Andrea’s Best Gifts for Wine Lovers

I think that the best gifts for wine lovers are an experience–preferably one they can share with friends and loved ones because that’s what wine is about!  So here are my picks for the best, most shareable wine gift “experiences”:

• Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto sparkling with dark chocolate.  The bottle is beautiful and so is the wine: rose petals and raspberries in the glass. Slip the bottle and a bar of dark chocolate into a little wine gift bag and you’ve got the most delicious, festive, unique gift.  My favorite chocolate pairings with this wine are the Godiva 85% Santo Domingo bar, Vosges Moe’s Bar (with bacon), and Lindt Excellence 90% Cacao–super-dark and intense.  Check out the fun Rosa Regale video tasting note that I did with Banfi’s proprietress, Cristina Mariani-May when the wine launched as one of my selections on Delta Air Lines.
• Rioja Reserva and Spanish Manchego cheese. Really any quality Rioja Reserva will make a lusty, savory match with Manchego, a firm sheep’s milk cheese that in my experience never met a wine it didn’t love, but of course loves its own kind – Spanish reds – the most.  Some great Rioja Reservas to look for: El Coto de Imaz, Marques de Riscal, Muga, and La Rioja Alta.
• Krug Grande Cuvee Champagne and popcorn. Feeling flush? This is the Champagne that lured me off Wall Street and into wine. You need a Wall Street salary to drink it often, but as a special-occasion/special-gift wine this is really unbeatable.  I adore it.  For this reason my husband John calls it his “dog house” wine meaning that if he’s in there, a bottle of this will get him out:) At least you can dollar-cost-average with the popcorn!

Every one of these wines of course deserves a great glass to make the most of the experience. In this video I share with you a section from my video wine course on what makes a great wine glass.  Speaking of gifts, you can enjoy special holiday savings on video wine course subscriptions through December 31, 2013.  Cheers to that!