Hello I am a college student looking to buy wine as a gift but I don't know much about it. My budget is under 150 usd. The photo is what the person I'm getting the gift for drinks normally everyday and I'm looking to get something similar but more premium and tastier. Please let me know if I have some false expectations about quality and price because I have no clue about any of that thank you ML.
by Prime_Manu
9 Comments
If this is their daily drinker, they won’t have a very high standard lol. save some money and just get them a bit better of a bottle. If you want to stick with Kirkland, their Oakville Cab is quite good for $20
This is exactly the scenario where a local independent wine store will shine. Go there, tell them exactly this and have them recommend you a few options.
Your purchase will come with some background and context to the bottles, things you can then relay to your friend.
It’ll make the wines much more interesting and show you care.
red wine
See if your local shop has something with a bit of age to it. If they are starting to learn about wine, that’s a good way to level up. I’d recommend something from Spain. Spanish producers store wines on site for longer than most so it’s easier to find older bottles in retail settings, and the price points are generally good. Style-wise they tend to be bolder and may appeal to someone used to drinking Napa Cabs. Unless your friend has decent storage for their special bottles (no wide temperature fluctuations), something that’s drinkable now-ish would probably work well.
Caymus California Cab. Should be about $50 bucks retail. You can find it at the supermarket or places like Total Wine. Or if you really want to spend $150 you can spring for their Napa.
Kinda rich and drinks wine?
Do something else, something different – they will already know what they like, and have the dough to spend on it.
An experience of some sort, a donation to a cause they care about?
If you insist on the wine path, write a message on the bottle. Otherwise it’ll just go in the stash and get forgotten.
Buy them a semi aged (so its not too expensive) Leoville Poyferre. I had the 2015 recently and it was breathtaking. Best value you can get with $100 in my opinion. Its a second growth bordeaux which means during the ranking in 1855 in France the King’s underling sranked it a top 18 in Bordeaux. It has tons of history and good bang for your buck. Napa wine is overpriced. Super tuscans like Guidalberto are great too if you only want to spend $60
rauzan segla might be a good choice that fits the budget.
If you’re going for a nice Napa cab with some name recognition but will also get a tip of the hat from the wine community, I’d go for the Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon.