Guide to Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets

Wine and cheese are a classic pair for gift giving year-round, and a wine and cheese basket is almost always an excellent choice for a family member, neighbor or business associate.

Wine and cheese gift baskets come in many varieties. You can shop by wine, by vineyard, by occasion or by price to find what you're looking for.

Make your choice of wine and cheese baskets easier by:

1. Looking at wide selections of wines and cheeses and narrowing down to your final selection.
   
2. Checking out connoisseur collections for more discriminating loved ones.
3. Taking advantage of the perks of ordering wine and cheese baskets.
4. Creating your own assortment if you can't find one that suits your needs or taste.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Browse a wide selection of wine and cheese baskets

Wine and cheese are both common gourmet gifts to give, so browse the many arrangements that gift basket retailers have imagined.

I recommend: Wine and cheese basket retailers such as Wine Country Gift Baskets offer vast selections ranging from everyday favorite wines to rare boutique wines. As you browse the long list of gift baskets offerings, though, you can usually narrow by occasion, price or other limiting factors to help you choose.

Acquire a taste for gourmet gift baskets

If you're shopping for a discriminating palate, you may want to specifically look for so-called connoisseur baskets or luxury baskets, which are generally arranged by vineyard.

I recommend: Connoisseur baskets from Wine Country Gift Baskets and luxury baskets from GiftTree.com are types of wine and cheese basket that you know will be a hit with gourmet food lovers for any occasion. When browsing luxury wine and cheese gift baskets, you'll want to have some basic knowledge of vineyards in order to choose the best basket for your purpose.

Pick the perks that go along with gourmet gifts

You often can find free shipping offers, same day delivery or other perks to entice you to buy wine and cheese gift baskets.

I recommend: Some wine and cheese basket retailers offer free shipping across the board for all of their sales. Others such as FTD may offer free shipping on a regular basis and same day delivery (for a fee) for a cheese or wine gift basket. Free shipping may not be offered, so check the shipping information before ordering to ensure that you won't need to pay extra for adequate care and handling.

When you can't find the wine and cheese basket you want, create your own

Some wine and cheese basket retailers also offer the option of creating your own basket by picking out all of the pieces. They still put it together and ship it for you.

I recommend: If you're having trouble finding the exact combination of wine and cheese to suit your fancy, igourmet offers the opportunity to pick out every piece of your gift basket to ensure that you're completely satisfied. Or, if you just want to personalize the wine and cheese basket without picking everything out yourself, you can create personalized labels at Wine Etc. for the wine that you order.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Order well in advance when sending wine and cheese gift baskets for the holidays when many people go on vacation. By ordering in advance you can ensure that the basket will arrive on time and the recipient also will be available to receive the basket, which may contain perishable foods.

The official source of Wine and Cheese Gift Baskets is
the Wine & Cheese Gift Baskets page at Business.com