Coming Soon! Our VAN’S GIFTS HOLIDAY COLLECTION 2009…

Get you catalog request here.

http://www.vansgifts.com/catalog_request.asp

Celebrate with Van’s Gifts this holiday season!

Van’s Gifts Celebrates California’s Renowned Wineries With Our “Wine Country Collection”

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 – LONG BEACH

Imagine the spirit of the Wine Country being brought to your door.  At Van’s Gifts’, we’ve created Wine Gift Baskets that embody and showcase the very essence of California’s Wine Country and the distinctive vineyards within the region.  From the crisp, light-bodied whites to the robust, juicy reds, our exquisitely balanced baskets bring the elegance and excitement of California’s world-renowned wineries.  These include Napa’s Clos Du Val and Grgich Hills Estates as well as Sonoma County’s Kendall Jackson and Chateau St. Jean.

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Van’s Gifts now on Twitter and Facebook…

Hello World,

We’re excited to announce that we’re both on Twitter and Facebook. We’ve always loved the idea of being close with our customers and these are just ways for us to communicate, promote and socialize with the people who means to us most.

Look for us to send out coupon codes, instant discounts and special promotions for those of you who add us.

To add us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/VansGifts

To add us on Facebook: facebook.com/vansgiftsgiftbaskets

Best wishes,

Van’s Gifts Team

Vansgifts.com’s Top 10 Wine and Champagne Gift Baskets

1. VIP Deluxe
2. Starry Night
3. Just Add Music…. Chateau St. Jean
4. Vineyard Picnic with Cabernet
5. Golden Sonata with Merlot
6. Charles Krug Case Closed
7. The Vineyard
8. Wine Tote With Coppola
9. Truly Veuve
10. Champagne Toast with Dom

Van’s Gifts offers the finest quality of wine and champagne! Click here to see more of our current selection!

The Perfect Wine Basket…

Gift baskets make great presents that are fairly cheap to make or buy and show thought and creative flair. Wine also makes a great gift as something that anyone can enjoy and that brings a touch of class to any social gathering/quiet evening in. It stands to reason then that an even better gift than either would be a combination of the two – a wine basket that filled with as many items as you see fit appropriate to your own budget and relationship with the recipient.

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Wine Gifts Baskets: Sharing and Caring

There are a lot of different ways to share your love of wine with the special people in your life, such as dinners, wine of the month clubs, or trips to vineyards.  However, one way to show your family in friends that you appreciate wine, and that you know they do too, is to send them a wine gift basket.

A Great Alternative

While a fan of wine of the month clubs, a wine gift basket serves as a nice alternative for those looking for a wine gift without a recurring monthly cost.  Also, many gift baskets feature food such as chocolate or cheese that has been specially selected to pair with the wine in the basket, great for the recipient as it gives them to enjoy with the wine that they know will pair well with it.

(see more here…)

Van’s Gifts Unveils Its New Seasonal ‘Summer Gifts’ Gift Basket Range

Van’s Gifts has just announced its new range of ’summer gifts’ gift baskets. With ten in total, this selection represents a variety of different treats all uniquely presented and themed to ensure there’s a gift for everyone to enjoy in the sun.

Long Beach, CA (PRWEB) August 11, 2009 — Van’s Gifts , the leading wine gift basket company, has just unveiled its first ’summer gifts’ range of gift baskets which provides a wide selection of baskets that perfectly suits the season. With ten different options on offer and each with its own unique theme,  (See more…)

Beaujolais nouveau: Red Wine waited all year round

The popping out of a cork from the bottle is a sound welcoming to the ears and this subtle noise of the popping out is enough to drools the lovers of wine. Though the sound is pleasant but it is often missed by the years. However, while uncorking a French wine, Beaujolais nouveau there is no chance that you miss the sound. When the bottle is uncorked the sound is prominently heard by everyone.

The Beaujolais nouveau comes only once in a year, which makes it much awaited and looked forward to by the drinkers of wine annually. Just like the shop alcoholics wait for the sale at Macy’s annually, the lovers of wine keenly wait for the third Thursday in the month of the November. It is precisely the day when this French wine is released to satiate the taste buds of the wine experts. On this day it is sent through out the world as according to the French Law it cannot pave its way sooner that this. The bottles, which are in the hands of the people sooner than this is, are not opened with a screw but guillotine is used to open it.

The fact that Beaujolais nouveau is sold out right away subsequent to fermentation is the fact that makes it so special. While other wines, the older it gets the better it becomes but Beaujolais nouveau should be drunk within few months. This wine will not make you tap your fingers and glace it with wanting eyes.

The experts of wine confirm this that the taste of Beaujolais nouveau is undeveloped. The underdeveloped taste of this French wine is similar to the juice of grape. It is lot only light but full of fruits and can be consumed easily. This wine is mainly produced by the fermentation of whole berry; the amount of tannin is very less, which makes the wine comparatively less acidic in taste that other red wines. So, Beaujolais nouveau can be called underdeveloped but not bitter in taste.

