If you're a wine drinker

[AmyRI]

I've got one of these coming for a bridal shower gift that I need to fill:

The bride and groom are big wine drinkers but I know next to nothing about wine.
Is it possible to find a wine with this year's date on it, or is it too early in the year to be able to get one with a 2017 vintage? I could buy three identical bottles and they'll all be differently "aged" on the anniversaries.

If a 2017 date is out, any general recommendations for wines to put in it? Hoping to spend about $50 on all three bottles but I can flex that a bit. They drink all shades of wine but don't like the really sweet/fruity ones.

[scm1011]

Honestly I'd abandon the 2017 idea even if you can find some. I get what you're going for, but better to get wine a few years old IMO. I'd just go to a local wine store with a good reputation and tell them what you told us. Cute idea!

[icedcoffee]

Wine doesn't really age once it has been bottled. Ditto scm1011 . Just go to a wine store and ask them to help you pick out 3 bottles.

ETA:  To clarify---it does age once bottled, but not in a good way.  LOL.

[osulori]

Ditto the other wine drinkers A wine store would be a great place to go. And that is an awesome idea! Where did you get that?

[AmyRI]

Then why do people store wine in cellars for decades if it's done aging when it gets bottled?! lol. This is why I asked! Thank you for the help.

Apr 6, 2017 7:52:40 GMT -5 osulori said:

Ditto the other wine drinkers A wine store would be a great place to go. And that is an awesome idea! Where did you get that?

I saw the idea on uncommongoods (which has a super cute one but it's way more expensive and not Prime eligible, lol), the one I got is this one from Amazon:
smile.amazon.com/Boulevard-Newlyweds-Anniversary-Wooden-Twine/dp/B0176IY8C4/

[icedcoffee]

Apr 6, 2017 7:59:38 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Then why do people store wine in cellars for decades if it's done aging when it gets bottled?! lol. This is why I asked! Thank you for the help.

Apr 6, 2017 7:52:40 GMT -5 osulori said:

Ditto the other wine drinkers A wine store would be a great place to go. And that is an awesome idea! Where did you get that?

I saw the idea on uncommongoods (which has a super cute one but it's way more expensive and not Prime eligible, lol), the one I got is this one from Amazon:
smile.amazon.com/Boulevard-Newlyweds-Anniversary-Wooden-Twine/dp/B0176IY8C4/

They store fancy wines in expensive fancy wine cellars.  Most wine is meant to be consumed within 1-5 years especially if you're just storing it like a regular person.  This is especially true with very young wines.  They normally should be consumed within 6 months or so.

[lifetaketwo]

Our neighbors are big wine people and have a wine cellar and so we've tried many different ages bottles. It's been totally hit or miss, and they are storing them correctly and purchasing wines that were meant to be aged. It can be fun, but many of them have been gross.

[momin2013]

Definitely just go to a wine store, tell them what you've said above, and ask for some recommendations in your price range.

I love this idea, BTW!!

[ribollita]

I love this idea and have done something similar before but only for the first year of marriage. Can you go in with someone to up the wine budget? Or include gift cards for years 2-3? As a wine drinker while I would very much appreciate the gesture I wouldn't want to store $15-20 wine for 3 years because as a PP wrote, it's meant to be enjoyed earlier than that. (Sorry if this comes across rude just trying to help!)

[shopgirl07]

If you do this, go with red wine. With whites or Rose, you don't want to drink it if it's more than 2 years old.

[momin2013]

Just throwing this out there - would you consider doing three different champagnes? You might need to go in with someone else so you can up your price limit a bit, but I think it'd be worth it - I think it would be cool to have a nice bottle of champagne to open on our first few anniversaries...

[JRo]

Apr 6, 2017 7:33:13 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

Honestly I'd abandon the 2017 idea even if you can find some. I get what you're going for, but better to get wine a few years old IMO. I'd just go to a local wine store with a good reputation and tell them what you told us. Cute idea!

Absolutely this!

[hbomdiggity]

I'd go to a wine store. It'll prob be $15-20 each for the first two and then $20-25 for the third.

I did this for a friend but for 1, 3, & 5. annnnd they got divorced just after a year.

