For many people the holidays mean spending money on our nearest and dearest. But if you’re anything like me, you also want to help people with challenges such as poverty, illness, wounds from military combat, breast cancer and AIDS.
For wine lovers, I have two perfect suggestions to help spread cheer and place money in the coffers of the needy.
One Hope Wines not only has beautiful flavors to add to your gift list but, most assuredly, has a cause worthy of support. My personal choices for your holiday gift-giving are the following.
2009 Onehope California Merlot for $18.99 with $3 donated per bottle to fight AIDS – onehopewine.com.
J. Lohr Vineyards. I deeply regret that I never had a chance to meet the first lady of J. Lohr Vineyards, Carol Waldorf Lohr. My very good friends had the privilege of meeting Carol Lohr on several occasions; they told me she was a beautiful person inside and out. In her honor the purchase of any bottle of J. Lohr Vineyards wine helps provide 500 mammograms for women on a yearly basis. The proceeds of J. Lohr Carol’s Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon are donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. $40 per bottle – jlohr.com.
Another perfect gift for the holidays is chocolate. Jer’s Chocolates, located in Solana Beach, is also giving back this holiday season. The gourmet chocolate company is donating $5 from the sale of each holiday gift box to the Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank.
As part of the Jer’s Cares community give-back program, the sale of each holiday gift box will enable the San Diego Food Bank to provide 15 meals to hungry San Diegans. Each box is packed with eleven pieces of milk, dark and white chocolate-covered peanut butter truffles.
To purchase a holiday gift box, visit jers.com or call 1-800-540-7265.
If none of these suggestions work for you I believe in supporting our local retail shops. For the personal touch for a holiday wine gift Uptowns own Serge Chable, the new owner of The Wine Lover, can help you make the perfect choice for the wine snob in your life – thewinelover.com.
insider scoop
Champagne buying guide
To make it easier for your holiday selections, The Insider has put together a brief cheat sheet of flavor profiles of some of the popular Champagnes you will see at the store. Cheers!
Veuve Clicquot
Aromatic, with fine fruit
Laurent-Perrier
Complex, fruity tones and a bit lively
Piper-Heidsieck
Classic and well balanced
Taittinger
Fruity with a good mouth feel
Moët & Chandon
Straight and very consistent
Louis Roederer
Fine fruit that is balanced and elegant
Pol Roger
Complex aroma and harmonious elegance
Pommery
Winey and fresh fruitiness
Krug
Full of finesse, a true classic
