Wine Dummy Needs Help, Please!

[CCSullivan]

Happy holidays, everyone!

My brother is big into wine and I'd like to get him something really special for his Christmas & birthday this year (he was a december baby). I'm thinking I can spend about $75 - $100. I've been on wine.com, and they have some wine collections in that price range, but we're talking six bottles of all one variety (some, even all one vineyard) and I'm not sure this'd be all that much fun for one guy & his wife to sample.

They also have some "party pack" collections that come with cheapo glasses or wine charms or recipe cards... I dunno, I think I'd rather spend the money on the wine, ya know?

So I'd like to buy John a nice bottle of pretty good red wine, like in the $40 - $60 price range. Bold, complex flavors. Something wow or lush.

And then one or two additional bottles in the $10 - $20 price range. Maybe Chianti or a spanish wine or something else that'd be interesting and fun to try. Something unique would be best, like a grape blend or an up-and-coming vineyard. Then again, a more "everyday" variety might also be nice, cause then John will be able to find it locally if he really enjoys it. So I guess the field is wide open on this one.

Any ideas? John tends to drink reds in cold weather so I figure that's what I'll stick with. Also, someone on another forum recommended Garagiste in Seattle, but they won't ship to NJ (where I'll be having the wine delivered because neither my state nor John's allows wine shipments, argh!). So I guess I'm stuck with wine. com.


I really appreciate the sound advice & input from the educated palates on this forum! Thank you very much & I look forward to hearing your opinions!

Thanks again,

Carolyn