In This Email:
Gift Puzzles Solved at wine.com 
Great Wine and Gifts 
Wine Team Picks 
Wine with Chocolate: Dry or Sweet? 
Save 10% on Corporate Gifts 
Wine Tastings at the Olive Garden 


Welcome, Wineshopper.com Subscribers

Happy holidays from wine.com! As a result of the recent merger 
between WineShopper.com and wine.com, this is your first email 
newsletter from the newly combined company -- www.wine.com -- the 
ultimate online wine destination. We'll be sending you our new 
newsletter from this point on, and hope you find it both informative 
and fun. 

Our free weekly newsletter includes a constantly changing selection 
of wine recommendations, special offers, and entertaining articles on 
all manner of topics from the vast world of wine. Meanwhile, we'll 
continue to search out spectacular bottles and describe them on 
detailed tasting charts so you'll have a clear idea of what to expect 
from each one. Welcome to wine.com!

To learn more about each item listed below, simply click on its name!

Please check our home page under "Highlights" to view holiday 
shipping deadlines at wine.com. 

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Great Wine and Gifts

1999 Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc, California, $11.00
This wine is crisp and zesty and offers lovely grassy, floral, and 
grapefruit notes. A great palate refresher on the holiday table -- 
and kosher to boot. 

Holiday Personalized Wine
For the holidays, surprise them with a truly memorable gift. We 
feature a wide selection of great Christmas, Chanukah, and New Year's 
wine-label designs that you can personalize with your own message. 
Starts at $25.00 for wine in a wine.com gift box. 

Discovery Club
Here's a fun and easy way to learn about the world of wine. Each 
month, you'll receive a selection of wines from our international 
portfolio, along with tasting notes, recipes, and educational 
materials. Starts at $27.50/month. 

The Oxford Companion to Wine, $50.00
The second edition of Jancis Robinson's masterpiece is packed with 
new entries and updates. The ultimate reference on wine and 
winemaking, this is the perfect gift for budding wine enthusiasts and 
confirmed oenophiles alike. Arrives gift-wrapped. 

Snowy Whites, $45.00
This trio of whites -- a fruit-filled German Riesling, a zesty 
Italian white, and a rich, Napa Chardonnay -- will delight family and 
friends this holiday season and all year long. Comes in a handsome 
wine.com gift box. 

Rhone Sampler Special, $39.95
Here are four excellent Rhone and Rhone-style wines -- a Shiraz, a 
Grenache-Shiraz blend, and two Cotes du Rhones from the renowned 1998 
vintage. Purchased individually, these wines total $58.95. 

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Wine Team Picks: Tim Gaiser on Heroic Wines

Heroic Wines is one of my own personal vino categories. A wine is 
"heroic" when it has a bold, distinct character and far surpasses my 
expectations in terms of complexity and value. Here are my current 
heroic picks: 

?1999 Chateau de Segries Lirac Cuvee Reserve, France, $11.00
?1998 Domaine de L'Oratoire St.-Martin Cotes-du-Rhone Villages
???Carainne, Reserve des Seigneurs, St.-Martin, France, $16.00
?1997 Mas Grand Plagniol Syrah (embossed bottle), Costieres de Nimes,
???France, $18.00
?1998 Peter Lehmann Wines Clancy's, Barossa Valley,
???Australia, $19.95
?1993 d'Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings, McLaren Vale,
???Australia, $49.95

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Wine with Chocolate: Dry or Sweet?

The holidays are a time of indulgence, and chocolate is pure 
indulgence. Pairing it with wine, however, is a tricky -- even 
controversial -- endeavor. 

"There are two camps: those who believe that dry wines like Merlot 
and Cabernet Sauvignon are good with chocolate, and those who prefer 
it with sweet wines," says wine.com Senior Wine Merchant Tim Gaiser, 
summing up the controversy. 

The dry-wine camp "thinks that the bitterness of tannin is a good 
match with the bitterness of chocolate," says Gaiser. It may seem odd 
to be discussing dessert (which most people would consider sweet) in 
terms of bitterness, but as Gaiser points out, "That's the flavor of 
cocoa, which is found in all high-quality chocolate." 

Gaiser believes that some Merlots can handle this assignment "because 
of their soft tannins and the supple, seductive quality of their 
fruit." Wine.com's sampler gift pack of Ballentine Merlot and 
Scharffen Berger Chocolate plays on this flavor profile. 

The more traditional palate prefers sweet wines to match the sugar in 
chocolate and offset its bitterness. For this, Gaiser says the wine 
"has to be really ripe and intense. High alcohol is almost necessary, 
because it implies ripeness and richness." 

In this category, he suggests that "port is probably best -- 
especially tawny port. Australian liqueur Muscats like Stanton & 
Killeen are also terrific, as are fine cream sherries, such as the 
1972 Bodegas Toro Albala Pedro Ximenez Don Gran Reserva (375 ml)
or the Emilio Lustau Moscatel Las Cruces 100 Anos. Wine.com also 
offers a Decadent Dessert pack that pairs an outstanding Schuetz 
Oles Port with melt-in-your-mouth XOX chocolate truffles. 

Although he loves sweet German wines, Gaiser steers away from them 
when it comes to chocolate. "You need the depth of red grape 
varieties," he says. "One very influential wine writer thinks that 
the perfect wine for chocolate is Banyuls. It's a Grenache-based red 
wine, fortified to 18-20 percent alcohol." For an already-assembled 
combo, try our Banyuls and Chocolate Bars gift pack, which includes 
the 1998 L'Abbe Rous Banyuls Rimage with six of the finest chocolates 
available. Gaiser also points out that "Some Banyuls are capable of 
aging, just like port". As proof, try the 1993 L'Abbe Rous Banyuls 
Grand Cru Christian Reyal. 

If you want to stick to unfortified wine from the United States, 
nothing could be more appropriate than late-harvest Zinfandel, whose 
raspberry-tinged varietal character is a classic match 
with chocolate. 

When it comes to the final ingredient, wine.com has several 
first-rate holiday chocolates to offer. Some already have wine inside 
them -- for example, Wine-Filled Chocolates and Chocolate Champagne 
Corks. For a delicious Italian milk chocolate with hazelnuts, try 
Vineyard Chocolates. 

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Save 10% on Corporate Gifts

Solidify your business relationships this holiday season by choosing 
gifts from wine.com's comprehensive selection of red wines, white 
wines, bubblies, dessert wines, gift baskets, accessories, and 
specialty presents. We can save you money in the bargain. Click here
to view our selection of Corporate Gifts. When you check out, just 
type your special code -- "corpholiday" -- in the coupon box to 
receive a 10 percent discount. (Please note that discounts are given 
by participating retailers only, where applicable.) If you prefer, 
call us at 1-877-SAY-WINE. 

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Wine Tastings at the Olive Garden

Nobody has worked harder than the Olive Garden restaurants at 
bringing authentic Italian cuisine to America. In keeping with the 
place that wine occupies on the Italian table, the restaurant now 
offers wine tastings on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. This 
week, its list features a Chianti Classico Riserva from Rocca delle 
Macie, as well as the Beringer Founders' Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 
Gallo of Sonoma Chardonnay, and Montevina White Zinfandel. We join 
arms with the Olive Garden in endorsing the old Italian proverb, "The 
only wrong wine is no wine at all." 

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