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AN INTERESTING ARTICLE
Given my
financial bent, I subscribe to and read the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal has two writers, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, who
cover wines. Their Tastings
column is a regular in the Friday Personal section of the Journal.
Their book, Love by the Glass, is a recommended read for a story
of how two ordinary people gradually acquire a world-class taste for wines.
In the December
6, 2002, Tastings column, Gaiter and Brecher write about 12 top gift ideas.
Some of them are their ideas and some are ideas of others in the wine
world. The selections are listed
below. Note how similar some are to
the Wino Wally gift ideas (and I don’t even get paid for this).
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A personalized corkscrew
– Kevin Zraly, former wine director of Windows on the World and instructor
and mentor to Wino Bob, gave these out to all of his captains at the
restaurant.
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Everyday glasses –
Ed McCarthy, author of many books in the “Dummies” series, made this
recommendation. I’ll add to
it by saying that Crate and Barrel sells some nice, inexpensive glasses.
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Wine classes – Call
a good wine store where the recipient lives and ask about wine classes.
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Cheese – Andrea
Immer’s second-favorite present of all time was “a giant wheel of Vella
Bear Flag Dry Jack from Sonoma ($36 at www.vellacheese.com).”
Andrea’s favorite present of all time was the restraining order the
judge issued on our own Winos Bob and John.
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A glass drainer – A
stem mat that allows wine glasses to dry before they’re put away.
$11.95 at www.wineenthusiast.com.
The second most favorite recommendation as noted by follow-up letters
from readers of Gaiter and Brecher.
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Label savers, photo book,
and cellar diary – Someone gave one of these to Gaiter and Brecher and
it started their wine writing saga. I’d
only recommend providing one of these to the more serious wino.
If you really want to write about wines, send us an article and
we’ll publish it under the Lunatic Fringe column.
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A good book, maybe an old
book – Hugh Johnson’s book is recommended by many.
Andrea Immer’s book is recommended by Wino Bob (remember that
restraining order, Bob).
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The Worldwide Sampler
– A suggested case of inexpensive wines from around the world.
The ones suggested are (and I expect a sequential review to be
forthcoming from our Bob):
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Moscato d’Asti from Italy
($14)
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Gewurztraminer from Alsace
($14-18)
-
Sauvignon Blanc from New
Zealand ($10-17)
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Australian Semillon ($7)
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Vinho Verde from Portugal
($5-7)
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German Riesling ($13-19)
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Spanish Rose – ($6-10)
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Pinotage from South Africa
($9-13)
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Malbec from Argentina
($8-12)
-
Merlot from Chile ($7)
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Barbera d’Alba from Italy
($13-22)
-
Crozes-Hermitage from
France ($13-20)
-
An insulated bag for wine
– Great for taking a chilled bottle of wine over to someone’s house for
dinner.
-
A wine rack – Forget
fancy and cute racks. Get an understated rack that will hold a dozen bottles
(maybe the sampler). Price
about $15 at Ikea.
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A wine saver –
VacuVin’s finest (and on Wino Wally’s must list for all winos).
$7-10.
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One great bottle –
Too many to choose from. Winos John, Wally, and Bob are always available for
advice on this one.
Credits for
these selections should go to Gaiter and Brecher.
I saved the article and finally found the time to summarize it and submit
it for my reporting.
Wino Wally
Baltimore, MD
February 9, 2002
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