What wine to give? Our tips for a gift that lands well
Giving wine is easy to get wrong: too expensive for nothing, too young to drink, not to the person's taste. A few pointers to get it right — even if you are not an expert.
Updated 23 October 2026
Start from the person, not the label
What do they already drink: red or white? Light or powerful wines? If you don't know, a fruity red with soft tannins, or a dry, fresh white, pleases most people. Bubbles suit almost any celebration.
Think about the occasion
- Dinner at friends': a bottle that is ready to drink, which your hosts can open that evening or keep.
- Christmas and the holidays: a sparkling wine for the aperitif, or a red with character for a slow-cooked dish.
- A birthday or a thank-you: a wine with a story — a winemaker's, a region's, a vintage's.
- A client or a partner: a well-presented gift set with a note. The tax rules for business gifts in Belgium are explained on our Business page, with a simulator.
Avoid the classic traps
- The great wine that is too young: a wine made for ageing disappoints when opened too early. If it is only two or three years old, it may be meant to wait: say so.
- Price as the only guide: an expensive bottle is not necessarily better. A well-chosen winemaker's wine often makes more of an impression than a big, anonymous label.
- Forgetting the context: a few words about the wine (where it comes from, what to drink it with) change everything. A sheet or a short note is enough.
Give a discovery rather than a bottle
If you don't know their taste well, let them choose. With a VinoBox gift, you pay once for one box, 6 months or a year of winemakers' wines. The recipient gets a code, enters an address in Belgium and receives the wines with a sheet for each one. It is not a subscription: nothing is charged afterwards, to you or to them.
What about the budget?
For a bottle, think of what you would spend on a good restaurant for two: it is often the right scale. For a gift that lasts, a 3-bottle VinoBox box starts at €49.90, delivery in Belgium included.
Further reading: how to store and serve wine, worth slipping in with your gift.
Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health. Please drink responsibly.