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Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

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Originally posted by wine+art:

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Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

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Originally posted by wine+art:
A lot of interesting and opposing thoughts.

Cali cab would be the last thing I would buy for the casual wine drinker. It has been my experience that most casual wine drinkers open the wine within the week, and Cali cab ( my experience) does not show that well on release.

I have been to 5 ( ) corporate events this holiday season, and the overwhelming wine of choice, and I mean overwhelming has been Pinot Grigio, followed by sparkling ( non Champagne) then Spanish reds.

I cannot imagine anyone not being thankful they have a nice bottle of Champagne in their home to open over the holiday season, regardless if this is their favorite or not.

Seriously?

Completely serious. Perhaps since you live in California people prefer Cali wines.

According to a quick look at an online source for the US,(a European source BTW) (yes I know this is Canada but I was unable to find a source) US consumption of California wine is 3 times that of all imported wine. My guess it that this holds true for other than California.

I'm sure and not surprised. A lot of wine in Cali that is not cabernet. I was just suggesting Cali wine seems much more popular with the non wine geek in Cali that many places.

We have had 5 holiday parties to date ( 2 more coming) and we allow each office to select their refreshments within reason, both wine, beer and spirits. Not one office has picked any wine from California, and I consider this cross section of 3000+ to be non serious wine people with a few exceptions. Not one office has picked an American beer which is different than years past.

While I appreciate that this may be true, it is anecdotal. Maybe you need to step up on the beer choices. Some of the greatest beers in the world are now from the US when you exclude the mass produced stuff.

While I have never had a beer from America I would place on my Top 10, I completely agree there are many excellent options in the USA. I enjoy Lost Abbey and Goose Island a great deal just to name two. All I said is that we have not had one office select an American beer ( craft or not) when selecting their choice.

I also have experienced solid/excellent options when shopping in Canada for wine from Italy and France, but never California.

Yes, this may very well be true but I'm pretty certain you can source a California Cabernet without too much difficulty.

Not in my limited experience within the proposed price range. Very pedestrian at best. I think Canada has excellent Italian first, again based on my experience buying in three of their cities.

I also do not think Cali cab drinks well on release ( exceptions I'm sure) and think most non-winos will open the bottle the same week they receive it.

Also possibly true, however it doesn't answer the question regarding the previous reaction to the gift of Champagne. Sometimes gifts are given to make people happy and the fact is that most people drink wine sooner than most of us. I still believe that the choice I've suggested will be received well in spite of it not being in it's ideal drinking window.

I would much prefer a gift of Champagne, or a gift of a nice Priorat, or other spanish choice.

I am also not the target audience.

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Originally posted by PurpleHaze:
Ooooh! Christmas Colors!!!

PH

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Originally posted by PurpleHaze:

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Originally posted by Merengue:

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Originally posted by PurpleHaze:
Meringue - if you have friends who are so "not" into wine that they wouldn't correlate New Year's Eve and a bottle of Champagne you should probably just give them a gift certificate to Applebee's and call it a day. PH

My non wino friends are probably drinking rum or scotch for most of the night on New Year's eve; thus they would not appreciate a champagne that evening; I would rather give them a Zacapa or a Macallan or Glenmorangie or something like that if I was hoping they would drink it on New Year's eve.

They don't have to drink the Champagne all friggin' night, Meringue! A toast with bubbly at midnight is a pretty standard New Year's Eve tradition even for non-drinkers, muchless non-winos. A bottle can give up to 10 folks a splash to toast with, and good Champagne gives them the benefit of not having to toast with garbage like Cook's or Andre to begin the New Year.

PH

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Originally posted by Gigond Ass:

If your prime purpose is to educate or enlighten your guest, then hold a tasting instead. If your purpose is to give a gift for others to take home, Cabernet is the best choice in my opinion.

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Originally posted by Merengue:

... me pushing my agenda to get them on the "wino" road.

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Originally posted by spo:
I was going to give wine but my staff also like hot sauce. They're getting the Ass Reaper for sure.

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I also have experienced solid/excellent options when shopping in Canada for wine from Italy and France , but never California.