#WineWednesday: Gift Giving Should Be This Easy – The Red Edition

By / Wine + Drinks / November 27th, 2013 / 1

Last week we looked at good gift wines to give for the season that were of the white persuasion – this week let’s look at some reds you might want to stuff stockings with, lay under the tree or pull out around the dinner table.

Might I suggest that during the holidays you introduce your wine-loving friends to grapes they may not be familiar with, an overlook producer, a misappropriated grape, or blends from a popular place but one they might not pick up for themselves.

Let’s see if we can’t wow them with something new, instead of the same-old same-old:

E Guigal 2010 Cote du Rhone ($17.95)

There are wines you keep recommending until they are gone; this is one of them … great fruit with the addition of an elegance of spice and balance of oak.  Buy one as a gift and two for yourself.

Peachy Canyon 2011 Westside Zinfandel ($26.95)

I taste plenty of good Zin throughout the year – none of it pink – this one has lots to get excited about: vanilla, cherry, plum, and Christmas spice on the nose, along with cherry, blackberry jam and mocha highlight the palate.

La Posta 2011 Estela Armando Bonarda ($14.95)

Sweet and supple fruit with lovely round mouthfeel and a touch of smokiness.  Bonarda will be the next big thing from Argentina.

Topazio 2009 Douro Red ($12.55)

This Douro blend delivers for not a lot of dough.  Chocolate, dark berries, rich and succulent really juicy.

Jip Jip Rock Sparkling Shiraz ($18.95)

If this does not shock people then nothing will – this is possibly the best sparkling Shiraz I have ever tasted and best of all it is very good – give it a shot.

For more wine suggestions, see our other #WineWednesday posts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael is an award-winning journalist: Promoting the Promoters Award Cuvée 2010 and Ontario Wine Awards Journalist of the Year 2012.  He is also a national and international wine judge - Ontario Wine Awards, All Canadian Wine Championships; Best of Riesling — Germany; Essencia do Vinho — "Top Wines of Portugal".  He is currently the President of the Wine Writers Circle of Canada and the wine columnist for Ottawa Life and Grand magazine as well as regular contributor to Tidings, and Grapevine ... his reviews have also appeared in the LCBO Vintages magazine. Michael has also added a YouTube channel to his activities where he reviews bottles of great Ontario wine on a weekly basis. In whatever he does, it is Michael’s desire to educate, inspire and encourage others to grow their own love and enthusiasm for wine – and to realize that it is their palate that ultimately makes the decision.

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