotions, new jobs, and general life wins.
Know the occasion.
Like I mentioned before, you’ll want to bring a bottle of wine to a dinner, but what about other holidays? For holidays you know you will be drinking at such as Thanksgiving or New Years, you should bring a bottle of wine. For these types of occasions, you’ll want to bring something drinkable and not overly fancy or expensive. Ask ahead to see what you’re eating so you can bring a wine that will pair well with the food. I’d bring a Chardonnay or Pinot Noir to Thanksgiving because they pair well with turkey.
If you’re giving a gift to someone for a birthday, you could give them a bottle or wine or you could step outside of the box and get them a gift card to a wine subscription. With a wine subscription, the person you’ll be giving it to can pick out wines they know they’re going to like.
The average wine connoisseur or wine collector might have a lot of wine already, but you could get them gifts such as cute wine glass charms or a unique decanter. See my gift guide here.
Know the safe options.
There are a many basic types of wine that everyone knows about, but personally, I think there are a few safe options when choosing a gift. If you don’t know what the person likes and if you have no way to get that information, it might be best to go with a basic red or white that is easy to drink. Pinot Noir is a safe bet because it’s not too bold of a red and can be paired with tons of food. Another safe option is Pinot Grigio/Gris. In my experience, Pinot Grigio is easy to drink and a crowd pleaser.
Picking out a wine to give doesn’t have to be a daunting task, it should be an enjoyable experience.
This is very helpful! I sometimes want to gift wine to my wine drinker friends, but I myself don’t drink it and know nothing about it 🙂
I don’t care for too many wines – I like mine sweet, but find that most real wine drinkers do have preferences (bold, red, white, oak-y etc). It’s really hard to pick for a non-wine drinker. A great blog post would be an interactive one – pick 3 or 4 Walmart/Trader Joe’s/Walgreens brands available nationwide that you could have people taste showing the differences in flavors (this one has an oak tint, a chocolate, very bold, light and airy.) Then your readers would know what to pick if their host likes a bold red, they will understand what to pick too 9and maybe even willing to dirnk it at the event!) Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
This is super helpful for someone who loves wine but may not be super informed when bringing a bottle as a gift!