The Gift of Wine Brings Holiday Cheer

'Twas the night before Christmas and, oops, I realized I was short three gifts for friends and neighbors.

Well, no worries, a quick trip to your local wine merchant will always
provide an array of quick gift ideas that are sure to please most
adults. And, similar to other retailers, wine stores are hoping to make
their budgets with big boosts from holiday sales. So, at a good wine
shop you are likely to find an extremely helpful salesperson as well as
some really cheerful deals on certain products.

But if shopping for wine for yourself is a challenge, just wait until
you walk in and start thinking about buying wine for other people -- it
can be as mind-boggling as shopping for perfume or clothes for your
significant other. So many times I hear stories of eager wine gift
shoppers leaving a store feeling defeated because the choices were
overwhelming and they just couldn't decide what to buy.

In an attempt to spread holiday cheer and goodwill among potential wine
givers, here's a quick checklist of things to think about when buying
wine for your loved ones or colleagues and nearly guaranteeing you find
a wine that won't create a whine from those on the receiving end.

Develop Relationships

Those of you who are regular readers of this column know that I believe
one of the most important tenets of enjoying wine is to befriend a good
wine merchant. I enjoy being able to walk into my wine shop and say,
"I'm looking for something that will..." and getting a quick,
authoritative answer that provides some options.