I grew up in another religion but have long envied many Jewish customs. Things like seders, sweet foods at Rosh Hashanah and going out for Chinese on Christmas. The fascination started when I was a teen working as a waiter and bartender in the banquet hall of a prominent Toronto synagogue. Back then, the legal drinking (and booze-serving) age in Ontario was 18. There were weddings and bar mitzvahs and all manner of fancy gatherings, including a fundraising event that featured John Diefenbaker as the guest of honour. As was the case that night with our former prime minister, I was occasionally required to don a kippah (fun to see Dief the Chief balance a skullcap as he spoke). Specifically, I had to do so when called upon to help serve the head table as a gesture of respect, as I recall.
There wasn't much call for fancy cocktails at that venue, but I did learn the correct proportion of seltzer water to Ballantine's for a properly Jewish scotch and soda: "Lots of seltzer, bartender." It was my first and most important mixology lesson: Know your customer.
Today, my admiration includes the tradition among some families of bestowing gift baskets during certain holidays, not least the eight-day celebration Hanukkah, which begins this year on the evening of Dec. 16. There's a symbolic sense of bounty and community in a gift basket, and it's a great way during the holidays (Jewish or otherwise) of avoiding the hazard of burdening someone with a lame non-consumable that might just add to the world's clutter, like an electric corkscrew or the 42-disc boxed set of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. Give me a cellophane-wrapped bundle of chocolates, olive tapenade, coffee, olive oil, Lucy Waverman cookbooks and wine bottles any day. Gift baskets also can cover the predilections of an entire family.
Including wine in a gift basket can, of course, acquit you of having to spend a bomb of money to make a grand trophy-cabernet statement for the collector in the house. Even moderately pricey bottles look enticing when combined with thoughtful food treats. The less-expensive bottles in this list qualify nicely, I think, although I have included a few bigger-ticket items for those with the spending power of the Prime Minister's Office.
Perrier-Jouët Belle Époque Brut Champagne 2006 (France)
SCORE: 94 PRICE: $189.95
There are few bottles prettier than Belle Époque, with its famous painted-on image of Japanese anemone flowers. Creamy, rounded and subtle, this cellar-worthy sparkler delivers all the major notes for which luxury, aged Champagne is known. It's doughy and brimming with candied fruit, baked apple, lively minerality and a rancio essence reminiscent of dry fino sherry. $199.75 in Quebec.
Montes Purple Angel 2011 (Chile)
SCORE: 94 PRICE: $62.95
Is this the world's greatest red carménère, a grape once common in Bordeaux and now the signature of Chile? Perhaps. Montes calls carménère the "Jurassic grape" that rose to new glory in South America after its decline in Bordeaux. There's a small proportion of the richly coloured Bordeaux variety petit verdot in this blend, but the signature is very Chilean. In other words, it's a mint bomb (though I know a wine critic who finds that that quintessentially Chilean essence to be more like gasoline – go figure). Big and succulent with black currant and chocolate richness, it would be best enjoyed somewhere between three and 15 years from now – ideally with a fat, pink-in-the-middle steak. Various prices in Alberta, $66.89 in Manitoba.
Château La Confession 2010 (France)
SCORE: 93 PRICE: $64.95
John Howard of John Howard Cellars in Niagara, which produces Ontario's fine Megalomaniac wines, owns a large interest in this excellent St-Émilion property in Bordeaux. (Hey, if you were a megalomaniac, wouldn't you own at least part of a Bordeaux chateau?) The great wine critic Robert Parker scored this 93 points out of 100 and, with due humility, I agree with that assessment. From the great 2010 Bordeaux vintage, this chunky red is rich and ripe, with luscious texture that hints at chocolate, barnyard, roast beef, blueberry and vanilla. A great choice for uncorking 10 to 12 years hence.
Vidal-Fleury Vacqueyras 2012 (France)
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $24.95
E. Guigal, the famous Rhône Valley producer, took over Vidal-Fleury in the 1980s, promptly annexing its best vineyard, La Turque, to make Guigal's now-famous and very expensive Côte-Rôtie La Turque. The wineries operate independently (I suspect most Guigal groupies don't even know they're related), yet Vidal-Fleury has improved significantly under the parent's watch. This chewy blend of mostly grenache and syrah is a classic southern-Rhône red, with layers of cassis, raspberry and black pepper infused with the wonderful herb essence known locally as garrigue. Available in Ontario.
Robert Mondavi Fumé Blanc 2013 (California)
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $22.95
Arguably California's most classic sauvignon blanc, this is an elegant white – light-medium-bodied and crisp with tropical fruit, melon and grapefruit and low in the grape's typically herbal notes. A mellow California take on the varietal – like Sancerre dressed in sunglasses and board shorts. $25.20 in Quebec, $28.98 in Newfoundland, $26 in PEI.
Meyer Pinot Noir 2012 (British Columbia)
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $29.95
Medium-bodied and jammy with berries and plum, here's a fine Okanagan red from a pinot-and-chardonnay specialist, with a smooth and succulent entry, nuances of dark chocolate and spice and a dry finish. Available in Ontario Vintages stores as well as direct from the winery through www.mfvwines.com.
H by Hine Cognac (France)
SCORE: 91 PRICE: $69.50
A blend of spirits from the two best zones in the Cognac region, this fine, subtly floral VSOP brandy toys with chamomile on the nose before delving into flavours of caramel, apple and vanilla, with a smooth, soft caress before exerting its spicy grip on the finish.
Descendientes de J. Palacios Petalos 2012 (Spain)
SCORE: 90 PRICE : $26.95
This medium-bodied red is a sort of cage match between plump forest berries and savoury herbs and spices. The wonderful thing is that there's no winner. Or perhaps they both win. Let's call it a victory for the consumer. Medium-bodied and made mainly from Spain's local mencia grape, it balances ripe fruit with notes of lavender, thyme, mineral, spices and espresso bean. Pretty label, too. Various prices in Alberta, $24.99 in Manitoba, $23.45 in Quebec, $34.49 in Nova Scotia.
Domaine de Grand Garant Le Vivier Fleurie 2013 (France)
SCORE: 90 PRICE: $18.95
You like fish. You like red wine. You are considering therapy to work through the seemingly irreconcilable differences. Don't waste your money on a shrink or one of those monster reds designed to help you wash down a plate of Brontosaurus ribs. This is the answer, a bright, cheerful Beaujolais from the prestige village of Fleurie. Soft for a wine made from the generally crisp gamay grape, it's floral and could please even the biggest monster-red obsessive with its cherry-cranberry fruit and polished texture. It's happy wine and happiest at a table with fish. Available in Ontario.
Castello di Neive Barbaresco 2011 (Italy)
SCORE: 89 PRICE: $19.90
Barbarescos, made from Piedmont's tannic, firm nebbiolo grape, tend to start around $35. Named after a local town, Barbaresco is considered the slightly more delicate answer to nearby Barolo. Don't expect thick, lavishly oaked wine here. It's intensely flavoured but bright and rather pretty, a winemaker's wine, as they say, or at least a European winemaker's wine. It's got pure, bright cherry and subtle tar notes and light, sticky tannins – nebbiolo's signature. Drink it with osso buco now or cellar it for up to five years. Available in Ontario.