Make Dad’s Day With These Killer Gift Ideas
Bill Cosby once said, “Fatherhood is pretending the present you love the most, is soap-on-a-rope.”
Looking back on the presents we’ve bestowed on our Pops over the years – macaroni art, god-awful ties, dozens upon dozens of golf balls – we realize we maybe didn’t always hit the mark. But bless him, the Old Man never let on our gifts truly sucked.
So this Father’s Day we’re saying thanks for all the white-knuckled driving lessons, the extra $20 bucks in our allowances, bringing the car home on empty and saying yes when our Mom said no.
Perhaps it was living out-numbered in a household with three females, but our dad really likes booze. The apples do not fall far from the tree.
Here are our top 10 gifts for Dads Who Deserve a Drink.
Wine
Our Dad, like many men we know, like the kind of bold reds that can really put hair on your chest.
Cathedral Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Western Cape, South Africa 2008
$15.95 Vintages 328567
At a recent South African wine tasting, we were blown away by the quality, consistency and structure of Cathedral Cellar – a wine that we largely dismissed. Shame on us, this is a beautifully drinking wine of fantastic value. Deep ruby-purple in colour with aromas of black currant and fresh leather with a slight menthol lift, it’s full and juicy on the palate with ripe dark fruit, leather-meaty notes and savoury herbs. Grippy tannins are balanced by prickly acidity, and overall this is a very enjoyable, well done Cab for terrific value.
Fattoria di Basciano “Il Corto” Tuscany, Italy 2009
$27.95 Vintages 134775
Mostly Sangiovese with a touch of Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a satisfyingly rich yet smooth and elegant wine that balances rustic charm with bright fruit. Red cherries, chocolate, briney black olive, savoury sage/rosemary herb and fresh leather on the nose with a firm, but bright palate. Fine, well integrated tannins and a great streak of acidity of balance and depth. Treat Dad to a T-Bone steak and pop this open.
Joanta “Todos” Red Santa Barbara, California 2008
$59.95 Vintages 218941
Inky purple-ruby, this is powerful and richly concentrated – and still showing lots of jubilant youth, even after four years. An intriguing nose of savoury fresh herbs, black and red berries, crushed black pepper, cigar box with a minty-eucalyptus freshness. The palate is dense and rich, with firm tannins and balanced acidity. Full bodied and smooth, this has the stuff to age gracefully for years.
Chateau de Beaucastle Chateauneuf du Pape Rhone, France 2010
$89.95 Vintages 711317
Our Dad loves Chateauneufs, and you can’t get much better than this. There’s a lovely savouriness to this wine, made from a blend of all permitted varietals, with smoked meat, chalky mineral, dried rosemary, black olive, fresh pepper and black currant aromas. Complex, rich and inviting on the palate, the tannins are firm, but well integrated and acidity is balanced. Drinking well now with grilled lamb chops, but it can also last easily into the next decade.
Storage
Remember when you were 16 and snuck into your Dad’s liquor cabinet, downing his best scotch with Coke in the bushes outside the school dance? Say you’re sorry with an elegant storage cabinet – that locks.
Vintage Keeper Wine Cooler 240 Lexan $995
Sophisticated and sleek, this is available in both black and mahogany and plugs into any standard 15 amp plug. With a temperature range of 52 -64 degrees Farenheit, this vents through the top, so it can be pushed closer to the wall. Double deep storage allows for 240 bottle capacity and an interior light lets you see what you’re looking for. Security’s top notch, too. Not only is there a lock, but the glass is bullet proof. Better tell the grandkids not to get any ideas.
Danby Keg Cooler $899
Here’s a cool toy for the beer lover. This Danby keg fridge holds one 60 litre keg and comes with all the accoutrements – including CO2 tank, though Dad will have to get that filled on his own. It comes on castors, so Pop can grab some buds and wheel it to any area of the house. Perfect for game day.
Gadgets, Glasses & Gizmos
For Dads who like MacGyver stuff, they need a James Bond-like arsenal of toys to help get the job done right reasonably ok.
Riedel “O” Series Wine Decanter $236.36
Decanters are a must for us, as we decant just about anything, believing younger or less expensive wines are taken up a notch with some aeration, while more premium wines can relax and unwind a bit with the same treatment. This decanter is not only beautiful, it’s practical. We’ve purchased fancy, expensive decanters in the past (such as Riedel’s Amadeo Lyra decanter) and they’ve stayed in the cabinet – mostly because we can’t figure out how we would clean the darn things. The “O” decanter features a wide mouth and large bowl, which is not only tops for getting the job done, it allows for easy clean up, too.
Laguiole Corkscrew $168
The ultimate in wine-opening luxury, we both received these corkscrews as gifts and guard them with our lives. Admittedly, they take a few bottles to work in, but the elegant blade is sharp enough to glide through the thickest tin closure, and the handle is comfortable even when yanking out the most stubborn of corks. They come in a range of woods and steel finishes, so you can find something no matter what Dad’s style.
American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to Wines and Wineries of the United States by Jancis Robinson $34.65
For the Fathers who love their Yankee vino, this book is our top pick for getting the inside scoop on the American wine scene. Thorough, informative and engaging this nearly 300-page tome covers everything from celebrated California to the emerging wine regions of the Mid West. With 200 photographs there’s as much to see as to read.
Gigantic Monogramed Stainless Steel Flask, $119
With enough room for 2.5 litres of refreshment, what more could Dad ask for? Other than a….
Muskoka Wine Barrel Chair with holder, $295
No more spills with this bad boy! Now the Big Guy can relax in the backyard or on the dock in his own wine chair, and should he nod off, his wine is securely held in place.