wine as a gift

[sunset]

i don't know anything much about wine. However i'd like to get into it, not as a habit, but as a way of introducing something new into my life :-)

my first Q is, if i want to give wine as a gift to someone who knows his alcoholic beverages (a doctor, for example) - what type of wine should i give? any suggestions of brand?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Sunset, and welcome to the Wine Board. I'm sure you will be able to learn a lot about your new interest here. Making a response to your question is really shooting in the dark, as we don't know what the recipiant's interests are, and what price points you are interested in meeting. Having said that, I will shoot into the dark. If I'm not mistaken, you have reasonably good access to Australian wine there in the Philippines.

One thing the folks from Australia are good at is producing approachable (that which does not have to aged for many years) cabernet sauvignon, as well a shiraz, and blends of the two. Two cabernets that are highly recommended are Rosemount Hill of Gold and Bleasdale Mulberry Tree. Both of these retail in the U.S. at the $15-$20 price point. If you find out your friend likes a different kind of wine or if you want to spend more or less money, let us know.

[sunset]

thanks so much innkeeper. yes, i think the doctor i would like to give the gift to mentioned cabernet in one of our conversations. could you also let me know what type of dessert goes well with this kind of wine? is there any social rules regarding matching wine with onle certain kinds of food?

[Innkeeper]

These wines are for sipping before or after dinner (quaffing) or drinking with the main courses of the dinner. Since desserts are usually sweet, you need a sweet wine to go with them. Port, either red or white, is an excellent general purpose dessert wine. For chocolate desserts you can also use the so-called late harvest red wines. The best of these is the French Banyuls. For other desserts there are muscat based dessert wines as well as the very expensive Sauternes and the super sweet rieslings of Germany such as Beerenauslese.