Wine Baskets

Have you ever watched small children open a large gift for a birthday, Christmas, or some other event?  Their faces are beaming with excitement as they tear at the wrapping paper to reveal… a box.  They can hardly wait to get to the prize inside the box, for which they may require some assistance to open.   Finally, they get whatever is inside the box and they jump up and down enthusiastically before commencing to play with their new toy or contraption or whatever is inside the box.  This lasts for a short time, perhaps an hour, maybe more, maybe less.

Then they play with the box.

For hours!

The box becomes the main attraction.  They crawl inside it, wear it, jump on it, and any other kind of activity that can be done with a box and one can only sit back and wonder if going to U-haul and buying a few big boxes would have been the smarter move. 

In short, at least from the perspective of the child, the box is more valuable and more fun than the intended gift. 

Lesson learned: make sure the gift is something that the recipient will find more valuable than the box.

Translated lesson: don’t make a beautiful wine basket filled with inappropriate wine. 

The appropriateness of the wine requires the gift giver to know a little about the tastes of who they are giving it to.  For example, the casual White Zinfandel drinker will probably appreciate a nice blush or rose and possibly a light and fruity white wine such as a Riesling.  Conversely, the person who has their own collection of wines and enjoys a diverse selection of wines might enjoy some more complex and interesting reds.  Finally, with respect to the individual who has an abundance of wines, it might be fun to challenge them with something really tasty and cheap that they may have overlooked, but also include a novelty such as the Vinturi aerator or some exotic chocolates.  In other words, know who you are giving the basket to.

Along the lines of appropriateness, beware of giving wines to a co-worker unless you are certain that this person is into wine.  There was a time when I bought wines for several co-workers during the holidays only to find out that one was a recovering alcoholic and the other avoided alcohol all together for different reasons.  It was embarrassing to say the least!

Now, it’s actually very easy, especially during November and December, to find pre-made wine gift baskets at most popular stores including your local grocery and warehouses like Costco.  For giving casual gifts in order to participating in gift giving, white elephant games, or for someone who you know in advance will love the give, this is a perfectly great way to give a wine basket.  They are usually quite attractive with the wines displayed label up and sometimes come with some crackers or chocolate and even a couple of glasses.  It’s important to note here that, if the cost of the wine basket is under $30, the individual bottles can probably be bought for somewhere around $7-10.  This doesn’t mean it’s not a good gift that someone will not appreciate, of course.  It’s just good to be aware of what you are buying. 

Along the lines of pre-made wine gift baskets, some of the wine warehouses sell fairly high-end baskets with some very good wines.  Of course, these are not baskets that can be purchased for under $30.  They tend to be in the $75-150 range and I’ve seen some baskets with very rare vintages priced in the range of $5,000 or more! 

Assuming that you are not in the market to spend $5,000 on a wine basket, there is another option here.

Make your own.

This is where you can exercise some creativity and be as innovative as you want to be. 

Start by deciding what wine you’d like to include.  I would recommend two bottles but one really nice bottle can make a great give as can three or more.  The quantity is up to you.  The key here is to buy wines that you are sure the recipient will enjoy. 

Once you have the wine, the next step is deciding on what else you want to put into the basket.  Did you buy bold, tannic, red wines that might go well with some bittersweet dark chocolate?  Is it a white wine that might go well with crackers?  If the person you’re buying for is only an occasional wine drinker, is it possible they might enjoy a nice corkscrew?  You could also put a CD or a book in the basket as something to be enjoyed aesthetically with the wine.

Next, stand back and look at the wine bottles.  What do they look like in terms of the color of the wine as well as the labels?  Are they from the same region?  They don’t have to be but these elements may help you coordinate the style of basket (or container as there are many items that can be used as ‘baskets’ here) and its’ color.   This step in the process is simply about appearances.  It’s about giving the wine basket the essence of elegance or specialty.  Of course it’s special; it’s wine!  Let’s just make it look that way as well.

Finally, assemble the basket by first putting the bottles inside.  It might be a good idea to use some color-coordinated shredded paper to pad the bottom of the basket.  Next, add any of the accessories, arranging them so that the wine labels are facing upward and easy to identify.

Complete the arrangement by wrapping in clear cellophane and tying it off with a ribbon.  Adding a bow is a nice touch but not necessary if the ribbon is tied into a bow. 

It’s probably a good idea to add a card or note and attached it to the tied portion of the ribbon as you would when giving any gift. 

I’ve found that people who like wine, love receiving wine baskets.  There’s an element of culinary artistry combined with a sense of closeness when a gift such as this is given.  It is a gift that suggests good times and special occasions.  It is a great gift among friends and family alike.  Whether it is purchased as a complete gift or you put it together yourself, the person you give it to will remember it for a long time and appreciate that you gave it to them. 

Cheers!