Gifting with a Winter Wonderland of Wine

Feliz Navidad!  Happy Kwanza!  Joyeux Noël!  Happy Hannukah!  Frohe Weihnachten!  Happy New Year!

Whatever and wherever your friends, family and colleagues are celebrating holidays this time of year, wine is a natural gift that not only adds joy to the season, but color as well.

With wine, you have the opportunity to send Aunt Tillie to France with a succulent Chateauneuf-de-Pape.  Thank that neighbor who loves using his fancy snow blower to clear your sidewalk as well as his by sending him to Germany with a chilled Riesling.  The shy accountant who takes care of your taxes in his musty office can take respite in Argentina via a pampas-derived Malbec.  And what clients wouldn’t enjoy a sparkling Cava to ring in the New Year?

It is hard to find something more festive than wine for the holidays. And it’s also the gift among gifts.  There’s something about wine and wine bottles that just immediately says, “When you open me, I will taste good and provide a good experience.”  OK, not every wine can live up to that expectation, but because the majority do, a gift of wine is something that rarely goes unused or unappreciated.  Wine tells stories and conveys inherent fellowship.  And these days it’s easier than ever to find a wine that fits your budget as well as it fits the person who is receiving it.

Hinsdale Cellars has made it easier than ever to send your family, friends, colleagues and clients fine wines for a happy holiday.  They will even help you with your shopping from afar, much like that florist in Miami picks out a bouquet within your budget and just right for your Oma who now lives near the beach.

Christmas shopping as easy as 1-2-3

Whether you come to the store, give Hinsdale Cellars a call, or shop online, the best place for Christmas gift wine is Hinsdale Cellars (http://www.hinsdalecellars.com or 630.654.9862) The Web site has wonderful tasting notes and broader information about wine in its Vintelligence blog.  A direct call or a visit to the store will have you talking to one of the on-site wine experts who can find just the right wine(s) within your budget. For client gifts, it’s as easy as 1-2-3:

Step 1: Let Hinsdale Cellars know your budget per client and any other information that might help guide wine selection.

Step 2: Provide your client list, including full names and addresses.

Step 3: Provide credit card information, and Hinsdale Cellars does the rest, filling out holiday cards, including thoughtful tasting notes, and packaging and shipping.

Wine is a gift that is sure to help make your family, friends’, colleagues’ and clients’ yuletide season joyous.  For more information, call Hinsdale Cellars at 630.654.9862 or e-mail sean@hinsdalecellars.com.

Happy Holidays from your friends at Hinsdale Cellars!

 

Buon Natale! Two Italians Arrive in Time for the Holidays

Break out the panettone because here come two Italians perfect for your holiday fare. This month’s wine club has traveled not only to one of Chianti-region’s smallest towns off the beaten path – Montespertoli – but to one of its smallest communes, Castello Sonnino, owned by Baron Alessandro de Renzis Sonnino, whose winery was supplying Italy’s prime ministers and Secretaries of State with its fine wines back around World War I. Wine reviewers, however, say it is the Baron’s most recent wines, under the watchful and gifted eyes of Winemaker Stefano Chioccioli that are this Castello’s best…thus far. Using a combination of traditional grapes such as Sangiovese, Canaiolo and the rare Ancellotta and international varieties like Merlot and Syrah, most vino-philes believe this estate is headed to new levels of greatness. Like the Baron himself, the wines of Castello Sonnino exhibit tradition, elegance, strong personality and plenty of charm.

 

Hinsdale Cellars’ new wine explorer: Efrain Madrigal

Many a picturesque movie has been set in verdant hidden vineyards, where amidst dancing, grape stomping and romance, of course, one finds a wine so celestial, so undiscovered, that viewers leave the theatre aching for that hidden treasure of a wine with the special story that demonstrates impeccable taste and inevitable winemaking passion.

And that’s what keeps us going to those wine shops with proprietors who are also on the hunt for interesting and unusual wines…like Hinsdale Cellars.

Now that quest has gone to a new level as Hinsdale Cellars collaborates with Efrain Madrigal who, in many ways, is that cinematic wine hunter.  Okay, so he’s not in movies.  But, his passion in the infinite search for great wine and his appreciation for dedicated winemakers in all corners of the world has taken him around the world.  Now, his travels and experience are an undeniable boon for wine lovers in Hinsdale.

“We all have that ‘Aha!” moment when the light bulb goes off in tasting that special wine that starts our love for wine,” he said.  “For me, it was about 20 years ago when I happened upon a bottle of Edmunds St. John New World Red, a Rhone-style wine.  I knew at that moment that I had to do something with wine in my life.”

Indeed, for 20 years, Efrain has made a living, ignoring the well-worn paths so many wine buyers tread and instead seeking out extraordinary wines to share that passion with others.  Most notably, he spent nearly 10 years with Chicago-based Sam’s Wine and Spirits, one of the country’s biggest wine retailers, developing its online wine business to a customer base of more than 75,000.  Prior to that, he spent six years with Whole Foods Market, and now he has his own wine consulting business, Eno Amano, where his goal is to further this quest for great, undiscovered wines.

“What I have learned along the way is that these relatively unknown wines are not only great wines, but often they are also very well priced,” Efrain said.  “I think that’s the key for wine merchants like Hinsdale Cellars:  terrific wine at a great value. Finding partners like Sean, where I can basically broadcast a great wine-find to a wider audience is satisfying. Hinsdale Cellars has the right storage, but more importantly Sean has the passion and a willingness to try new things in his inventory…it’s really great.”

So now Efrain will begin helping Hinsdale Cellars expand its e-business, improve its Web presence, and of course, find new wine sources and exciting wines.

“I’ve traveled a lot, and it’s been surprising and rewarding that some of the best wines I’ve ever had were in fairly unique, remote areas,” Efrain said. “And at the end of the day, that’s really what it’s all about: finding extraordinary wine.”

– Ivy F. Kupec

 

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