2 Odd Questions

[mark500]

I have bottled some WE Red Merlot, about 10 months old that is good. I also have some CC Late Harvest Reisling that is good. My plan was to give a lot of this away to friends/familyfor gifts.
Two Questions:


Is it appropriate etiquette to give away a bottle of wine and tell the recipient that it would be best to let it age a few more months before opening it if they can?


Also, does anyone ever know an incident where seemingly properly made wine from a kit made someone sick? I started wondering if there was any way I could be liable for some bizarre sickness from a wine kit?

 

[tdeyette]

Mark...<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><O></O>
I do not think it would be bad etiquette to suggest that they hold on to the wine. Perhaps say it can be consumed now but will improve with a few more months’ age! I would never think badly of the giver....<O></O>
<O></O>
The only time I can recall anyone getting sick on my home made wine was due to them consuming way more than they should have! I would say this sickness was self induced!<O></O>

 

[vcasey]

Mark...</span>
I do not think it would be bad etiquette to suggest that they hold on to the wine. Perhaps say it can be consumed now but will improve with a few more months’ age! I would never think badly of the giver....</span>I do the same thing.
</span>
</span>
The only time I can recall anyone getting sick on my home made wine was due to them consuming way more than they should have! I would say this sickness was self induced!</span>


Ditto!

VC

 

[xanxer82]

I was actually thinking the same question. But then I decided that a good bottle of wine is always appreciated and never consumed right away.

 

[Wade E]

Never heard of anyone getting sick from a bottle of wine besides what was mentioned above. Ive handed out wine like that to and gave the same disclosure as youve been given. Drink a decent wine now or drink a very good wine later!

 

[Waldo]

Never thought about it but putting a "Do Not Open Until....date" on the label might be a good idea.

 

[Bartman]

I put the month and year bottled on my labels, and tell the gift recipient to wait six months to a year from that month/year to open it. No one has had a problem with that yet - they are all too happy about getting the gift to complain!

Since I wanted our Christmas "gifts" to be ready to drink when given, I started a port kit back in February. It bulk aged for 5 months and has been bottle aging for a couple more now, so come Christmas, so it should be pretty good, if opened immediately.

If the gift recipient doesn't want to wait, refer them to Tepe for an explanation of the Three Ps.

Bart

 

[uavwmn]

I have many times given bottles of wine to friends. I tell them it is drinkable now but will only get better with age. A homemade gift is almost always given from the heart.

 

[Big Ike]

While I've never given away my homemade brew, I've been collecting and gifting fine wines for over ten years and I have regularly recommended waiting on bottles that I've gifted and I've received the same direction from my wine geek friends on bottles that I've received.

 

[joeswine]

I think if your going to give a gift of yourself and thats what you are actually doing,it shouldNOTcome with a time limit or discloser,it should be ready to drink ifTHEY want to ,state best served chilled or room temp .,that's OK ..but do not open till?????.....if your giving it to some one who knows wine then maybe,EX: i send to wade and tell him some particulars::::::::::::::;;;let him decide or send to jw and state ready to roll.....but never set a date on it ,it makes one stop and think??????????????????


IN THIS DAY AND AGE I WOULDN'T PUT IT PAST ANYONE TO DO THAT

SUE I MEAN

 

[Joanie]

I give my wine away to friends all the time and tell them that if they want it to be really good to wait on it. They are more than happy to. I gave a bottle of Amarone to friends last Christmas and they still have it. The wife is waiting until this Christmas to open it!

I really like that "Do not open until..." tag idea. That way the receiver gets 2 gifts--first that you care enough about them to give them a bottle of your precious wine and the the second when they open it later and it tastes really good.

 

[pelican]

Last Spring, I gave wines to folks I work with under the guise of a "inventory reduction non-sale"... and let them all choose from a menu of what I had excess of. Folks who chose something not quite in it's prime were told it would be OK now but could be better later if they were to save it for the holidays. One guy wanted the JAO Mead but I thought I should tasted it first and then decided better to give him the dandelion (that mead was/is still 'nasty').

Recently I gave my sister an assorted case, and marked those by Drink Now, Good now-better later, and Best To Wait until X.

This way she has an assortment, doesn't have to be buying wine in between giftings, and has the fun of anticipation. The ones marked "Best to Wait" she actually had a bottle of that when it was first bottled 5 months ago and loved it (young and raw thought it was), so she's delighted to have a couple more bottles in hand knowing that if she waits a tad bit longer it will be even better.

If you are worried about being sued, pick your giftees with care!