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Re-activateYou don't have to reciprocate when someone you don't usually exchange gifts with surprises you with one. A nice thank you will suffice, according to gift-giving etiquette. But somehow that doesn't seem in the spirit of the season.
One way to avoid those awkward moments when a friend or neighbor comes bearing unexpected gifts is to keep some extra wine on hand wrapped and ready to go. Wine is also a good present for the guy who fixed your lawnmower last summer or the host who invites you to a holiday meal. In our latest Ratings of six varietals we found many in the price range of $10 that are good for giving or serving. Of course you can spend more, but you don't have to.
This year our experts undertook blind tastings of four red wines (cabernet sauvignon, chianti, merlot, pinot noir) and two whites (chardonnay, pinot grigio). They found 22 CR Best Buys. Two wines rated excellent—a 2008 Toscolo chianti ($10) and a 2008 Estancia pinot noir ($15). All the rest rated very good overall including the 2008 Yosemite Road, a $4 chardonnay sold only at 7-Eleven.
If you can't find a certain wine in the vintage year we tested, try the newer vintage. Our testers have found that a new year's wine is often very similar to its predecessor.
—MHJF
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