Here's a good question from reader Maggie:
My father is notoriously hard to shop for and Christmas gifts usually end up pretty uninspired. He does love food and wine though, so when we make the trip to the States from New Zealand we bring some great local wines and unusual pantry items. This year we won't be together at Christmas, so I've struck the idea to buy him a subscription to a wine magazine.
But which one? Wine Spectator? Wine Enthusiast? Which one would you choose for a mostly $10-a-bottle kind of guy?
I just got my boss Wine Spectator because he's a serious wine aficionado who has mentioned that magazine on more than one occasion, but also Food & Wine, because it's seriously a great magazine :)
view joannie's profile
Also, if you have any recommendations for a hard-to-shop for Dad, who will drink a $30/ bottle, occasionally. (Thanks Maggie for the great gift idea for MY dad!)
view sara jane's profile
Food and Wine. Because it's Food AND Wine. It's like getting two magazines. And in a recent survey, I found that most people who enjoy wine, also enjoy food.
view dawnie's profile
I've had a subscription to food and wine for a couple of years, and I really like it. I think of it as more focused on food than wine, though, so if you really want something about wine and not about cooking I'd opt for one of the plain wine magazines. If your dad likes to cook, though, you can't go wrong with F & W.
view jooleeyet's profile
Food and Wine is probably the better magazine for someone not interested in spendier bottles of wine. I find F&W to be a good balance of articles, recipes, and recommendations. Regardless of whether he actually gets around to cooking any recipes from it, it's still a good magazine to read.
view onesnowyowl's profile
Food & Wine always has approachable articles around wine, and food-related articles to boot!
I started receiving Wine Spectator (no clue why) and, to be honest, as much as I love wine, I don't read it.
view kari-anne's profile
Again, I vote Food & Wine. My uncle gave me a "Best of" cookbook from them a couple years ago and I thought it was another lame cookbook until I flipped through the pages and tried some of the recipes. They've all been hits, well written, relatively easy to accomplish, with an emphasis on seasonal, local, pared down fare.
view Squirrely's profile
my dad's a major wine aficionado (or oenophile, if you want to get technical) and he's been getting Wine Spectator for as long as I can remember. he really looks forward to every issue.
view mavieenrose's profile
I like Wine Spectator...they have recipes in there that pair well with wines, and many good wine recommendations at all price ranges...HOWEVER, I also get Food and Wine and thing they have a TON of great recipes. The good thing about Wine Spectator is the ratings are generally regarded as accurate.
view sleggo's profile