Corporate gifts are something of a speciality for us. From a well-presented single bottle, to twinpacks, magnums, hampers and full cases of wine, we can supply a wide range of gifts tailored to match the situation.
Some tips on choosing the right gift
Sometimes it’s worth considering quality above quantity. A few years ago a customer told us about a corporate gift he had received for Christmas. He was very much into his wine, and knew his stuff. One of his biggest corporate partners gave him a gift of a case of wine, and he ended up throwing it all down the sink. It was all basic ‘supermarket’ wine. His comment was that the same money spent on a single bottle would have been wonderful.
Some wines can impress simply by what’s on the label – Chateauneuf du Pape and St. Emilion Grand Cru spring to mind. Of course, just because it says that on the label, it doesn’t mean the wine is any good. But when you do get a good one, and the recipient is knowledgeable about wine, the impact is strong – job done. If the recipient is a wine connoisseur it is worth considering a gift of one or two bottles of wine rather than six or even a full case. The trick is to buy them a wine that they wouldn’t ordinarily buy for themselves – these are wines that they will cherish and remember who gave it to them.
For general gifts on a budget, twinpacks work well, and now that the country is emerging from the hell of the past few years, gestures like this are greatly appreciated again. We think it’s a good idea to steer clear of obvious wines (e.g. Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc). Some people will have it in their minds that they don’t like one or the other. So, in order to ensure that they won’t have a sinking feeling when they see the wines, choose a wine whose variety is not as obvious, and blends are good in this regard. Also, something different is always intriguing.
For these general gifts, it is also a good idea to give wines that can be enjoyed without food but are robust enough to be enjoyed with most meals. A really good ‘food’ wine can be disappointing if it is opened to go with TV, and since it’s impossible to know when the recipient will open it, a wine that ticks both boxes is a better option.
Wine Tasting Nights
For Sports and Social Clubs, a Wine Tasting Night can be great fun. We have done many of them over the years and they work really well. We supply the wines – usually up to eight different wines – and talk through the basics; how to taste wine, how to spot faults in wine and how to understand the more complicated labels.
Spot prizes and quizzes on the night add to the fun, and we also offer a discount on any of the wines ordered. We do not sell any wines on these nights (it takes away from the fun and our licence forbids it), but are happy to give a discount on any of the wines tasted that anybody orders.
The quality of the wines we taste on these nights depends on the budget and the number of people attending, so give us a shout if you’d like more information on these nights.