Giving the red wine’s rule a break, Beaujolais nouveau is served with ice. With this the fruity flavor of the red wine become palpable and extremely refreshing when consumed. However, the fuller Beaujolais nouveau tastes best at standard temperature. The production of Beaujolais nouveau is around 50 million each year. Registering elevated sales per year,   this red wine ranks third in the category of the most popular wines in France’s Beaujolais region. Half the total number of bottles is exclusively reserved for French while the other half is for the wine lovers around the globe. The wine is stored in France to celebrate the coming of the New Year, as the makers of wine who have slogged hard all this time get a moment of respite and lift the wine glass to celebrate their success. The wine exported worldwide, is brought into several uses. Particularly in America, Beaujolais nouveau is served at a function of Thanksgiving, offering the lover of wine something that they can really thank for.

Wine gifts – to add zing to the festivities

If in the past you never thought of presenting a wine gift then it is time you should begin considering it. A wine bottle is always taken to be perfect and is well received to grace any occasion. For a long time now people have being presenting their near and dear ones with a wine gift and this old age custom is breathing till now. Till the time the recipient of the gift is above the authorized age of consuming alcohol, you are surely to make anyone happy by gifting them with their favorite wine.

The idea of wine gift basket is gaining popularity with more and more people preferring it. The design of the wine basket can be customized wholly according to the recipient’s taste, the price as well as your budget. Minimum Two wine bottles along with a good appetizer selection as per the wine selected is what a perfect wine gift basket should contain. For those who would like get a little innovative with their gifts, then try something new such as membership of the monthly wine club. Nothing will beat your gift especially in case the recipient simple loves wine. Each month, the wine which you select as a gift will be received by the recipient. For such wine gifts you will have to shell out from your pockets from $100.00 to $300.00, which entirely depends on the wine which you select. You can select from white wine as well as red wine or even a mixture of both the wines. If in case the recipient of the wine gifts finds the taste of wine appealing to their taste buds then they can certainly re-order that particular wine from the same club as and when they feel like.

For a red wine gift you can ideally make your selection from Merlot, Pinot Noir as well as Zinfandel. For lovers of Pastas as well as pizzas, Zinfandel is a perfect choice as it is a wine brand produced in Italy. A thing worth praising about Merlots is that it is an amalgamation of herbs as well as berries and is extremely light. As far as the Pinot Noir is concerned, this French style fine has been an all time hit with wine lovers. As far as making a pick from white wine is concerned then you can opt for Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc or may be Chardonnay. Chardonnays have worldwide recognition Having citrus and melon, and to make it acidic in nature you can add a little apple or pear juice. Sauvignon Blanc wine tastes brilliant along with fish as well as cheese.

Gifting a vintage wine to a wine lover will sway the recipient off their feet. Nonetheless, it is advised to taste it in advance to ensure that the quality of wine is worth the price you are paying for it. The presentation of vintage wine is traditionally in their wine box made from wood. Sometimes, it is also coupled with a booklet which unravels about some important facts about the origin of wine. Wine gifts will surely make any occasion special and with the enthusiast of wine they will surely be a hit.

Pairing your wine and chocolate

Red wine and chocolate is a darling pair these days. With all those deep, dark chocolate notes right in a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine seems like a natural match for an intensely-flavored, dark chocolate dessert.

But are the two perfect together? Maybe not, according to Sara Schneider, Sunset wine editor.

“Along with those sweet-seeming chocolate flavors and dark berries and plums, good (young) Cabernet Sauvignon has a backbone of tannin that can suddenly taste harsh and astringent when you put it with chocolate, especially if the chocolate is quite sweet,” she says.

“Merlot, on the other hand, tends to have softer, rounder tannins under its cocoa and mocha layers; it’s often a more seamless partner for chocolate,” says Schneider

Tips for pairing:

• The chocolate shouldn’t be sweeter than the wine.

• The darker the chocolate, the more likely it will be to taste good with red wine (partly because chocolate with a higher percentage of cacao has less sugar).

• The darker chocolates, with deep-roasted flavors, pair well with wines with dark, toasty notes themselves.

• Port-style and sweet late-harvest reds tend to be the best matches for chocolate desserts.

An ideal couple

Here are some of Schneider’s favorite chocolate desserts with her suggestions for the perfect wine partner.

• The flavors of warm chocolate souffle cakes with raspberry sauce explode when paired with a late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc or a late-harvest Chenin Blanc.

• A sweet sparkling rosé adds extra sparkle to chocolate fudge cheesecake.

• A tawny Port or an orange Muscat are the perfect match for bourbon pecan tart with chocolate drizzle.

• Give chocolate-chip shortcakes with berries and dark chocolate sauce a try with a late-harvest / Dessert wine.

I love wine and chocolate and if the two is not pairing well, it is just bad luck.

This perceived mismatch will not put wines or chocs in disregard.  If  for instance a Cadbury’s Wholenut chocolate is  not suppose to pair well with a Merlot… So what.

What do you think?

Source: CNN