2010 ~ No. 12    

Holiday Gift Guide

It’s easy to give a bottle of first growth Bordeaux or vintage bubbly for the holidays. But to give the opportunity to make your own wine? That’s thinking inside the bottle!

So forthwith – our annual guide to the unusual, the elegant and the delicious.

All Dressed Up With Somewhere to Go

Forget the ubiquitous silver foil bag. An elegant gift tag is all you need to dress up a wine bottle for giving, for thanking or for any reason at all.

Dempsey & Carroll offers a selection of engraved tags with grosgrain ribbon. The gift tags are $20 to $25 per set of 5, depending on design.

Earth-Friendly

For over 70 of his 84 years, Charlie Barra has worked among the grapes. His parents immigrated to California from Piedmont and worked doing what they new best – growing vines. Charlie started learning how to prune them as a 10 year old, and has spent the years since growing vines the ‘old fashioned way’ otherwise known as organically.

He purchased his own vineyard in 1955 and began the Barra of Mendocino label in 1997.

The estate’s Chanterelle Club includes quarterly shipments of four bottles of their organic wines from Mendocino – two red and two white. There are lots of other spiffy benefits, and the cost averages $75 per quarterly shipment.

The Sophisticated Spritzer

The watered-down wine spritzer of the 1980s has gone the way of big hair and the Cosby sweater.

Give it a modern twist by adding a splash of Ayala Sparkling Herbal Water to your wine. These organic, zero calorie, all natural drinks are infused with real herbs for an extra zing of flavor.

Mix red wine with Cinnamon Orange Peel or white wine with either the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla or Ginger Lemon Peel to create a bright, festive and modern aperitif for your guests!

Sparkling waters are $24 for three 25 oz. bottles with free shipping. Still varieties also are available.

Day Camp for Grown-Ups

Who says camp is just for kids? Judd’s Hill Winery offers Bottle Blending Day Camp that allows visitors to create their own Bordeaux style cuvee. One of the estate’s winemakers will guide you through a personal tasting, education and blending session. Participants also experience hand bottling, labeling and dipping the bottle in wax, and get to take their creation home the same day.

Prices range from $165 to $690, depending on the number of bottles made. Additional details about Bottle Blending Day Camp can be found here; explore additional Napa wine and culinary adventures here.

Role Reversal

As you all well know, there are lots of things to do with cork once it has served its purpose as a wine stopper.

Turn the tables and use these cork buckets to keep the wine on ice! Their natural insulating properties keep things chilled ‘till the bottle is gone. The small is $98, the large $138. Call 1-800-666-2675 to inquire.

If these aren’t your glass of Chablis, WE Cork offers numerous other cork items that make great gifts.

The Perfect Travel Companion

Who among us hasn’t wanted to tuck a bottle or two of wine in our suitcase but feared the consequences of battered baggage?

VinniBag to the rescue! The VinniBag is an inflatable pouch that conforms to its contents, protecting them from breaks – and clothes from spillage! The bag is made from recyclable materials, can hold multiple items, and folds up flat when not in use.

The bag is $28 with free shipping to the Lower 48.

They Go Together

For everyone who’s ever thought “national park” and “wine pairing dinner” this is the gift for you. Each year, Yosemite National Park plays host to Vintners’ Holidays – a weekend of wine and food events that culminate in a private reception to meet the winemakers and a five-course dinner prepared by Executive Chef Percy Whatley, a two-time US finalist in the Bocuse d’Or.

Events in 2010 included winemakers from such esteemed wineries as Plumpjack Winery/Cade Winery, Dutton-Goldfield, Tablas Creek Vineyard, Cain Vineyard & Winery, Beckstoffer Vineyards and more.

Needless to say, reservations must be made in advance, so start planning for 2011. Details are still being finalized, with eight sessions running from November 6 through December 8. Prices start at $766.

I Got a Huge Bonus!

If you have a spare $132K lying around, consider requesting the Napa Valley Edition Jet Card from FlexJet.

The purchase itself gets you 25 hours of flight time on a Learjet 40 XR (325 days per year.) However, if you request their Napa Valley Edition by January 15, 2011, you also receive a truly unique and decadent culinary experience.

This gift with purchase includes a private dinner, cooking lesson and sake tasting with celebrity Chef Morimoto as well as two passes to Auction Napa Valley, the country’s première wine charity event.

Guests stay at Meadowood Napa Valley and have a personal driver and luxury vehicle at their disposal throughout the weekend.

Further, proceeds from sales of the Jet Card also benefit Auction Napa Valley. The event takes place from June 2 to June 5, 2011.

My Bonus Isn’t Quite That Big

Destination Cellars offers customized epicurean travel adventures at some of the world’s best vineyards and wineries. From an intimate weekend at a Napa winery to a four-week excursion through Burgundy and Bordeaux, their client service team can make it happen!

Holiday gift memberships start at $15,000 a year and include five custom-designed experiences. Individual experiences can also be created to suit your budget and palate.

Wine Grapes

Here’s a new way to enjoy Shiraz – wrapped in chocolate! The confectionary geniuses at Bissinger’s take plump purple grapes, infuse them with the red wine, and wrap them in a layer of dark chocolate. Just pop it into your mouth and savor! Priced at a delectable $16 for 8 ounces.

Never Say Diet!

The New Sonoma Diet is set to hit bookstores January 4 – perfect timing after six weeks of holiday indulgences!

Written by Dr. Connie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D., this updated and revised edition is inspired by the California lifestyle of fresh ingredients, healthy choices, lots of delicious flavor, and wine.

The book’s meal plans include wine pairing suggestions with meals – suggesting that this isn’t so much a diet book as much as a lifestyle guide. The book retails for $22.95.

Just Don’t Drink and Pedal!

Outdoor enthusiasts can take a two-wheeled tour of South American wine country. Led by REI Adventures, this 10 day bike excursion starts in Buenos Aires, heads to Mendoza for intimate visits at several wineries, then winds its way to Chile to experience Santiago and the wineries of the Colchagua Valley. Prices start at $4,099. Other itineraries are available.

Water and Wine

Though it’s not quite turning water into wine, this gift is almost as good! California’s St. Francis Winery and Connecticut’s fashion label vineyard vines have teamed up in support of Waterkeeper Alliance.

The winery created the limited edition Whale of a Chardonnay and paired it with a specially designed four-bottle canvas wine bag from the fashion retailer. The tote and bottle retail for $45, with $15 of each sale going directly to the Waterkeeper Alliance for their clean water advocacy efforts.

The set can be purchased through the winery or retailer.