Wine is a common gift for any occasion, and the majority of recipients appreciate and enjoy it. However, despite its universal popularity, a bottle of wine has the potential to become somewhat of a trite gift all by itself. Wine decanters and cheese gift sets can be a fresh change from the usual bottle of wine, and they are appreciated just as much. If you are looking for a not-so-typical gift to give to a wine lover, consider looking for a gift set containing a wine decanter and cheese.
Successful Serving
Gift sets can come in many shapes and sizes, picks and pairings. When choosing the wine decanter and cheese to go in your gift set, you have many choices regarding the types of wine decanters and cheese.
Typically, wine decanters are tall containers intended for serving wine, and they are usually made to be extremely decorative and ornate. For practicality, decanters come with a built in rod to assist decantation, as well as a stopped lid which may or may not be decorative. Plainer decanters are made from glass, while the fancier decanters have traditionally been made from lead crystal (this adds a sparkly quality).
The wine decanter you choose for your wine decanter and cheese gift set depends on the personal tastes of the recipient—do they prefer a plainer look, or do they enjoy frivolous touches?
Mixing and Matching Wine
Cheeses also come in many different varieties, and specific cheeses are typically paired with specific wines. In a cheese and wine decanter gift set, it is not necessary to select a specific type of cheese because wine is not a part of the gift set. Thus, there is no need to match the cheese to the wine. However, if the recipient of the gift is well-known for liking a specific type of wine, then selecting cheese that compliments this wine type would add a nice touch to the gift.
Cheeses can be classified as being soft, semi-soft, hard, and blue-veined. Soft cheeses typically pair well with mild white wines, while semi-soft cheeses complement flavorful white wines, light red wines, and rose wines. Hard cheeses, which have stronger flavor, are best matched with deeply flavored wines. Blue veined cheeses are of the highest quality and are best paired with high quality wines.
While selecting a specific type of cheese for a gift basket containing only a wine decanter and cheese is not entirely necessary, the gesture indicates a greater amount of thought on the part of the giver.
A Different Sort of Present
While it might not be a common gift, wine decanter and cheese gift sets are a great way to add utility and variety to the gift giving process.
