My son’s mentor professor is having our family over to her house for an informal dinner before his graduation next weekend. I would like to bring her something as a thank you, I was thinking of a bottle of wine and a box of sponge candy (for those who don’t know - a type of chocolate candy made locally here).
My husband and I don’t drink wine and know nothing about it. I was going to get a bottle from our local winery, but I have no idea what kind to get. Is there a kind of wine that most people generally like? I have no idea what the professor’s tastes are.
I am also open to other suggestions for what to bring. I would like it be something I can get in advance and bring with us, as that would make life easier (so flowers are out, as we are arriving at the school the day before this dinner).
A decent sauvignon blanc or pinot noir is always welcome at my house as a hostess gift. Personally, I drink chardonnay but those two are always nice to have on hand for sit-down dinners. I love the idea of a local wine, in which case I don’t think it really matters. We have a winery local to me and I often buy the bottles as gifts, they are shaped like lighthouses (Truro Vineyards).
Cabernet Sauvignon is a safe bet. California or local. It’s a red wine that most red wine drinkers like. If he doesn’t drink red, he can always serve it to guests in the future. Don’t spend more than $25.
About 10-15$ a bottle. Tastes like sunshine and grapefruit, very dry.
I don’t like red wines so I don’t buy them or gift them. When I get them as a hostess gift I don’t mind at all-at some point somebody we have over will drink them, or I’ll re-gift them to someone who I know likes reds.
I gave up bringing wine a number of years ago and send flowers for delivery the day of the event. These days you never know who drinks and who doesn’t so I send the flowers and never have heard a discouraging word…
Mumm Napa makes really, really good sparkling wine - Brut Prestige, about $20/bottle.
For Pinot Gris, I strongly recommend picking an Oregon wine, because the best US Pinot grapes grow in Willamette Valley. Willamette Vinyards, Kings Estate, etc.
I would go to a wine store in your area where the people who work there actually know the wines and ask for their suggestions. If you tell them how much you want to spend, they’ll have lots of recommendations.
I’d suggest going a bit upscale since it’s a special occasion… You can get some fantastic wines if you are willing to spend $30-50. I’m a big fan of California wines and like Robert Sinsky, Turnbull Wine Cellars, or Duckhorn Vineyards. Patz and Hall, Sea Smoke, Grgich Hills–are other CA wineries that have great white and red wines in that price range.
I usually don’t do cute wines (awww… what a cute label!), bur for a professor, I might go cute. As long as the wine is good, so here are some good ones:
I’m assuming @benreb that you don’t live in the same state your son goes to school in. Because our “wine stores” are pretty useless as far as advice.
I think it’s lovely that the prof invited your family - what a nice thing to do. You’ve gotten some good advice on wines, I always try to remember that it’s the thought that counts.
I also like the idea of sending flowers that day, in general, but it being graduation weekend, the florist might be overwhelmed.
Whenever we host a gathering, I get gifted a lot of white wines. Neither of us drink them, but I serve them to others or cook with it.
I prefer reds. Someone recommended a brand called Apothic , red blend. It isn’t pricey, but I really liked it a lot.
The easiest thing to do for a non wine drinker is just go ask for a Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon from California in your price range.
Personally I think $30 - $50 is a good sweet spot for decent wines, but you can certainly get good bottles for less. If you want to go up higher then specific recommendations become more interesting, but otherwise it’s so personal you might as well just grab anything with a good rating in your price range.
Since you said you were going to your local winery, I second the idea of asking them for their best sellers or favorites. Or ask your son if he drinks wine if he prefers red or white. I think a nice bottle from a local winery is a great hostess gift (along with chocolate). Even if the professor and family don’t drink they can serve it to others or, as someone said, bring it to another party.
Ok, so Angels Envy bourbon is extraordinarily hard to find (for numerous reasons-one is that it is amazing), and we asked one of the people working at Total Wine if there was a similar bourbon (Angel’s Envy is aged in wine casks and tastes like flowers and fire). What he recommended to us (and what we bought) was total swill that gave us a headache.
So I’m not a fan of the people working there. They’ll drink anything, evidently.
Thank you all for your advice. It was very helpful and made me feel much better about picking something. This professor has been very special to my son, basically adopting him for the past 4 years as he has spent each year (including summers) conducting research and writing papers with her.
@surfcity - yes, you are correct about where I don’t live . I am actually not too far from the Finger Lakes region of New York so there are a lot of wineries in the general area, including the local one about 5 miles from my house.
I am going to ask them what they recommend, but I did want a general idea of what I should be looking for. Thanks for your suggestions and mini wine education. Would be a lot easier if I drank the stuff!
@BunsenBurner - loved your “cute” ideas. Got any for sociology?
Too funny about the professorial wines. In the same vein DH liked having this one on hand as his lab is part of the anatomy department at his med school. https://www.backroomwines.com/buy-wine/product-details.aspx?id=1492&t=w I still don’t get how a guy who studies cancer ended up in anatomy! It’s quite a decent wine by the way.
I’m always amused when people say a sauvignon blanc is safe as I really don’t care for most of the New World versions of the wine. They taste like grass to me. But I’m always open to trying new wines. Just don’t get me white zinfandel or sweet red wines. Otherwise I’ll try anything. I agree $30 to $50 will get you a fine wine, but 90% of what we drink is in the $15 to $20 range and I can barely taste the difference. Portugal and Spain have some particularly good bargains.
I think something from your local winery is a great idea, BTW.
As long as the wine is good, so here are some good ones: