Christmas tree lots are already sprouting up. Black Friday is almost nigh. For yourself and for loved ones, gift lists are being typed up. But as always, don’t expect to rack up a bunch of iPhone 4s’s or Call of Duty 3, nor, gratefully, will you actually receive a single fruit cake, but you will find yourself receiving—and giving or regifting—bottles of wine.
More and more, if only little by little, multi-star restaurants are adding craft beer to their drinks menus. Even wine magazines routinely feature high-end beers and the upsurge in quality in the beer world. So what’s it gonna take for the notion of gifting a fine bottle of brew to catch on and become a thing?
Let’s not chime in about how all your friends know to give you a bottle of Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux or The Bruery Four Calling Birds. I’m talking about the way most people run into the supermarket or some corner wine shop in the neighborhood of the party they’re going to and grab any old $15 bottle of wine, one that says “I know better than to bring you Two-Buck Chuck but neither of us knows enough about wine to realize this stuff isn’t exactly a Robert Parker 100-point masterpiece.”
The bell-ringers are already out, the mall Santas have their laps full, and you’re starting to receive holiday party invitations. Of course, wine-giving season is year-round, so this isn’t just a Christmas quandary, but it is time to start stocking up on gifts. So how ‘bout it. Do you give non beer geeks good bottles of beer or do you always defer to the vino for fear said non beer geeks would think you’re being cheap (or weird)? If the former, what bottle will you be conveying this year? Moreover, if that recipient regifts it to you next time he or she pops over to your place, what would you love to see come back to you?
