Are you looking for the perfect Christmas gift? An excellent wine is just what you need!
Giving a wine at Christmas is a real gesture of class, an inevitable sign of style and elegance. Whether it’s a modest expense or you have a big budget, a good bottle of wine will certainly make the lucky one who receives it happy – brightening up the holidays and embellishing the tables of every family.
However, once you’ve decided to give a wine as a gift, inevitable doubts arise: red or white? 1 or 2 bottles? Would bubbles be more appropriate?
When giving a wine, it is good not to fall into banality. For wine to be an original and unique gift, it must be chosen by concentrating the thought on the person who will receive it. This demonstrates, in fact, that this is not a trivial gift, precisely because you have thought about their personality and tastes, also recalling all the glasses of wine drunk together!
Do you want to gift wine without choosing the wrong bottle? Here are 3 criteria that will help you choose the most suitable wine:
1) Male or female?
Having established the fact that you’re not gifting wine to a teetotaler, whether the recipient is a man or a woman could make a difference. In any case, if you don’t know the tastes in detail, rely on red wine.
If your gift is intended for a man, we are sure that the father, the boyfriend, your brother or the grandparents, each of them will rejoice in the choice made, which will probably enrich their wine cellar. You could evaluate a classic Chianti, emblem of the Tuscan winemaking tradition, such as the Chianti Vergine delle Rocce from the Da Vinci I Capolavori collection, or a versatile Rosso di Montalcino from the Leonardo Da Vinci line. Red wine is an easy choice for everyone.
For the woman who likes to enjoy a glass of red not only as an aperitif, but also for dinner with friends, we suggest our Sangiovese Superiore Riserva from the 1502 Da Vinci in Romagna collection: a richness and a softness of aroma that tells of genuine and timeless values. If, on the other hand, you are thinking of a gift for a white wine lover, then it will be ideal to embrace the bright and floral charm of Pinot Grigio Dama con l’Ermellino from the I Capolavori collection.
The seasonality of the holidays means that bubbles are one of the most gifted wines as they are linked to the idea of Christmas toasts. A sparkling wine is an excellent choice, especially if given to a woman, as they are notoriously more linked to the lively effervescence of golden bubbles.
2) Beginner or Expert?
An inexperienced palate is an untrained palate, which needs a guide in tasting. Give them time to taste a few more glasses, but in the meantime try to entice him with an easy and drinkable wine, focusing on an accessible taste, especially on the palate, such as Linarius Syrah Toscana IGT: balanced, silky and enveloping tannins, long and persistent. Wines such as Barolo or Amarone are certainly known even to the less experienced, but giving such structured wines won’t allow adequate appreciation of the complexity of wines that are so demanding to decipher. If your friend is a true exhibitionist, you can still make them happy by giving them an excellent Amarone della Valpolicella, which they can show off at the next dinner with all of their friends (including you, hopefully).
If you give a wine to a connoisseur, a wine lover, an enthusiast or even a sommelier, things get a little more complicated. Why? Because they almost always know more than you do. Play it safe and rely on tradition by choosing a wine that never goes out of fashion. A famous “great classic”, ever-green, will be able to stand up to even the devoted taster. Perhaps it will be a wine that will not surprise but it will certainly hit the mark because, as always, it will demonstrate its unfailing certainty, both on the nose and on the palate. A symbol of Italian wine excellence, a true connoisseur offers a Brunello di Montalcino such as our San Giovanni Battista Brunello di Montalcino from the Da Vinci I Capolavori collection, or a refined S.to Ippolito Toscana Rosso from the Villa Da Vinci line. If, on the other hand, you really want to surprise them, gift an exclusive and niche wine like Vin Santo: a dessert and meditation wine that remains in the memory of those who taste it as a sweet and indelible sensation.
3) When in doubt, it’s best to give a few bottles!
Do you think a single bottle of wine is too little? There is nothing better than opting for a selection of wine: three or four bottles to ensure you cater for everyone’s tastes or for a complete pairing, from appetizer to dessert. You’ll find many assorted wine selections in our online shop, designed just for Christmas as a transversal, elegant and refined gift idea. By giving a selection such as “Dal brindisi al brindisi”, you will offer a complete and all-encompassing tasting experience: sparkling wine to start the toasts, white and red to get to the heart of the delicious festive meals, Vin Santo to seal the sensory journey. And again: by choosing “Viaggio nel genio” you will satisfy the red wine lovers, thanks to a pleasant taste of great Tuscan red wines such as Toscana Rosso, Chianti and Brunello, ending with the refined complexity of Vin Santo. Finally, the selection “Le origini del mito“: a basic triptych, with an excellent quality-price ratio, consisting of a white, a red and a sparkling wine. Simple, yet effective.
