About this time of year I'm often asked about giving wine as a gift. Here are a few general thoughts.
If you already have a sense of the sort of wine a friend likes, your only task is locating a suitable bottle. That's not a problem unless she drinks only well-aged First-Growth Bordeaux. They'll set you back hundreds or thousands of dollars, so forget the present and get a new friend.
If you don't know the recipient very well, start with a couple of safe assumptions. Not many wine drinkers have absolute dislikes when it comes to wine: Few consume only white or only red, or only Shiraz or only Riesling. If you buy reputable quality, any style of wine will almost certainly be acceptable.
You can't predict everything, and if you give someone a great bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and it turns out they get headaches from red wine, that's too bad. They can regift it.
You can spend as much or as little on wine as you think is appropriate. After price, one way of limiting your choice is by country or region.
If the person you're buying for goes hiking in Switzerland every summer, a bottle of Swiss wine might be just the thing. A bottle of Tuscan wine might be the anniversary present for a couple who honeymooned in Florence, a bottle of wine from Niagara Peninsula for a couple who honeymooned in Niagara Falls.
You could look for a label you think the recipient would like. Someone with an offbeat sense of humour will appreciate the wacky wine labels from Bonny Doon, a California winery.
An ecologist friend might appreciate a bottle of organic wine or one from Australia's Banrock Station: Part of the sales goes to wetlands preservation projects. For animal lovers, consider the Coopers Creek cat series (like Tom Cat Merlot and Sally Cat Pinot Noir) that benefits animal-welfare organizations.
Then there are wines you might avoid giving. A lot of men (and some women) have a prejudice against pink wine. Is it sexual insecurity or a belief that wine should just declare itself one way or the other and not fence-sit hue-wise? Whatever, you might give pink a miss, even though there are many great roses.
Wines with suggestive names can be tricky. One brand from the south of France is called "Fat Bastard" and a Chardonnay from New Zealand is called "Fat Cat." One couple told me their new neighbour won't speak to them after they gave her a bottle of the latter. They hadn't noticed her feline pet was obese. As for "Fat Bastard," use common sense and avoid giving it to anyone who's overweight or thinks he is.
Wines with an acquired taste are sometimes underappreciated. One is Retsina, a Greek wine with an infusion of pine gum that can taste like turpentine. It's great with Greek food such as olives and stuffed vine leaves, but it's not eagerly sought-after outside the Greek community. It's the same with very dry Fino Sherries, such as Tio Pepe. Fabulous with Spanish tapas, it's despised by many people.
Finally, should you give one bottle or two? In most cases, one bottle is appropriate. They're not flowers.
Four well-priced red wines today, two from the Cotes-du-Ventoux appellation in France's Rhone Valley.