The holidays are here and finding the right wine gift for the wine lover in your life is actually not as hard as you might think. All of these wine gifts are tried and true by yours truly or one of our fellow Wine Oh writers. I promise if your guy or gal likes wine then they will love at least one of these wine gifts.
Without further ado here is our 2014 Wine Gift Guide with 10 Stocking Stuffers for Any Wine Lover!
Bertani Amarone: Time in a Bottle
Mi Amore! Giving the gift of good wine never goes out of season
I recently had the pleasure of wine tasting with the dashing Andrea Lonardi, the technical director for the Bertani Winery. The Amarone vertical tasting line-up included Bertani Amarone’s from 2006, 1989, 1976 and 1964. These wines completely stand the test of time.
Want to blow your wine loving loved one away? Pick a vintage that marks a special year from their life and give the gift of good wine. Find a year that’s meaningful to the person you are buying the bottle of wine for. Here are some ideas: anniversary, birthday, graduation date or birth of a child?
Bertani Back Story
Bertani was founded in 1857 by brothers Gaetano and Giovan Battista Bertani. Prosperous wine merchants who believed that quality winemaking held the key to the future, the Bertanis invested their funds in buying some of the finest vineyards in the province and making their own wines. Consequently, unlike many other local producers, Bertani owns its own vineyards and so is able to oversee the entire winemaking cycle from start to finish. Recognition and success followed swiftly as Bertani became one of the first Veronese producers to export its wines on a significant scale.
In the early years Bertani spearheaded a campaign to underscore the potential of Verona’s Valpolicella Valpantena wine district. The release of its Secco-Bertani Valpantena brand, still in production over 150 years later, is responsible for putting this DOC on the map.
The late 1950s saw Bertani take center stage again, with the launch of a new-style Recioto della Valpolicella. Through the introduction of longer aging techniques, this traditionally sweet or sparkling red wine was dramatically transformed into the dry, opulent red we know today as Amarone, one of Italy’s most revered red wines.
Recent years have been no less eventful. In 1986 an extraordinary cache of 1928 Recioto della Valpolicella Acinatico was discovered, bricked up behind the walls of a farmhouse on a Bertani estate where it had lain undisturbed since the twilight years of World War II. Tastings by experts confirm that the wine’s quality remains intact. A superb vintage, as exceptional as it is rare, it is served exclusively at charity events hosted by Bertani.
To maintain its extensive vineyards, Bertani engages the skills of some of Italy’s most eminent viticulturalists. From its vineyards to its cellars, Bertani offers a fascinating and memorable introduction to Veronese winemaking at its best, where progressive techniques and equipment are allied with extensive experience and a deeply felt respect for tradition.
J Brut Rosé
‘Tis the Season for Sparkling Wine
J Brut Rosé sparkles with a luminous pink salmon hue and exudes delicate aromas of strawberry, fresh cream, and a surprising earthy brioche characteristic. On the palate, the wine opens with flavors of tangerine, rose petal, and raspberry. The bright, delightfully fresh acidity of our Brut Rosé makes it an excellent companion to a variety of cuisines.
J Vineyards and Winery recommends pairing this bottle of bubby with barbecued oysters on the half shell or smoked salmon and cheese canapés. I think it will go great with a variety of holiday feasts from turkey to roast beast:) $38
One Hope Wine
The wine gift that keeps on giving
ONEHOPE is a social enterprise that integrates causes into products and services to make a social impact. ONEHOPE has quickly become one of the most recognizable cause brands due to the success of their cornerstone product, ONEHOPE Wine. Produced in partnership with Rob Mondavi, Jr., the award winning portfolio makes an impact with every bottle sold by donating HALF of the profits to partner causes.
ONEHOPE’s motivation began as a personal mission to help a friend with her fight against cancer and evolved into a thriving business that always remains focused on a very basic, but compelling principle: giving back is good business. Eight founders came together in 2007 and created, ONEHOPE Wine, with the goal of selling a quality wine that would enable them to donate to worthy causes all year round. In just five years, ONEHOPE Wine has expanded into a variety of markets across the country and continues its positive growth. They have donated over $1 million to make an impact.
Whole Vine Products
Grape Goods
Whole Vine Products are made from chef-tested natural flours from world-class sustainably-grown California fine wine grapes. The gluten-free flour is made from antioxidant-rich fine wine grape skins and seeds harvested under the freshness and sunshine of some of California’s best certified sustainable coastal vineyards.
Crackers and cookies are made from Chardonnay, Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot Pinot Noir, Riesling, Syrah, Zinfandel in both grape skin and grape seed flours. There are a total of 16 offerings delivering vineyard-packed nutrition.
Colby Red
Red wine with heart
Colby Groom is now 16 years old. Just prior to his 10th birthday he underwent back to back open heart surgeries. He is now a seasoned volunteer with the American Heart Association and was inspired to raise money for heart research through creating a wine with his Dad, notable winemaker Daryl Groom and Colby Red was born.
Colby Red is a flavorful California cuvee of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot & Petite Sirah. $12
Learn more about Colby Red and watch Wine Oh TV’s interview with the Groom Family Here!
2012 Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon
It’s beginning to look a lot like awards season
With the academy awards right around the corner, studios save their best flicks for the holiday season.
Pair this red wine with a pair of movie tickets and you will look like a gift giving star.
The Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon showed a beautiful degree of richness and structure in the 2012 vintage because of the season’s excellent weather.
