WINE TIP BEFORE YOU SIP OR GIFT
Happy It’s not Monday!
Are you ready for this week’s Tuesday Tip?
The title for this week’s week’s tip made me giggle.
It’s a little-known secret that some of us don’t want to gift our favorite wines ( the ones with memories, like a trip to San Luis Obispo with close friends.
We want to hold onto the memories and the case we brought back!
I don’t want to share my wine when they are attached to my memories and cost more than the Costco three pack.
Does that make sense?
It is not (always) about the price of the bottle.
Am I the only one who buys the 3 pack of Kim Crawford at Costco?
Kim C. is my go-to wine for bookclub. Shhh…
We are all guilty of or the recipient of wine that has been passed around a few zip codes from book club, a secret Santa, or a neighborhood Majhong.
There is no judgment here at Everyday Edits –
( most of the time).
Speaking of no judging… have you tried the wine at Trader Joe’s? My daughter and SIL live a few miles from a Trader Joe’s and have found a few table wines!
Check out Trader Joe’s growing wine offerings!
If you have a favorite from Trader Joe’s, please share it in the comments!
Usually, the night of a book club or a last-minute neighborhood happy hour, I am rushing to the garage fridge for a chilled white.
Or, running a paper towel around the dust collected on a bottle oa Cab that was exposed to summer sun in our dining room.
Years ago we gifted a bottle of wine and the couple inadverntently gifted it back to us a few years later!
It had a custom Merry Christmas label from us, and we joked about it when we found it under our tree after the party.
We never said a word!
It was 2008 and 401K’s were drained much likethe dusty Cabs in our dining room.
WINE TIP BEFRE YOU GIFT
Here is a wine tip before you gift or sip!
We moved our select wines when we did not want our our adult sons to open a really nice bottle of wine with their leftover Thanksgiving turkey (which is the only date on the calendar they drink wine).
We will haul it out for them when they stop chilling the reds.
Do you remember this Mother’s Weekend Wine Tasting?
We (I) don’t drink Cabernets but we have a dozen bottles in our lower level.
Which sugggests there are not as many Cab lovers as a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir enthusiasts.
Which might mean the Cabs are moving around the neighborhood and social circles!
My girlfriends, the ones who know their wines, have their own system. Which is where I got the idea for this week’s Tuesday Tip!
TIPS BEFORE YOU SIP
- They suggested when you buy a wine (or a case) make a tiny note on the back of the bottle with the price.
- With a fine point pencil or Sharpie : mark the price of the bottle in an inconspicous place on the back of the bottle.
- My husband spent $39.00 for wine tags to label our California wines.
- I spent 4.00 for these gift tags that work work well on a wine bottle.
One of my girlfriends brings her favorite wine to book club and sips what she brought.
I loved that idea, but after my first pour I forgot the the plot and the tittle of the book we read that month.
the “grapes” must not fall to front the vines because my
mom buys and/or brings Chardonnay (and sometimes an Uber).
So if you shop in bulk or find your favorite at Trader Joe’s, take a sharpie (or one of these tags) and mark the price.
It is one thing to bring a nice bottle to a dinner party or a Christmas party with new neighbors, but save the $40 .00 + bottles for your wine enthusiasts.
Please share your strategies when gifting wine!
I would love to read in the comments.
I love Cabernet wines, so save those for me…loI
I never drank much wine until I met my husband. My father-in-law made his own wine–he had a grape press and a large barrel in his home’s basement and would make wine every year, so it was always on their dinner table, so I got used to drinking a hearty red wine. When we visited Nappa and Sonoma in CA over the years Cabernet Sauvignon were always our favorites at wine tastings. We do always have a Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio as our son and daughter-in-law enjoy that. Our daughter likes sparkling wines like Proseco.
I can’t say we often choose an expensive wine to buy — we really don’t have the palate to tell the difference! Yes, Trader Joes has great prices as does Costco–thank goodness!
Laura, I remember your very sweet and comical mother’s wine tasting weekend story. That is when I subscribed to and began following your blog. Your regifted wine story reminded me of a similar situation. My husband is a vintner. One of my favorite hobbies is paper crafting. I love making special tags and wine boxes when we gift our bottles of wine. We had given some of our friends 6 bottles of wine and I made, what I thought were very special and unique wine “ boxes” for each bottle. They have a lovely bar area, and I felt they would look nice on display. That was until the next time we saw them – she handed the “boxes” back to me, so I could “reuse” them. Oh well, sometimes you just have to laugh.
You had me at wine! And I seriously have a BOX of white wine in the fridge from Aldi that I enjoy. Easy to pour a glass or two and no worries about using a special one when I just want a glass in my hand while watching a movie. I even have the candles on timers to come on at 5pm and it is the signal to my husband that it is Happy Hour! Aren’t I clever!!!! I probably do not even hold the wine glass the correct way! I still prefer a stem instead of stemless. Old ways die hard here. So there is my wine saga and clinking the drinking with you!!!!