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Howard W. Hewitt

~ … The "W" stands for wine!

Howard W. Hewitt

Tag Archives: Holiday gifts

Still time for a Christmas bottle of wine

22 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by Howard in Holidays, Newspaper Column 2017, Uncategorized

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Christmas wine gifts, Holiday gifts, Holiday wine, Napa Cabernet, White Burgundy

Holiday parties, family gatherings, and festive weekends make up the holidays for most of us. A bottle of good wine adds to the festivities or makes a great gift for a friend, host, or party gift.

grape-sense-logoNow that I work part time in wine retail, the number of customers wanting suggestions is surprising. It’s very satisfying to talk a customer through some options and hope you’ve made them and the gift recipient happy.

If you want to give wine during the holidays you’re job is much easier if you know just a little bit about your friend’s wine drinking habits. Do they drink red or White? Do they like bold wines or lighter bodied wines? Do you know if they have a favorite winery? And do you know the general price range of the wines they drink.

Let’s face it, you wouldn’t want to take a grocery store wine to someone who is drinking Napa Cabernet or French Burgundy.

Knowing those few characteristics not only helps you buy a better gift but it will help your wine shop specialist recommend ideas for a perfect gift.

Now, how about some suggestions?

veranLet’s mention a couple white wines and a couple of reds. A beautiful gift is a bottle of French white Burgundy – or Chardonnay. White burgundy is rich, subtle and elegant. You can spend $60-$70 easily on a bottle of Puligny-Montrachet or $100-$300 on a bottle of Batard-Montrachet. But let’s face it, most aren’t spending in that category. But you can still give white Burgundy. You’ll find several in the $15-$25 dollar range at your nearby wine shop. Try Drouhin’s Saint-Veran’s for a smooth introduction to white Burgundy. Saint-Veran’s is widely available for $15-$18.

Italian whites seem to be improving by the year. Often the grapes and wines will be new to people. The wines tend to be bigger on fruit while maintaining a food-friendly dryness. And they tend to be really tasty. Look for Trebbiano, Garganega, Vermentino, or Verdicchio.

When it comes to red wine, there is never a better and safer gift than Pinot Noir. Even a consumer of big, bold red wines can appreciate the finesse and depth of good Pinot Noir. The trick is finding good Pinot at a reasonable price. That is where you might need some help so don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations.

 

Lange

Try an Oregon Pinot Noir.

I think the sweet spot for affordable Pinot Noir is $20-$35 for a bottle of entry-level Oregon Pinot Noir. I’ve never thought you could find much Burgundy at that price but was recently impressed with Prosper Maufoux burgundy. You can find the Maufoux at better wine shops for around $20.

 

Finally, drink more sparkling wine. You can find delicious Italian Prosecco and Spanish Cava starting for as low as under $10. You should keep a couple bottles around the house just for fun. The very best Prosecco – look for Valdobbiadene on the label – can be affordable at $20-$30.

Champagne is never cheap but always worth it. Entry level French champagne – the world’s best bubbbles – can now be found in most markets at $35-$50. Of course, the price on legitimate French Champagne can go up to hundreds of dollars per bottle.

Lift your glass and enjoy your holiday!

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A Few Of My Favorite Things

11 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by Howard in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Holidays, Newspaper Column 2015, Oregon, Uncategorized

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Holiday gifts, Riedel stemware, Savino wine storage

Thanksgiving is over and no one punched Uncle Harry. You survived or avoided Black Friday. It’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for the gift-giving and holiday-party season.

Grape Sense LogoOne of many discoveries from eight years of writing a wine column is readers are always asking my favorite wine, or how I save open wine, and many other basic questions. So today I’m offering gift-giving ideas based on a few of my favorite things.

Riedel stemware – Many experienced wine drinkers will scoff at the difference between wine glasses until they do a side-by-side taste comparison. I know, I was one of those people.

Riedel glassware is the gold standard for wine glasses. The company has no competitors. The company is being managed by the 11th generation of the Riedel family with 300 years of Austrian glass-making experience.

Riedel introduced the concept that the shape of the glass can profoundly change the taste of the wine. It works. There are no words a writer can choose to convince a skeptic. Do the taste test with same wine, different glasses and one Riedel varietal-specific glass. The taster will then reach for their credit card.

Riedel manufactures wine glasses at very affordable to ridiculous price points. I recommend the Vinum series. Riedel also offers a Tasting series of three different glasses for three different wines. The glasses mentioned run $30-$40 a glass. But again, they make less expensive selections to much-more expensive glassware, hand-blown from the original Austrian factory. A good houseware store will have Riedel collections for $20-$50. But if your wine drinker is a geek, they need the varietal-specific glasses.

LangeSavino wine storage – How to keep that half bottle of left-over wine? What is left-over wine? Okay, we all face that challenge. You can buy the pump, re-cork, and a zillion other ideas. The best thing I’ve found is the Savino. It’s a glass container big enough to hold one bottle of wine. The secret is a cylinder which floats atop the saved wine 1/100th smaller than the inner circumference of the bottle. A lid seals the Savino shut. The Savino doesn’t work quite as long as the company suggests. But it keeps wine several days longer than any other system.

The original glass Savino can be found in stores and online for $59.99. This year the company smartly introduced a plastic version for $29.99. Nothing keeps your wine tasting like the original sip better than the Savino.

Pinot Noir – Okay, for years I’ve always said I like them all and I do. But if I’m honest, Pinot is my favorite varietal. Pinot makes a great gift for a wine-drinking friend, or to take to a party. Great Pinot starts at $20-$30 a bottle. But if you want something easier, buy a Mark West or Mirassou Pinot at the market for under $10.

A great bottle of introductory-level Oregon Pinot Noir can be nabbed for $25-$30. Personally, the best under-$30 bottle of wine, any varietal, I’ve ever found is Lange Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It’s widely distributed in Indiana and the rest of the Midwest. A great buy!

 

 

 

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Garcia‘s hotdogs at the corner of 16th and Emerson are just freaking fabulous. He tells me today he’s been selling hotdogs and Indy for 33 years! If you like a good hotdog or bratwurst with all the trimmings yeah gotta make it over most weekdays over the new hour
Summer lands spring day / a perfect lunch … Leinenkugel Summer Shandy and a garxia’s brat with a bunxh@of fixings. You have to check out Garcia’s hotdogs tent set up at the corner of 16th and Emerson almost every day he’s an institution
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A brand-new farmers market kicked off this morning on the east side. The market is sponsored by the group that runs the annual winter‘s farmers market. Small turn out maybe 20 vendors but has a great potential hope folks get out next week and support them. The market sits in a parking lot beside the Boner center

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