Holiday Wine Gifts - I

Well, I'm finally back after a week of turkey, snow and power outages. Wine is the best Holiday gift. Most people love wine and even if they don't drink, they usually like a wine gift which they will save for a special occasion. Wine is easy to buy and will show you to be a sophisticated and worldly person. Wine is available over a vast price range from three dollars to thousands of dollars. This weekend you can follow my urgings and go out there and taste the wine yourself so you can give gifts that literally reflect your taste.


Once again, the South Seattle Artisan Wineries (SSAW) are open from 1:00 to 5;00 this Saturday. This is an opportunity to taste and give exceptional wines from the Seattle area. Chris Gorman will be opening his new winery in Woodinville this weekend. Be the first on your block to taste his wines and give your friends and family wine from one of Washington's newest wineries. While you are in Woodinville you can stop by Ste Michelle and taste not only Chateau Ste Michelle wines but Col Solare and Northstar as well. Stop in at Novelty Hill to buy great wine at reasonable prices. While you are there, you can taste and buy Mike Januik's great wines, too. Check out Mathews, Page, Facelli, and DeStefano. Check to see what other Woodinville wineries are open.

It's not too late to order wine direct from wineries. After all we won the right to do so recently, although you could always do this with Washington wineries. For the wine lover in your family try the trinity of Syrahs from Sandige, the three Syrahs from Three Rivers, or the three different vineyard designated wines from Andrew Will - great opportunities to taste "terroir" - the differences in wine from the microclimate of each vineyard.

Look for more ideas on holiday wine gifts in the coming weeks. Check out the Seattle Wine Blog every few days for more recommendations. Don't hesitate to send a "comment" if you have a question about wine in the Seattle area.