Best bottle of wine for friend's birthday

[Anonymous]

I'm looking to buy a bottle of wine as a birthday gift for a dear friend. I don't know that friend has any preferences. Something good, versatile, but not too expensive ($100 or less) should do.


What do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

1. A Turley Zinfandel would be wonderful. The Juvenile is very versatile and the least expensive one--about $22 on the shelf, but often marked up substantially due to the name and limited availability. The Old Vines is in the $42-45, and the single vineyard appellations are in the 70's and 80's, if you can find them. Ask at a good wine shop.

2. Go to Costco in DC, on NY Ave. They have an outstanding wine selection, and everything is MUCH cheaper than you'll find elsewhere. The Ridge Monte Bello is said to be one of the finest Cabernets made in California, and unlike the cult wines that go for hundreds and are available only on mailing list, it's available at Costco for around $100. If you really want to splurge on something wonderful, get that. Or look around--they have a ton of great wines, and you'll find someone knowledgeable you can ask--if not a staff member, then someone browsing.

[Anonymous]

PP, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Stag's Leap Cab.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I was going to come back and say that anything from Stag's Leap or Chateau Montelena would also be very nice, and likely somewhere in the 60 to 90 range.

If you don't know what your friend like, safest to go with red. Most people like red and for gifting it's more impressive. But if you know she likes white, anything from Grgich Hills is going to be wonderful and 45-60. Or the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay would be a fun gift.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay was the American white that bested the French at the "Tasting of Paris" in 1976. It wasn't their specialty--it was one they made for cash flow while they waited for their cab grapes to become ready for serious winemaking. But it won and they still make it. Though he's unmentioned in the movie ("Bottle Shock"), Mike Grgich was the winemaker. He went on his own and has had a storied career making whites.

Stag's Leap Cabernet was the American red that won that tasting. There are actually two Stag's Leap wineries, right next to each other, with different owners and different winemakers. One is "Winery," one is "Cellars," and I forget which one places the apostrophe differently (or doesn't have one). Not sure exactly which of them was the 1976 winner--the winemaker was Warren Winiarski.

Anyway, those are fun stories to tell with your gift if you buy one of those (if you do, and you're a stickler for accuracy with your stories, check and get the right Stag's Leap). The Montelena cabernet is also very good. Stag's Leap also makes an outstanding Petit Sirah that's less expensive than the cab.

[Anonymous]

My own preference is to give a nice bottle of wine with some age on it that is ready to drink. If you buy a fancy Cab off the shelf it will likely be too young to drink, though some like that, and the person will have to set it aside for awhile (up to 10 years) and will need some place to do so. You might be able to find a less fancy name with more age that will work better -- look for a 2004 Calif. cab perhaps, you can sometimes find them on shelves (you can also order on line from a place like K&L in CA, and even with shipping, sometimes you come out ahead). Wide World of Wines in DC recently had old Barolos on sale, and that could be fun and a bit different.

[Anonymous]

I like to do that too, out of my own cellar. But OP is going to be looking on store shelves. Finding the right wine, at the right price, with bottle age on it is going to be a little hard to do walking in cold. Also, she's not going to know how well it's been stored--is it a clearance-priced bottle because it's been upright in the backroom at room temperature for 3 years? Or, there may be a risk that it's just in as a bargain lot from God-knows-where.

All that said, one wine that is very versatile, accessible, affordable, and is often released late with years of bottle age on it (stored properly at the winery) is Rioja. A good older Rioja (right now, probably a 2005 or so) from a reputable store would be a nice gift like this.

[Anonymous]

Zinfandel, by the way, doesn't need to be aged, and most of them don't particularly benefit from it. (There are a few built for it, some of them blended, but they're the outliers.)
Any Turley is going to taste great right now, or anytime in the next 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again, PPs, for your responses!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I was going to come back and say that anything from Stag's Leap or Chateau Montelena would also be very nice, and likely somewhere in the 60 to 90 range.

If you don't know what your friend like, safest to go with red. Most people like red and for gifting it's more impressive. But if you know she likes white, anything from Grgich Hills is going to be wonderful and 45-60. Or the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay would be a fun gift.

Chateau Montelena Chardonnay was the American white that bested the French at the "Tasting of Paris" in 1976. It wasn't their specialty--it was one they made for cash flow while they waited for their cab grapes to become ready for serious winemaking. But it won and they still make it. Though he's unmentioned in the movie ("Bottle Shock"), Mike Grgich was the winemaker. He went on his own and has had a storied career making whites.

Stag's Leap Cabernet was the American red that won that tasting. There are actually two Stag's Leap wineries, right next to each other, with different owners and different winemakers. One is "Winery," one is "Cellars," and I forget which one places the apostrophe differently (or doesn't have one). Not sure exactly which of them was the 1976 winner--the winemaker was Warren Winiarski.

Anyway, those are fun stories to tell with your gift if you buy one of those (if you do, and you're a stickler for accuracy with your stories, check and get the right Stag's Leap). The Montelena cabernet is also very good. Stag's Leap also makes an outstanding Petit Sirah that's less expensive than the cab.

These are great stories to accompany a bottle of wine!

[Anonymous]

Don't give wine. People in general drink too much as it is. For a $100 or less there are so many other great gifts you could give. A great book or a cute beach bag filled with fun things.

[Anonymous]

Happy to help!

[Anonymous]

Zip it, 10:35. You aren't being helpful.

OP came to the food forum specifically to ask about wine. If you don't like wine, skip the thread.