WINE IS THE MOST POPULAR CHRISTMAS GIFT, BUT ONE-THIRD WILL REGIFT

Wine remains the most popular alcoholic beverage to take to a Christmas/holiday party, with 59% citing it as their 1st choice, but 1/3rd that receive a bottle admit to “regifting” it to another, a survey by BIVB has found.

The average person receives four bottles of wine throughout the Christmas or holiday period and gives away an average of three bottles, yet more than three in ten of us (31%) often ‘re-gift’ a bottle wine that we receive.

But over a quarter (26%) admit to not knowing a lot about wine when purchasing wines, with price the deciding factor in most instances, with just over a fifth (21%) saying they buy whatever’s on special offer.

26% of respondents said it was the price that they looked at first, followed by style or grape variety (17%) and country or region (11%).

However, we are more likely to trade up at this time of year. According to a WSTA market report, outside of Christmas.

There is definitely something for every budget and occasion – I suggest you have a price range in mind before you go wine shopping – do your research.

Bordeaux Wines commissioned the research, which was carried out online by Opinion Matters in November and resulted in responses from 2,046 people aged over 18 in the UK.

Sources: Drinks Business and BIVB, WSAT

Air France’s La Première Cabin has Caviar and Champagne on its Menu for the Holiday Season

For the Christmas and New Year holiday season Air France will be offering passengers traveling in the La Première cabin some exceptional dishes to make their flight a refined experience. From December to January 2013 on flights departing from Paris, passengers will now be able to enjoy a unique appetizer, an individual ‘egg’ of Cavier Alverta Royal Eggxiting by Petrossian.

La Première passengers will also get to enjoy exclusive gourmet dishes by Jacques Le Divellec, a noted French chef and a member of the Servair Culinary Studio, with two of his own recipes; the fillet of turbot with clams and the seafood medley with shellfish sauce.

Along with caviar and seafood selections, the dessert menu is designed by Lenotre, and Oilvier Poussier has selected wine from various French regions, along with the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2000.