How to choose a wine gift? Create a book and bottle set which makes the gift more special.  Then, choose a wine education guide along with a bottle of wine.  

Choose a bottle of sparkling wine as your gift. It is festive and comes in an elegant bottle with shiny foil.  Next, provide your host(s) with a wine that you love; he or she will appreciate that you shared the wine that you treat yourself with. And you want to make sure that you also pick wine based on the type of food that he or she likes.

What about pricing?

Go midrange to high-end. It is tempting to purchase a cheap wine for a gift, particularly if you don’t know much about wines. However, cheap wine will taste cheap. That’s not to say that you can’t get a decent wine for a reasonable price. You just don’t want to pick the cheapest wine, especially if you’ve never tasted it yourself. 

It is important to consider who you’re buying the wine for. Buying a very cheap bottle of wine for your boss won’t endear you to him. Similarly, you may not want to buy the cheapest bottle you can find for a close friend (unless you have a habit of drinking cheap wine together).

Additionally, if you’re known as someone who appreciates wine, buying a cheap bottle for someone else can come off as you are underestimating their taste or simply not appreciating them as much. 

Also, how much you spend can depend on the wine. For instance, you can get a very tasty Cotes du Rhône (pronounce it “Coats Do Roan”) for about $15. However, with a Burgundy, you’ll need to spend more to get a better wine, usually upwards of $50. Another relatively cheap option is a Cabernet Sauvignon, as even cheap versions of this wine are fairly decent. For Pinot noir, go for at least a $20 bottle, as anything less won’t be very good. 

The four seasons 

Consider the season. If you don’t know where to start, picking wines by the season is a good bet. You don’t necessarily want the same wines in the summer that you do in the winter. In the summer, you want something lighter, for instance, than you do in winter. 

White wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling are good summer choices. Rose and Merlot are also a good bet. These wines are a bit lighter.

For fall, you want fuller bodied whites, such as oaked Chardonnay or Viognier. You still want a somewhat lighter red wine, so stick with Pinot noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, or a sparkling variety.

During the winter, you can go with heavier wines since you’ll be eating heavier dishes. Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux blend, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Malbec are fine in the reds. For whites, choose oaked Chardonnay. You can also go for a sparkly wine.

In the spring, you want lighter, fruitier wines, such as Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Unoaked Chardonnay, or Rose. You can also choose Riesling, Moscato, or Pinot noir.

Ask questions. If you’re not a wine connoisseur yourself, gazing at a liquor store’s collection of wines can be quite daunting, as you may be faced with hundreds of different bottles of wines. 

If you’re a bit lost, don’t be afraid to ask the person in charge of the wine section for advice. Many will work within your price range to help you find a good, drinkable wine, especially if you can specify a few parameters, such as whether you want a sweet or dry wine. 

Know the person’s tastes. If you’re buying wine as a gift, it’s best to know what the person likes to drink. 

Most wine drinkers have particular tastes; whether they like a dry white wine or a fun and fruity sparkling rosé. Consider what you’ve seen the person drink in the past; then either go for something similar or the same.

If you’re not sure what the person drinks, consider his or her general tastes. If he or she has a sweet tooth, a sweeter wine may be preferable, while if he or she likes to avoid sugar for the most part, something drier may be preferable instead. 

If you’re still not sure, ask someone at the store to recommend a reasonably priced popular wine.