$100 on BC Wine

So... you have a budget of $100 and you want to buy some good BC wine. Well, here are a few gifting suggestions on how to spend your money:

The One Bottle Option
Blackwood Lane's 2007 The Reference - $90
It's an experience to drink this wine and whomever you buy it for will undoubtedly tell you all about it (or hopefully share the experience with you). Buy direct from winery in Langley or via a growing number of VQA stores.

The Two Bottle Option
1 bottle of Black Hills Estate Winery 2009 Nota Bene - 53-60$
1 bottle of Laughing Stock Vineyards 2009 Portfolio - $42
Both wines are BIG REDS and very collectable.  A wow factor rating in the realm of "holy crap!..... niiiiiiiice!" will be generated with this gift.

The Three Bottle "Syrah" Option
1 bottle of Cassini Cellars 2009 Syrah - $34
1 bottle of See-Ya-Later Ranch 2009 Rover - $25
1 bottle of Painted Rock Estate Winery 2008 Syrah - $40
The success of Syrah in BC is vintage specific as the youthful vines must battle the harsh winters to survive but these three a real beauties and will be loved by all Syrah/Shiraz lovers on your list.

The Four Bottle "Now and Later" Option
2 bottles of LaFrenz 2009 Montage - $22-26 each.
2 bottles of Fairview Cellars 2009 Two Hoots - $25-30 each.
The recipient can drink one of each right away and have the pleasure of laying the other two down for enjoyment the following year (or longer).

The Four Bottle "Cabernet Franc" Option
1 bottle of Tinhorn Creek 2009 Cabernet Franc - $20
1 bottle of Stag's Hollow 2009 Cabernet Franc - $28
1 bottle of Fort Berens Estate Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc - $25
1 bottle of River Stone Estate Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc - $26
2009 was a fantastic year for BC Cab Franc so why not celebrate with an ensemble gift pack of some of the Province's best?
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2011 IconWines.ca

Gift Ideas for 2010 Holiday Season

Whether it's for Christmas, Hanukah or any other event like the dreaded late-December birthday, many of us have wine-lovers in our lives to buy for and many Canadian wineries are happy to help with some suggestions on what to get them. Be it a gift basket or wine club, you'll be armed with more than just the ubiquitous wine-bottle shaped gift this year should you venture beyond the norm.

Gift Baskets/Boxes
By late November, many wineries are close to selling out of their portfolio of wines and have to get creative with their in-store (or online) options. You'll see the same few wines packaged in many different ways, often with added treats or wine gadgets.

In Niagara, Stratus Wines offers a plethora of options from gift cards to glassware to vertical bundles of their age worthy wines. The coolest of all is an "Assemblage" gift box that features the amazing 2007 Red and all of its components (Cab Franc, Merlot, Gamay and more) bottled separately. The various gifting options are available here.

In BC, Langley's Blackwood Lane Winery packages their top-end Bordeaux-styled wines The Alliance and The Reference in multiple gift bag options featuring local delicacies and/or fancy wine aerators. Wine shop orders only, but their various gift basket options can be viewed here.

Staying with BC, South Okanagan Valley winery Black Hills Estate, has many options for what they call a "library" release of their tasty 2008 Nota Bene. The beautifully packed boxes are aimed at the corporate market, but they also offer smaller two-packs as well. Online options and ordering can be accessed here.

Wine Clubs
For the more deep-pocketed and/or the organized group purchasers out there you may consider getting your wine-loving loved-one a membership to a top Canadian winery. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving as membership usually entails 3-4 shipments of wine throughout the year. Maybe you'll be invited over to share in one of the shipments?

Niagara's Tawse Winery, the "Winery of the Year" according to Wine Access, offers a wine club where participants enjoy member-only wines, member-only events and member-only tastings. Limited to only 150 people per year. Membership details here.

Cult favourite Poplar Grove Winery, from BC's Naramata Bench, offers a wine club which ships 6 wines in March, July and November. Many unique, small-lot wines are included that can't be purchased elsewhere. Membership details here.

Gift Certificates
Honestly, unless it's to your loved-one's favourite wine shop or liquor store, gift certificates are tricky business. If you're contemplating a gift certificate to a winery you'd better make sure it's truly a favourite of the receiver as they will likely have to put it towards buying a full case of wine unless they are planning a visit in person. The other thing you might want to check before purchasing is if the winery in question has any wine left at this time of the year. A number of favourite cult wineries like La Frenz Winery on the Naramata Bench will sell-out each year of have a very limited selection and won't have anything new until the Spring release. Not a show-stopper by any means, but something to consider.

An early Happy Holidays to all you gift-buying wine enthusiasts out there. You must be a large group as wine sales have risen again this year, especially domestic wines (according to a recent Wine Institute of BC press release). Yeah us!
 - Liam Carrier ©copyright 2010