Holiday Gifts From the World of Food and Wine
EXECUTIVE DINING – Fifi Chao
I promised you a list of things that would make ideal gifts this season, what to give this year that will be both useful and appreciated. I’m with the late-shoppers group myself. I consider it part of the fun to see all the holiday decorations in the stores, malls, restaurants and even wine shops (some of them do deck their environment with seasonal ornamentation, as well). The crowds are fine with me, too. They signal that the economy is not at a standstill, that people are thinking of others, that we are getting back to life as it should be. The trick, I have found, is to have a list before you begin your shopping spree. If you are not enthralled with a meandering and more time-consuming type of shopping, try to pick an area where the stores you will visit are in close proximity. In some cases, the Internet is a time-saving device that can be used.
We all know someone who enjoys wine but is not the big collector/connoisseur type. For this person, one of the great gifts to give this season is Kevin Zraly’s Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, 2002 Edition (Sterling Publishing, $24.95 suggested retail at bookstores, $19.96 at bookstores online). I adore this book! The New York Times hails it as one of the best “from scratch” wine books ever written, equally at home with the novice and the aficionado. Anybody can understand wine after reading this, and those who know a lot about wine will have a new perspective. Buying the book can even have added charitable interest this season. Zraly was wine director at the devastated NY restaurant, but was not in the building at the time of the tragedy. Thus, a portion of the sales of the book are now going to Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund to help the families of the restaurant’s 78 employees lost in the World Trade Center’s demise. Please allow me to give you a giant poke in the ribs as a reminder to buy one of the books for yourself, or put it on your wish list that you hand out.
Riedel has become the most famous name in wineglasses and decanters. Indeed, it’s the Rolls Royce of glassware. If you want to purchase an expensive gift, the wine shops have an array of the hand-blown crystal glasses, each shaped specifically to cull every nuance of aroma and taste from a particular varietal. The Burgundy glass is nothing like the Bordeaux glass, for example. Fortunately, one can still make a fine gift-giving gesture by purchasing six or so glasses from Riedel’s less expensive line I’m thinking a half-dozen glasses for the friend who seems to collect or consistently drink one varietal more than others. These are still fine quality crystal and look like the top-of-the line glasses. Another idea is to purchase one of the interestingly shaped decanters. Allowing red wines to breathe in a decanter is becoming more and more common.
Purchase a bottle of good dessert wine. Some of these come in striking bottles. But the imperative is that the wine inside must be impressive. I have four suggestions.
There’s the Eos Tears of Dew Late Harvest Moscato that’s resplendent with aromas of orange blossoms, apricot, ripe pear and violets and muted honey undertones. There’s enough acidity to cut the sweetness. It’s housed in a tall, thin 375ml bottle with a painted “label.” Eos Estate Winery is in Paso Robles.
Napa Valley’s Dolce Winery was founded by Gil Nickels, Dirk Hampson and Larry Maguire (you know them from Far Niente) to produce an exquisitely bottled dessert wine based on S & #233;millon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes called, naturally, Dolce. The grapes remain on the vine for weeks after table-wine grapes have been picked. Eventually, they develop a beneficial fungus, botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. The fungus shrivels the fruit and concentrates the sugars in the juice, leading to a rich wine. Dolce makes less than 3,000 cases each year. Gorgeous 375ml bottles with painted gold and multi-color grapevine.
Then, there’s the Deco and Duet dessert wines from Sonoma Valley Port Works. For Deco, a blend of wines is actually given a dose of chocolate , well, we know that sipping red wine with chocolate dessert is swell. This melange of natural chocolate and the barrel-aged wine results in an elegant pour. Duet is a cream-style sherry that loves being paired with cheese. Make the gift even better by combining a wedge of triple cream Cambozola blue cheese, a slab of Roquefort and a piece of milder cheese like Muenster. These two wines come in very tall 500 ml. bottles with attractive paper labels. All of the wines are available in the finer wine shops.
This has nothing whatsoever to do with food or wine, but it sure is a winner of a gift: For anyone who has a child 2 years or younger, buy Kenny Loggins’ “Return to Pooh Corner” CD, for the parents or for the child. It is the most soothing, beautiful and soft collection of songs (mostly new lullabies) imaginable. I guarantee that the parents will love this serene music as much as the child. We have a 1-year-old granddaughter and the second we play that CD, she gets her blanket and settles down wherever she is, and usually falls asleep. I never tire of hearing it myself.
Go to the kitchenware store (Williams Sonoma and Sur La Table come to mind) and buy the cook on your list a rasp-like zester,it’s the newest culinary toy around and the best for getting really fine zest for your recipes. You might want to add one of the clear acrylic nutmeg grinders that look like a squat version of a pepper grinder. This gizmo has a handle on the top you turn and it grates out just the right amount of nutmeg for your scrambled eggs, saut & #233;ed spinach, stewed lamb shank, buttered noodles and such. And, you thought we only used nutmeg for dessert.
Finally, don’t forget dining certificates. They are always appropriate gifts. Here are a few that even give back rewards to the giver! Both Salt Creek Grille and Caf & #233; Tu Tu Tango give guests who buy gift certificates that total $100, a $20 gift certificate for themselves. At Tango they also give $10 for the purchase of $50 worth of gift certificates. Taps in Brea has a different spin, with lots of added value. For every $100 of gift cards purchased, the buyer gets a free Sunday Jazz Brunch worth $30! You know your friends,think about a restaurant that fits their lifestyle and help them out with their dining via the gift certificate.
If you are still in a pickle about what to buy someone, send me an e-mail at
chaothyme @aol.com
and I will try to help you further.
Chao publishes Chao’s Dinesty, a food, wine and travel newsletter, in Irvine.
