Gifting: wine, glassware, cocktails and more

Above: No.1 Reserve Methode Traditionnelle NV

As the festive season edges closer, here are some gifting options to consider for those interested in wine and spirits.

Gifting
It’s always exciting watching a friend or mate open a gift that you have thought long and hard about, maybe sought advice on and gone out of your way to the source. The choices will be based on how well you know the person (family, friends, colleagues, business associates), what they like to drink, eat or do, what they have been talking about recently in terms of travel - or something on their list of must-dos.

Wine
Buying a special bottle of wine for a friend, family member or colleague is, well for me at least, often a difficult choice. Do I buy something or select a bottle from my cellar? One popular choice is sparkling wine or champagne. It doesn’t have to be French – though this is always exciting, buy local is now the focus – and our fine NZ sparklings are impressive. I recently tasted the Quartz Reef 2015, Hunter’s Miru Miru NV and No1 Family Estate Cuvée Virginie 2016 and have added them to my wish list. A handwritten card or note explaining why you chose that particular bottle is the icing. Champagne is always appreciated, easily sourced and there are many brands to select from. Sometimes aiming for a grower Champagne or lesser-known brand says that you really thought about that person. Two great examples are – Lilbert – Fils Blanc de Blancs NV and Serge Mathieu Rosé NV – both delicious and well under a hundy each.
Sourcing a still red or white takes consideration. The easy option is to choose any wine that is on or around a spending limit, but the more personal approach is to start a conversation with the staff in a specialist wine store (or email your friendly local Master Somm). Whether you have something in mind or would like some advice anyone at Glengarry or Caro’s can help you from their selection of NZ, Australian, French and America's options; Maison Vauron is New Zealand’s premier French wine specialist, or Cahn’s will offer expert opinion on South African and Italian wine. Be sure to have them print you a page about the wine you have selected to include in the gift wrapping – and if possible, a wooden box.

Glassware
Glassware is a great gift option. A box of two mouth-blown stems (Somm-speak for glassware that is made by a glass-blower such as Riedel or Zalto) or specific variety (pinot noir, champagne) or stemless can be perfect. If you know the person you are buying for is particular about the cleaning and polishing of glassware then this will be the right move. Eisch, Spiegelau and Riedel are excellent options, but you can also step it up to Zalto (their flutes are elegant and very gift-worthy), the Jancis Robinson glass (one glass for all wine types and styles) or make a different statement with a set of two cognac balloons. Consider including a polishing cloth.

Cocktail Kit
Friends of mine have a decent sized wine cellar and every wine in there is catalogued, has a story behind why the bottle is resting there and when they plan to open it. Buying a wine for them would be an easy thing to do, but after they had some challenges during lock-downs in 2020, my wife and I wanted to do something different for them. We chose to buy (and have delivered) a cocktail kit. Relatively new to the market, the latest cocktail kits are an innovative and fun gift. The minimum requirement is two people and no excuse not to try. Two great companies to source kits and options from are Black Pineapple and The Cocktail Collective. We also have a number of different companies producing fine NZ spirits now (support local business!). In my cabinet I have a sampler pack of four gins from Curiosity – my favourite is the Negroni special.

Gadgets
Wine tools and gadgets can make a fun gift – do be sure to match the person to the idea (for ages we were short of Champagne stoppers and were tickled to receive some for a gift). Two interesting options are the Durand – a vintage cork and screw-pull combination; or a Coravin. The Coravin is a home-use wine preserving tool that uses a needle to pierce a cork or a replacement screw-top and injects preserving gas as it dispenses wine - allowing the wine to be saved and served over weeks and even months if needed. I have three bottles of wine closed with corks that I am experimenting with. It’s been four weeks already and they are all tasting great. Both these options are for the wine geek and sit at the more expensive end of the gifting spectrum.

Experiences
Consider an experience voucher that includes wine. All wine regions offer fun options, from their own products and tasting room experiences to accommodation or walking trails. Gibbston Valley Wines in Otago have a wine, spa and restaurant experience (or for the active drinker, the Four Barrels Trail in Cromwell); Brick Bay in Matakana have a sculpture trail, art gift shop, tasting and lunch venue; The Hunting Lodge in Waimauku have a wine tasting room with a really lovely smart dining experience in the old lodge; a night or weekend in a vineyard B&B such as Hawkdun Rise in Alexandra or Poppies in Martinborough.
A great gift/experience combination could be a voucher for clothes at Rodd and Gunn (Commercial Bay) followed by dinner or just a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs in their Restaurant/Bar next door (fine winelist by me).