Wise up on wine for Father’s Day!

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With Father’s Day almost upon us, many will be looking for a bottle of something special to treat Dad to, but choosing wine as a gift may not be as straightforward as it may seem.

Other questions you need to consider will be if the wine is to be consumed relatively quickly or if he is a collector who might want to drink it in a few years’ time- Bill Hermitage

The two main things to consider are your wine recipient’s personal preferences and the condition of it in the bottle you are buying.

For example, does he prefer red, rosé or white? If it’s white or rosé, does he like it dry, medium-dry, medium or sweet?

Does he like oak-aged whites? If he prefers red wine, does he like it light-bodied, medium-bodied or full-bodied?

Other questions you need to consider will be if the wine is to be consumed relatively quickly or if he is a “collector” who might want to drink it in a few years’ time. If it is to be consumed straightaway, will it be drunk on its own or with food and, if so, what type of food? These are all considerations that can definitely enhance the value of your gift.

Once the style of wine required has been narrowed down, you need to make sure that the bottle you end up buying is in good condition.

Try to choose an establishment that looks like it has a fairly fast turnover of its wines and seems to know what it’s doing with regard to handling and storage; and if possible somewhere that will offer you some unbiased advice on the wines being sold.

Be wary of wines that are stored in direct sunlight or under hot fluorescent strips and spotlights, especially if they seem to have been there for some time.

Many shops display their wines upright as this is the most effective way of selling them, but be cautious about what you pick. Wines are okay in this position for three to four months, depending on the ambient temperature, but stock rotation is vital.

Stored upright, the wine’s cork will eventually dry out, as it is not in contact with the wine, and shrink slightly which could allow ingress of air, which in turn will oxidise the wine.

Good stock rotation should avoid this with the faster-selling wines, but beware of the “dust gatherers”, they might not be the bargain they appear to be!

Try and buy your wines from an outlet where the staff offers honest advice and recommendations when faced with the questions you may need to ask. In an ideal world nobody should know the wines they are selling better than them!

If there is no-one around to ask, as a general rule of thumb when purchasing rosé wines, buy them as young as you can and avoid anything over 18 months old.

Most dry white wines are at their best when drunk young within some two years of vintage.

There are a few exceptions, especially white wines that are fuller-flavoured, late-picked, sweet or slightly more alcoholic.

Chardonnay is a grape variety that can actually taste better with a few years’ age, but it depends on what wine region it comes from.

Hot-climate Chardonnay ages well, like white Burgundies. A lot will depend on how they have been stored since their bottling. If that means years and the storage is bad, it could be disastrous for the liquid in the bottle.

Red wines are a little bit hardier and in the main tend to age much better than white. But the lighter-bodied ones are better when drunk young. Most red wines will benefit from at least one to two years’ bottle age. It will depend on a number of factors.

Having bought your bottle of preferred wine, hand it over to Dad to enjoy as he wants.