The Gift of Wine: Cru Wine and Bar

THE GIFT

story by Bryan Holt of Wine

Bryan Holt was the wine buyer for Micky Finn's for twenty years. He now is the owner of Cru Wine & Tap in Hotel Florence. Cru is downtown Florence's first true wine bar with a killer craft beer selection. With a small bottle shop and retail store inside, Cru is slowly becoming one of the top bars to visit while downtown. 122 West Evans St, Florence (843) 968-1250 | cruwinetap.com The holiday season is upon us! Time for mistletoe, tacky sweaters, and twenty-four hours of Ralphie’s obsession with a BB gun. If you’re in a bind and not sure what to give someone for Christmas, give the gift of wine.

When selecting a bottle of wine as a gift, you should consider a few important factors: What does the person usually drink?

Wine, like most things in life, is something that people can become really selective about. You wouldn’t want to give a bottle of red wine to someone who only drinks white. Try to figure out what varietal or region they gravitate to. On the flip side, you can get creative with wine as a present. Maybe your recipient loves Cabernet. Now you can have some fun and pick areas of the world that grow Cabernet, they maybe haven’t had before. Like a Washington State Red Mountain or a Left Bank Bordeaux.

Price.

Years ago I wrote an article for VIP Magazine explaining how you can’t judge a bottle of wine based on its price. That still holds true today. Spanish wines are a perfect example. Spain produces the best wines for the money, that’s one of the main reasons Cru picks Spanish wines for our monthly Table Wine Selections. You can grab a killer Rioja for $35 that can rival a California wine at $80 or more.

Vintage.

The year a wine is born makes all the difference. The vintage can make a bottle of wine either good or exceptional. Take the 2015 and 2016 Côtes du Rhône wines... These years had everything going for them. Great rain, the perfect weather… everything. You could spend $17 on a Guigal Rhône blend and you’d feel like you were drinking a wine that would cost way more. Most everything from these years are cellar-worthy. There are some great sites out there that will help guide you through the years.

I hope this helps you. The most important thing is don’t stress over it or lose sleep. The spirit of the season is to give, and I’m sure the person you are shopping for will be happy to get something from someone they care about.