The winery added small amounts of Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot to enrich the complexity of the fruit profile. Full-bodied with sturdy tannins, deep, layered fruit character, and a lushness on the palate, the 2012 Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon boasts a mélange of red and black berry flavors, cherries, cassis, notes of lavender, and a broad range of spices and toasted oak. Will show best with a few years of aging, but can be enjoyed now after an hour or two of decanting. $29
HOST Wine Chill with Cooling Pour Spout
Too Cool for School
Cool, pour and preserve with the CHILL. Just pour the first glass, insert the cooling pour spout and enjoy perfectly chilled wine! After just two hours in the freezer, your CHILL is ready to do the hard work for you.
Cool, pour and preserve with the CHILL™. Just pour the first glass to make room in your bottle, insert the cooling pour spout and enjoy perfectly chilled wine. It’s that easy. Made from BPA-free plastic, the CHILL™ is sure to be the talk of the party. $20
Gloria Ferrer Blanc De Noirs
Critic’s Pick
Critics go crazy for this special sparkler! This wine is a showcase for what’s possible when you spend over 25 years coddling and cultivating Carneros Pinot Noir for sparkling wine. Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs is not shy about its Pinot Pedigree. You see it in the light blush coloring, taste it in the fresh berry flavors and feel the lush textures. We left it on the skins a little longer, so you can take a little longer to savor the full montage of flavors.
The Blanc de Noirs is 92% Pinot Noir and 8% Chardonnay from the Carneros Appellation. The creamy palate and rosy hue are a result of a small addition of Vin Gris, which was blended into the base cuvée. Over forty different clones and selections of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are planted on the 340-acre estate in the Sonoma Carneros district. This allows Gloria Ferrer to consistently produce cuvées with complexity and clear fruit expression. $22
Recchiuti Confections
La Dolce Vita
Red Wine Pairing Collection A gourmet gift for chocolate and wine lovers alike. This box contains chocolates carefully selected by Michael Recchiuti to pair with the suggested red wines.
Includes three pieces each of Star Anise & Pink Peppercorn, Spring Jasmine Tea, Force Noir and pairing notes. $26
To Kalon Vine in Graphite
The Art of Wine
The To Kalon Vine In Graphite artwork celebrates the very unique terroir that comprises the To Kalon Vineyard – one of California’s most historic plots and the source of the winery’s top tier wines. Made of a proprietary smudge-proof graphite (and including a bit of To Kalon vine ash) the object is both decorative and functional as a writing or drawing instrument.
At $38 the one of a kind vine art would make a great stocking stuffer for the wine lover on your list. Pair with with a bottle of Robert Mondavi To Kalon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon $145 or the Robert Mondavi Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon $45 to really knock the socks off the wine lover in your life.
Robert Mondavi Winery commissioned San Francisco artist Agelio Batle to create a limited-edition work of art inspired by the vines of the renowned To Kalon Vineyard. The object, called To Kalon Vine in Graphite, celebrates the provenance of one of Napa Valley’s greatest vineyards and the release of the winery’s first-ever To Kalon Vineyard-appellated Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve.
A limited number of To Kalon Vine in Graphite are now available for sale to the public. Inspired by Nature and informed by his formal studies in art and science, Batle is recognized for sculpting small objects from the natural world using a proprietary graphite compound. In creating the To Kalon Vine in Graphite object, he visited the venerated To Kalon Vineyard site for inspiration. Using discarded vines found in the vineyard, he incinerated them and added the vine ash to the graphite mix.
The result is a finely sculpted decorative object and writing implement with a little bit of To Kalon inside it. The vine art uniquely captures the life forces that have shaped it, and looking closely in the swirling layers, one can glimpse abstract landscapes, clouds and the words ‘To Kalon’ subtly carved into its bark.
Batle’s artwork includes stage design, art installation, performance art and drawing as well as sculpture. His work has been seen in museums and galleries across the United States, including the American Craft Museum of New York, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists’ Gallery. His works have also been sold at such leading retailers as Neiman Marcus, Anthropologie, William Yeoward (London) and Le Bon Marche (Paris).
Wine Trip to Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California Wine Country with Wine Oh TV: October 23 – October 27, 2015
This intensive, five day Santa Barbara wine country tour is punctuated with tastes of the region’s special food, culture, and way of life. Of course we focus on the wines, which in this area are generally made from the chardonnay and pinot noir grapes (the latter of “Sideways” fame ). Rhone varieties such as viognier, grenache, and syrah can also reach peak expression on various picturesque, local hillsides.
Traveling with Wine Oh TV’s Monique Soltani and professional wine writer and Chief Wine Sherpa Ben Weinberg, you will receive a warm welcome from each iconic winemaker and enough face to face time to discuss the history of each winery as well as plans for the future. All of these special vignerons represent generations of commitment to quality and respect for terroir. Enjoy one of a kind meals, whether with winemakers at their favorite café, when their in – house chefs make exquisite dishes for your pleasure, or while you picnic on their exquisite winery terraces.
Savor regional specialties as they appear on your plate: locally produced, artisanal cheeses and breads; fresh berries grown alongside scenic streams; and a wide selection of pastry and dessert concoctions. Spend time before our tour in the urban oasis of Los Angeles, where tremendous weather and great meals are kings. Visit the picturesque towns of Buellton and Montecito within the Santa Barbara region, charming places with big wines; and tour the local vineyards and wineries, classically beautiful yet quite accessible with the right guides.
For more details and tour and ticket information CLICK HERE!
If you have a wine gift idea for our fellow Wine Oh’s we want to hear it! Let us know any of your wine themed gift ideas in the comments section below or on Facebook or Twitter.
Happy Holidays!
