Gift giving is upon us in full force. Historically, the day after Thanksgiving marked the start of the gift-giving season, when U.S. retail companies would move their balance sheets from red to black. Americans would launch into a flurry of buying activity throughout December to find the perfect gift with meaning for their families, bosses, company employees, dog walkers, and the list goes on.
During the last few decades, the gust of holiday shopping activity has taken on a commercial life of its own, with a key focus on acquiring the most from sales and promotions. However, gift giving is about thoughtful recognition and intention and celebrating the recipient, not amassing items that likely will have little meaning at a later time.
Here is my list of gift-giving ideas that highlight meaning and thoughtfulness.
Specific vintage wines. Vintage means the date on a wine label. We have specific years in our lives that mark significant events – a new business launch, wedding, anniversary, promotion – and sharing wine with the same date as that special event gives lasting meaning and shows thoughtfulness in the gift. Often, clients ask me for specific older dates such as 2001 or 1981, for example, which might mark a 20-year work anniversary or a 40-year birthday. These older vintages are great ideas. Yet they often require more lead time to find and secure due to their limited number. Most of the time these older wines are not in large quantities in local wine shops.
Keep in mind, older wines do not taste the same as wines just released. Like people, wine too changes as it ages, with colors and tastes revealing different profiles than when the wine is younger. First, ensure your recipient would like to sip an older wine. By the way, the date on the wine’s label is the year in which the grapes were picked from the vine.
Age statement port or whiskey. Often friends and clients ask me to help them find a wine or spirit that has an age distinction – 10-year wine, 20-year whiskey – to recognize a specific length of time. Port wine, a Portuguese fortified wine that is often sipped after a meal, is a great option for this. Port wines are typically easy to find and range from 10 to 40 years of age. You can find whiskey with these age statements in any local shop that sells spirits. For example, Henry McKenna and Bulleit have great 10-year aged whiskies at moderate prices.
Wine from meaningful places. Today, wine is made in almost every country and U.S. state, and a wine from an area that marks the place of a company retreat, monumental client win or personal event may “wow” the recipient. Years ago, I had a client who held a company retreat in Newport and gifted participants with a wine from one of the local vineyards. This was a great way to recognize their team, creating a bonding event and memories.
Engraved items. Giving a bottle of wine or glassware engraved with a company message or logo is a step up; this allows you to convey personalized meaningful intentions to clients or board or team members. One year, I worked with an art gallery in New York that gifted a bottle of Champagne donned with its logo and a message to 150 clients as a holiday “thank you” gift. This personalized touch was well received and looked fabulous.
While these are all gifts with meaning, you may need extra time in planning. Some of the selections may not be available readily at your local shop and may need to be ordered in advance. With engraved gifts, you may need to allow a few days or weeks of lead time depending on the size of your order.
Jessica Norris Granatiero is the founder of The Savory Grape, a wine, beer and spirits shop in East Greenwich. She can be reached through her website, www.jessicagranatiero.com.
