Stocking stuffers every wine drinker will love
Though you might be tempted to drop by the local drugstore for all your stocking stuffers, don’t.
With every item plucked from the sock Christmas morning — soap, shaving cream, chocolate snowman-on-a-stick — Santa will look more and more slapdash. So do the old chap a favour and shop properly by making that list and checking it twice.
To help you out, here are some stocking stuffer ideas, geared toward discerning wine-drinking adults.
NV Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava, Spain (LCBO 167791 $4.65/200 mL bottle in stores and online)
Because wine develops differently in different sizes of bottles, small-format wines can taste inferior to their larger counterparts. But this wine tastes as good as the 750 mL size, with gentle aromas of salted green apple and racy, restrained flavours of sea spray, white grapefruit, Granny Smiths and lemon zest. Stuff a sock with this dry mini bottle of Cava along with a small bag of gourmet salted potato chips for a thoughtful pairing. Score: 90 Bottega Mini Sparkling Icebag Set, Veneto, Italy (LCBO 463364 $29.95/4 x 200 mL bottles in stores only) This stylish set offers five stocking stuffers in one when you include the collapsible ice-bag, and includes four very delicious yet different drops. There’s the dry, pear-almond-floral scented Il Vino dei Poeti Prosecco (90 points); the dry, saltedapple-, pear- and cream-scented Gold Prosecco (91 points); the dry, gentlyberry-pear-scented Vino dei Poeti Rosé Gold Vino Spumante Brut (89+ points); and the light, sweeter, roseand-orange-scented Petalo Il Vino dell’ Amore Moscato Dolce (89+ points). Stuff them in socks along with packs of gourmet nuts. Scores: 89+ to -91 2017 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand (LCBO 424630 $9.25/375 mL bottle in stores and online) Hailing from the 2017 vintage, this fresh-tasting, full-throttle half bottle will no doubt satisfy any New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc lover on your list. It races over the palate with aromatic intensity — parsley and lime, pink grapefruit and guava, orange zest and salted celery — before tapering to a long, lime-tinged finish. This polished pour goes fabulously well with one of those hearty main dish salads, so pop it in a sock with a new pair of salad tongs. Done and done. Score: 90
2016 Folonari Valpolicella DOC, Veneto, Italy (LCBO 6254 $9/375 mL bottle in stores and online)
Those who like lighter, more delicate styles of red wine will appreciate pulling a bottle of this easydrinking Valpolicella from their stocking. It offers a sheer, lighter-bodied wash of clean black and red berries, a seamless, almost silky structure and earthy-spicy undertow that finishes with clear notes of walnut and olive. Great bottle to slip in a sock along with a pizza gift card. Prego! Score: 89+ 2015 Inniskillin Vidal Icewine, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Ontario (Vintages Essential 559302 $7.95/50mL bottle in stores and online) From its sweet candied fruit aromas that call to mind pineapple, mango, apricot and mandarin to the luscious swirl of goodness that saturates the palate with bright-butsucculent flavours of tropical fruit and candied citrus, baked apples and brown sugar, this iconic icewine never disappoints — especially when paired with toasted nuts or dark chocolate. So stuff someone’s stocking with this mini bottle and some dark chocolate covered almonds to create a bit of Christmas magic. Score: 92