Hi all,
Thinking of a wine related gift for a 50th for wifey's uncle just getting into wine in the last 5 years.
Thoughts appreciated.
Cheers,
Monghead.
What would you prefer for a gift?
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Hill Of Grace
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Ratcatcher
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My feeling is the same as Ian, I thought I'd read the 98 Henschke's were below par.
If he's the sort of person who normally drinks $30 and under bottles I'd buy a mixed 3 pack of RWT, St Henri, Mt Edelstone, Mt Langi or something like that or Cullen or Moss Wood etc from a good vintage.
If he already drinks those wines regularly already then go for the Grange or HoG.
I certainly wouldn't include 28, 128 and 407 in a "special" gift pack regardless of the vintage.
If you were buying for me and I am a $20 and under drinker with a couple of dozen "special" wines in my collection I would prefer a 3 pack of $60 to $100 wines rather than 1 x $400 wine or 6 x $50 wines or any combination with $25 wines in it. But that's me.
If he's the sort of person who normally drinks $30 and under bottles I'd buy a mixed 3 pack of RWT, St Henri, Mt Edelstone, Mt Langi or something like that or Cullen or Moss Wood etc from a good vintage.
If he already drinks those wines regularly already then go for the Grange or HoG.
I certainly wouldn't include 28, 128 and 407 in a "special" gift pack regardless of the vintage.
If you were buying for me and I am a $20 and under drinker with a couple of dozen "special" wines in my collection I would prefer a 3 pack of $60 to $100 wines rather than 1 x $400 wine or 6 x $50 wines or any combination with $25 wines in it. But that's me.
Thanks for the replies thus far.
Good thoughts.....
Agree that a '96 Grange and 707 would be a much nicer gift, but I was hoping to source these wines from my cellar, and I guess i am less willing to expend the 96's than 98's. Sorry, a bit greedy...
Ratcatcher, very insightful..... Good point about omiting the regular Bins in a special gift. I will take that on board. Thanks. You are also right, he is a $15-25 dollar man, with $25-40 for very special occassions (only once from memory), so maybe a selection of $50-100 might be the go.
Thanks all
Monghead
Good thoughts.....
Agree that a '96 Grange and 707 would be a much nicer gift, but I was hoping to source these wines from my cellar, and I guess i am less willing to expend the 96's than 98's. Sorry, a bit greedy...
Ratcatcher, very insightful..... Good point about omiting the regular Bins in a special gift. I will take that on board. Thanks. You are also right, he is a $15-25 dollar man, with $25-40 for very special occassions (only once from memory), so maybe a selection of $50-100 might be the go.
Thanks all
Monghead
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bacchaebabe
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If you're just starting to appreciate wine, a gift of a HOG or Grange would be very well recieved. Even if you've been into wine for far too long and spent far too much money on it, it would also be very well recieved but personally I'd prefer the 96 vintage of either Grange or HOG over the 98. The 96 HOG is supposed to be quite the wine.
Cheers,
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
Kris
There's a fine wine between pleasure and pain
(Stolen from the graffiti in the ladies loos at Pegasus Bay winery)
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Ratcatcher
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RE: the $50 - $100 vs the HOG or Grange issue.
I guess the thing is with a special birthday gift you are trying to make it a SPECIAL gift.
If he sees St Henri or Mt Edelstone or Cullen as a special wine (as I do) and the gift is all about drinking them then he may appreciate the variety of 2-3 excellent bottles. But I guess a lot of non-wine geeks don't really know Cullen or Mt Langi and part of the fun of getting a special bottle of wine for a special birthday is the bragging rights that go with getting a Grange or a Hill of Grace.
For example, my father-in-law tries to big note himself about wine but he bases his decisions on price and name. If he chooses the wine at dinner you can be assured that it's the famous wine names from the 80's and the price that determines what gets selected. But he's also the sort of person who will bring a bottle of St Henri to a Summer BBQ and a bottle of $9 Cellarmasters label to a 40th birthday. So for example if your father in law was talking to him about what he got for his 50th he would never had heard of Cullen or Bannockburn or Rockford so your father in law's gifts would create no interest but if it was HoG or Grange then he would Oooh and Aaah over it.
I guess what I'm saying is give your father in law whatever he will get the most fun out of for whatever reason. If part of the fun is telling his mates at work or at the golf club that he got a bottle of Grange rather than 3 great bottles of wine that people have never heard of then maybe that's the way to go.
But in answer to your original question, what would I want, I'd want the 3 great wines rather than 1 icon.
I guess the thing is with a special birthday gift you are trying to make it a SPECIAL gift.
If he sees St Henri or Mt Edelstone or Cullen as a special wine (as I do) and the gift is all about drinking them then he may appreciate the variety of 2-3 excellent bottles. But I guess a lot of non-wine geeks don't really know Cullen or Mt Langi and part of the fun of getting a special bottle of wine for a special birthday is the bragging rights that go with getting a Grange or a Hill of Grace.
For example, my father-in-law tries to big note himself about wine but he bases his decisions on price and name. If he chooses the wine at dinner you can be assured that it's the famous wine names from the 80's and the price that determines what gets selected. But he's also the sort of person who will bring a bottle of St Henri to a Summer BBQ and a bottle of $9 Cellarmasters label to a 40th birthday. So for example if your father in law was talking to him about what he got for his 50th he would never had heard of Cullen or Bannockburn or Rockford so your father in law's gifts would create no interest but if it was HoG or Grange then he would Oooh and Aaah over it.
I guess what I'm saying is give your father in law whatever he will get the most fun out of for whatever reason. If part of the fun is telling his mates at work or at the golf club that he got a bottle of Grange rather than 3 great bottles of wine that people have never heard of then maybe that's the way to go.
But in answer to your original question, what would I want, I'd want the 3 great wines rather than 1 icon.
monghead wrote:Agree that a '96 Grange and 707 would be a much nicer gift, but I was hoping to source these wines from my cellar, and I guess i am less willing to expend the 96's than 98's. Sorry, a bit greedy...
If it's a case then of picking a wine that's likely to be the most impressive to your Uncle but also what you're likely to miss drinking the least, it would have to be the 1998 HOG because of the reason I mentioned earlier.
Cheers,
Ian
Forget about goodness and mercy, they're gone.
Courage
Yes make sure he knows you want to drink it with him , I did that for my father with a bottle of his vintage port , he had it at his 60th so every one could try it..................monghead wrote:FYI
Wifey's uncle received the HOG...
Hope I'm there when he uncorks it.
Cheers,
Monghead
Some people slurp it,others swill it,a few sip on it,some gaze at it for hours ,enough now wheres the RED