[AmyRI]

ribollita I didn't take it as rude - I appreciate the help! How much should I expect to spend for a bottle that will still be good in 3 years?

momin2013, does champagne age any better/worse than regular wine?

[momin2013]

Apr 6, 2017 14:11:20 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

momin2013 , does champagne age any better/worse than regular wine?

I have absolutely no clue. The only anecdote I have is that a co-worker of mine recently celebrated her 40th wedding anniversary and apparently they had a bottle of "aged" Dom P.erignon worth $500 that they'd gotten as a gift years earlier to open on a future anniversary. She said it tasted...about the same as any cheap champagne she'd ever had before. Lol.

I'd still recommend asking someone at a wine store. I was just thinking having a bottle of bubbly to open instead of regular wine would make it a more....special gift. Either way, I really like the idea.

[lilac05]

I agree with others to ask in a wine store.

If you want to do something kind of cute, you could see if you could find wines with some form of one, two, or three in the name. Or a name/vineyard that might mean something to them (local, honeymoon location, or some other random connection to the couple). You might be able to find 3 wines with some version of "love" in the name, too.

[vanillacourage]

How long have they been together?  You could do champagne for 1 year, a bottle from the year they met/got engaged for 2, and a 2017 for 3. 

[spunbutterfly]

Apr 6, 2017 9:10:36 GMT -5 shopgirl07 said:

If you do this, go with red wine. With whites or Rose, you don't want to drink it if it's more than 2 years old.

Not necessarily true. A very good white can be aged for a while. But it is definitely easier to find reds that will taste fine after 2 years.

Our go to wine is Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2012 was phenomenal the year it was released and we only managed to get one bottle to drink in about 10 years.

You could also just buy bottles of good bubbly (my personal favorite is Schramsberg Blanc de Noir). It'll keep for at least 3-4 years if stored in good conditions.

[spunbutterfly]

Apr 6, 2017 14:11:20 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

ribollita I didn't take it as rude - I appreciate the help! How much should I expect to spend for a bottle that will still be good in 3 years?

momin2013 , does champagne age any better/worse than regular wine?

Champagne can go bad after 3-5 years. You're good.

[AmyRI]

Apr 6, 2017 21:11:20 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

How long have they been together?  You could do champagne for 1 year, a bottle from the year they met/got engaged for 2, and a 2017 for 3. 

Ooooh I love this idea. They met in 2003, started dating in 2009, and got engaged in 2016. I will see what the wine store has to go with any of those years!

[JRo]

Apr 7, 2017 8:17:45 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Apr 6, 2017 21:11:20 GMT -5 vanillacourage said:

How long have they been together?  You could do champagne for 1 year, a bottle from the year they met/got engaged for 2, and a 2017 for 3. 

Ooooh I love this idea. They met in 2003, started dating in 2009, and got engaged in 2016. I will see what the wine store has to go with any of those years!

FYI you'll probably have to pay a pretty penny for anything from a 2003 vintage.

[AmyRI]

Apr 7, 2017 8:23:17 GMT -5 JRo said:

Apr 7, 2017 8:17:45 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Ooooh I love this idea. They met in 2003, started dating in 2009, and got engaged in 2016. I will see what the wine store has to go with any of those years!

FYI you'll probably have to pay a pretty penny for anything from a 2003 vintage.

Can you ballpark what it would cost? If we're talking a $100+ for that one bottle I'll probably try to get a bottle of champagne for year 1, 2016 for 2nd anniversary, and 2009 for 3rd.

[JRo]

Apr 7, 2017 8:34:33 GMT -5 AmyRI said:

Apr 7, 2017 8:23:17 GMT -5 JRo said:

FYI you'll probably have to pay a pretty penny for anything from a 2003 vintage.

Can you ballpark what it would cost? If we're talking a $100+ for that one bottle I'll probably try to get a bottle of champagne for year 1, 2016 for 2nd anniversary, and 2009 for 3rd.

Yes, it would be $100+. If you google '2003 Cabernet Sauvignon' for example, you'll see about what you would expect. You might not even be able to find a 2003 in a wine store - it would have to be something they've been holding onto for several years.