Present and correct...wine is a gift that can be enjoyed now or put away for later celebrations.
Your colleague has had a baby. Your sister-in-law is turning 40. You’ve been invited to your boss’s 50th birthday party.
If you can’t stand the thought of flowers and think a coffee-table book will bore them to tears, wine can make an impressive gift.
Ben Moechtar, co-president of Sommeliers Australia who runs Delicado Foods and Delicado Wines in McMahons Point, said Penfolds Grange was an obvious choice to mark a special birthday because "it is built for ageing".
The 2004 vintage, released in May, would cellar for up to 50 years and shouldn’t be touched for 10 to 15 years, making it a wonderful gift, he said. Prices vary, but Delicado sells the 2004 Grange for $575 a bottle.
Wine auctioneer Andrew Caillard, who works at Langton’s, said another option for big spenders was to buy an aged wine at auction that was at its peak when you were giving it.
"The 2005 Grange will be seen to be one of the top vintages of the decade," Caillard said.
"But you need to wait before you drink it. You can buy a wine from 1990 at auction that is just as impressive as a gift and ready to be consumed now. It’s something worth considering." (Visit www.langtons.com.au if you want to buy wine at auction.)
However, if you don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars, why not give a bottle of wine that will cellar well for a decade and include a promise that you’ll drink it together when the recipient turns 30, 40 or 50?
Toni Paterson, a wine writer and Master of Wine who has been awarded the prestigious Madame Lily Bollinger Medal for tasting, recommends anything from the Wynns stable in South Australia’s Coonawarra region.
"With winemaker Sue Hodder at the helm, the wines are faultless," she said.
"Among other things, they are producing a sensational range of single vineyard wines that would make a really interesting gift.
"The 2006 Wynns Alex 88 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon is about to be released. You may also still find some 2005 Wynns Messenger Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon around, too. These are drinking beautifully now, but can also be cellared."
Also on Paterson’s gift list is the 2006 Tyrrell’s Single Vineyard Stevens Hunter Shiraz ($30-$35), which she described as "well-presented, classy, with great flavour and one that will improve with a few years of age".
"There are other options than Grange within the Penfolds stable," Paterson said.
"Bin 389 ($50) is a good alternative and is much more affordable than Grange. The latest vintage of the Wynns John Riddoch (2006) can also live for 20 years."
Mo Rosa, a wine educator at the Wine Society in Ultimo, said the biggest mistake people made when giving wine to keep was presenting just a single bottle .
"You need to decide it you are giving wine to drink now or to cellar," she said.
"If you decide to give a gift for the future, buy a six-pack so that the recipient can open a bottle each year and watch how the wine develops."
If you are buying for a woman who likes white wine, Rosa recommends a Chalice Bridge lightly oaked chardonnay from Margaret River (2007, $15-25) which can be enjoyed now or kept for up to three years.
If you wanted a white wine that would cellar, she said it was hard to go past the Hunter Valley’s semillons, such as the Brokenwood ILR Reserve 2003 ($40), which will keep for four years, or Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2008, Victoria ($32), which will keep for 10 years at least.
If it’s reds you’re after, she recommended a Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet from the Wine Society (2005, $44).
As for champagne, the experts agree it should not be discounted as a gift option. Vintage champagnes cellar better than non-vintage options that can develop within a year in the cellar. But be aware that sparkling wines will lose some of their bubbles, which slowly deteriorate no matter how carefully you cellar the bottles.
Moechtar, who made his name as a sommelier at Wildfire and MG Garage restaurants before opening his own store four years ago, said 1996 was considered one of the great years for vintage champagne, so if you were lucky enough to find a bottle of Veuve or Krug from this year, it would make a stunning gift.
For someone turning 21, Moechtar recommended a vintage cognac made in the year of their birth. This could set you back from $150 to $300.
If you want to buy Australian made, consider a fortified wine such as a Seppelt Para Liqueur made 21 years ago. Ask for something created by South Australian winemaker James Godfrey, said Moechtar, and you can’t go wrong.
For 21-year-olds, Rosa recommended wine that would cellar for five years as it was most likely the recipient would drink it early anyway.
She suggested a Hunter Semillon in the $15-20 bracket that could cellar for up to 20 years but would drink well now. If you are after a red, consider the 2007 Chateau Tanunda Shiraz from the Barossa ($22.99 a bottle).
Paterson said it was tricky for parents to buy wines when their children are born to keep until the children turn 21, as not many wines could reliably live for that long.
"I have put a selection of Clare Valley, Eden Valley and Tasmanian rieslings, Hunter semillons and Coonawarra cabernets away from my children’s birth years," Paterson said.
"My husband and I plan to drink them on each of their birthdays along the way. Hopefully some of the wines will last until the kids are of legal drinking age."
One thing the experts agree on is the need to store wine in optimum conditions to ensure the wines make the distance.
"Cool [12 - 16 degrees] and dark conditions are preferred and make sure it’s not too humid but not too dry," Paterson said.
"Home cellars, although great, are expensive and rare - so just find the coolest, darkest place in your house where the wine will not be disturbed."
If you have really bought up big and want to protect your investment, many self-storage companies offer wine storage that is a good solution if you are spending a bit of money on wines to age.
WHAT TO BUY
High-end gifts
Penfolds Grange, 2004, $575, www.delicadofoods.com.au
Wynns John Riddoch, 2006, $76, www.wynns.com.au
Wine at auction, www.langtons.com.au
Seppelt Para Liqueur, www.delicadofoods.com.au
Vintage cognac, $150-$300, www.delicadofoods.com.au
Mid-range
Wynns Messenger Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005, $39, www.wynns.com.au
Wynns Alex 88 Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, $39, www.wynns.com.au
Penfolds 389, 2005, $50, www.penfolds.com.au
Chateau Tanunda Shiraz from the Barossa, 2007, $22.99, www.winesociety.com.au
Seppelt Drumborg Riesling, 2008, Victoria, $32, www.winesociety.com.au
Tyrrell’s Single Vineyard Stevens Hunter Shiraz, 2006, $30-$35
Sandalford Estate Reserve Cabernet, 2005, $44.
Chalice Bridge chardonnay, 2007, $25, www.winesociety.com.au
A six-pack of any $20 wine
Chateau Tanunda shiraz, 2007, $23, www.winesociety.com.au
Brokenwood ILR Reserve, 2003, $40, www.winesociety.com.au
Any Hunter Valley semillon, $15-$20
