This Christmas give your nearest and dearest winelovers an original gift that also benefits the planet

Christmas is nearly upon us–the 25th approaches with the first tingle of excitement of the impending Christmas rush. In the shops, Christmas decorations are going up, hot on the heels of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to encourage us to keep buying.

The quest for the perfect gift aims for more personalised ideas, the better to surprise and delight friends and relatives by pinpointing their passions and desires.

The internet is the ideal shop window to look for inspiration as we tap out searches for ‘original gifts for winelovers’ on our smartphones. We all know a wine lover or two that we’d like to surprise with just the right gift.

At the same time, we are all concerned about pollution and the climate emergency, and this is now reflected in our buying choices. We’re trying to adopt an ethical, sustainable attitude with every purchase, even those for Christmas.
This year especially, we’re aiming for useful presents that will not be flung aside and forgotten, to avoid wasting both money and resources.

1. Gift a visit to discover the home of the great wines of Piedmont

What enthusiast of serious labels wouldn’t be thrilled to visit the source of his or her favourite wines?
Gift a tour of the Unesco World Heritage site of the Langhe, Roero and Monferrato with their myriad possibilities for your virtual Christmas present.

Experience winemaking with cellar visits and wine tastings

Give a one-day visit to any of the wine producers scattered among the Langhe hills.
Discover the story concealed in every wine, and acquaint yourself with the real winemaking tradition of Piedmont, through tastings, and cellar and vineyard tours.
Stamp your gift green by choosing organic and environmentally-friendly wineries and discover their efforts to protect the Langa habitat as well as consumer health.

Authentic relaxation

Complete the experience, by adding a stay in an organic-certified agri-tourism, an eco-b&b, one of the many farms with educational activities or a green hotel and discover the Langhe terroir. Staying here goes beyond admiring the hills and vineyards, it’s an immersion in nature and a rediscovery of traditional professions.

2.Give the gift of a row of vines and support an important habitat

One of the greenest of green ideas is to offer a plant as a gift–from a tree to a row of vines, the idea is the same: to watch it grow through the seasons. Giving a row of vines means a present that becomes part of the wine lover’s life.

A vine is a gift filled with meaning.
It’s precious because it produces fruit–and therefore life and beauty–and also because it helps to conserve and embellish unique habitats and strengthen ecological commitment.
In the Langhe, among the hills of Monforte, the “Adopt a Row of Vines” project has been underway for several years. The project offers the chance to adopt a row of vines and observe it at every stage until its final transformation into wine.
Gift the experience of cultivating and producing personalised wine and make the dream of every wine lover come tr

3. Gift lunch or an aperitif en plein air

Revive mind and body in spring and summer by spending time amid the green, in contact with nature.
Discover new things every day in new and different places, far from any city. An eco-weekend could include lunch, an aperitif or a picnic outside in the fresh air. Whether in the hills or mountains, the important thing is to have a green space in which to stretch out, regenerate and taste your own homemade recipes.

For your outdoorsy friends we propose the Lunch Box, containing a prestigious Langa wine, a set of eco-disposable plates and cutlery for gourmet lunches, and a ticket for the Wimu wine museum in Barolo to top off a marvellous visit to the hills.

4. Creative recycling for do-it-yourself presents

For those who love do-it-yourself, another gift idea that combines a passion for wine with environmental well-being is to make things of recycled or discarded materials. Often we’re oblivious to the quantity of undervalued stuff we have lying around the house–stuff that can be transformed into design objects. For example, wine crates can become furniture, used corks can come together as picture frames and plastic odds and ends can be transformed into bottle carriers, following the principles of creative re-using and recycling.

On the web, Pinterest is a great source of both inspiration and how-to guides for creating handmade, wine-themed design objects, giving new life to leftovers otherwise destined for the bin. It’s a good way to become conscious of packaging and the waste we produce every day.

With these ideas for a sustainable Christmas not only can you make a gift to your friends or family, but also to the environment. These ideas serve our common respect and concern for the planet–and for ourselves as its inhabitants, in the hope of replenishing nature, ever present but for too long forgotten.

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