Wino Recs: Best Christmas Gift Wines

Hey everyone! There's nothing better than giving a bottle of wine to someone if you're at a loss for a gift. Pair it with some cute personalized glasses like this:

 or

and you are someone's new best friend. Here are my recommendations for guaranteed crowd pleasers.

              For anyone:

Apothic White and/or Apothic Red - Both of these are absolutely fantastic blended wines and are a perfect balance of dry and sweet flavors with a wonderfully smooth texture.

   For the dessert wine lover:

Stonebrook Winery Black Knight - This is an absolutely delicious blend of blackberry wine and brandy. Yes, brandy. Its got a slightly higher alcohol content hence the slimmer bottle. This is probably my favorite drink of all time. I call it liquid gold.

For the broke gift-giver:

Funf 5 Sassy White - This is a very tasty mildly sweet Riesling. At only around 7 bucks a bottle, this ends up being a really great gift for the giver a little short on cash. You'd never know it was so inexpensive and neither will they.

For the adventurous wino:

Alianca Vinho Verde - This was surprisingly good in that it has a bit of sparkle to it. A nice blend of what you'd expect prosecco and mild pinot grigio would taste like together this is a great gift for someone who likes to experiment with new flavors and wines.

Review: Rotters - Daniel Kraus

Rating: 5/5
Summary: When Joey Crouch's mother dies he is sent off to live with his father in a small town Iowa. He soon learns that his father is not only embarrassingly labeled the town "garbage man" but a grave robber. Joey's life takes a dramatic turn when he decides to demand his father's attention and care.
Review: This book was incredibly captivating in a strange way. Its plot is very dark and slightly depressing, even disgusting, at point but still kept me reading. Kraus strings together an unique tale with plenty of twists and turns woven together with completely believable characterization. With as pessimistic and dark as this novel is, I expected to be left feeling depressed but was pleasantly surprised by the ever-so-perfect ending. The story is completely balanced in every way and I was definitely satisfied when I finally finished it. DEFINITELY a must read for any YA, adventure-loving book enthusiast.

Review: Inkheart - Cornelia Funke

Rating: 4/5
Summary: Meggie and her father enjoy books as most people typically enjoy food. When she discovers her father has a secret ability to bring characters to life simply by reading aloud, Meggie is thrown into an adventure of her own that teaches her about trust, love, good and evil.
Review: I definitely understand why this book was made into a movie. Funke weaves a beautifully written plot with captivating characters and a unique concept that is sure to draw anyone's attention. I suppose this book is intended for a slightly younger audience (say the 11-15 age range) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can't deny that little more adult drama and action would have made this a much more interesting YA book for the older crowd, but I still found myself returning to it as often as I could. I would definitely recommend picking this one up if you like the "Harry Potter" adventure type books or if you are looking for a great Christmas gift for the preteen on your list. This is a trilogy but this book doesn't leave you having to read the next books, so for now I am moving on.

Buy it here: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Hardcover)

Wino Review: Alaverdi - Tvalebi

Type: White

Name: Alaverdi - Tvalebi (Medium Sweet White)

Location: Georgia

Review: Um... wow. I'll be honest, I was hesitant about this wine. No only is the label cheesy and mostly in a language I don't associate with wine, but the idea of a "medium sweet white" printed right on the label screamed cheap to me. Boy was I surprised! This may just be one of my new favorites, if only I could figure out where to get it.... At first taste, this slightly reminds me of a honey mead (and certainly looks like it with a gorgeous rich amber color,) but not really. Its not really like anything I've had before. On the sweeter side, but really not overwhelming, this wine has a mild fruity (almost melon-y) flavor and a smooth finish. You easily could serve this alone, with fruit or you could even pair this with a cheesy dish like alfredo.

Review: Cinder - Marissa Meyer

Rating: 3/5
Summary: Cinder is a cyborg in a futuristic Earth in which humans are plagued by... well, a plague. Paralleling the classic Cinderella tale, Cinder has stepsisters, a mean stepmother, and a prince she pines for.
Review: I really liked this book for the first three quarters of it, until I reached the ending. I felt like it was just cut off at a crucial point, forcing the reader to pick up the sequel. I get that this is an excellent marketing tactic, but it also leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and I probably won't pick up the sequel simply because I wasn't blown away by the plot and then put off by the ending. Also, there is one sentence in the beginning of the novel that almost ruined the whole book because anyone smarter than a fifth grader can guess its implications. I won't share this revealing sentence, just in case you decided to pick up this book out of boredom. I did like the characters, although I felt they could have been slightly more relatable and the relationships were shallow. Overall, the dystopian quality of this novel kept me interested, but the plot wasn't strong enough to hold my interest into the sequels.

Review: 2 in one! The Scortch Trials and The Death Cure - James Dashner

Rating: 5/5, 5/5
Summary: In these two novels we follow Thomas in his adventures through the dystopian future in which our earth is plagued by sun flares and a disease threatening to wipe out the human race. Thomas and his friends are being tested in an effort to find a cure and then escape Wicked to find there are worse things than zombie-like disease-ridden people and hot scortched earth.
Reviews: Oh goodness. Pick up this trilogy, including the first book Maze Runner, as soon as you can. While the first book was a little slow, these two are fantastic and just get better. I definitely enjoyed all three and flew through the last two, finding every excuse to listen to them, even working out! The character intricacies continue to be intriguing and the plot twists keep your eyes glued to the pages (or earbuds glued in your ears) as long as physically possible. I would recommend this to anyone above the age of fourteen or so, simply because there is some frightening violence and imagery that may give preteens nightmares. But if you love dystopian novels, pick this up asap for a fantastically unique plot and unrushed storyline.

Get them here: The Maze Runner Trilogy Collection Set - Maze Runner, the Scorch Trials & Death Cure By James Dashner

Review: Delirium - Lauren Oliver

Rating: 5/5
Summary: Lena is a young girl about to receive the operation that will cure her from the disease of love, releasing her from a future of pain, losing her mind and ultimately death. When Lena meets a boy on one of her runs, she realizes her worst fear is happening and she is slowly falling in love.
Review: I hesitated to read this book. I thought the concept, that love was a disease to be cured, sounded cheesy and almost impossible to make believable. Somehow, Lauren Oliver did it! I truly loved this book. Not only was the plot utterly captivating, but the characters were wonderful and I couldn't put it down. My absolute favorite part of the whole novel was Lauren's style of writing. She uses a lot of similies and metaphors in her descriptions and somehow it magically makes you experience falling in love right alongside the main characters. The audiobook narrator also did a fantastic job of infusing the personalities of the characters into her voices for each so I suggest listening to this one if you can. I recommend this to everyone and yes, I am starting the sequel as you read this....

Get it here: Delirium