The early shoppers are coming in with their long lists of people they need to buy gifts for, and in my opinion they are going about it all wrong. Everyone is on a budget these days. Wine makes a great gift for the mail person, the lawn guy, the cleaning lady, the hairdresser, your doctor, your acupuncturist, etc. etc. Some guests come in and tell me they have to really watch their budgets this year and they have over 30 people to buy gifts for, including the secret santas at work where the maximum allowed is $10 per person. They immediately run to the least expensive national brand name that is $5.99 a bottle. I explain to them that the mail will probably come back ripped, your hair will be cut poorly and your cleaning lady won't do the windows. Okay, that may be overstating the situation a little (maybe a lot), but my point is, why give an ordinary gift when an extraordinary one can be had for that same budget?

I think like a mattress store. It's been the way the mattress industry has been operating for years. They all guarantee if you can find the same model mattress that they are selling for a less expensive price they will beat it by $100. The problem is that the big names make the same mattress with different names for every retailer, so there is no possible way you can ever compare prices even though technically it is the same mattress.

Here's my solution: Bring "JOY" to the world for as little as $7.19 a bottle and still give somone the best quality white wine he (or she) has ever had; he (or she) will likely think you spent a whole lot more (regardless of the gift-giving "rules").

I am speaking of Domaine de Joÿ,  from the Côtes de Gascogne region of France located in the Pyranées mountains. This is a unique blend of grape varieties from that area of Colombard, Ugni Blanc (the same grape that is used to make Armagnac, which is where Domaine de Joÿ is located) and a wonderful fruity grape called Gros Manseng. You blend them all together and you get what I call the most refreshing, tropical-tasting white wine that I consume on a regular basis.

The Domaine de Joÿ Gascogne retails for $7.99, but after you purchase six bottles or more with your ABC card and receive 10% off all the bottles, the price comes down to about $7.19 per bottle.

So make your list, but check it twice (or maybe three times) and instead of filling up your car with wines at the place you fill up your car with gas, stop by your local ABC Fine Wine and Spirits, buy a case of this great valued, great-tasting, quality white wine and bring "Joy" or Domaine de "Joÿ" to the world!

Larry Baker is the wine consultant at our Pembroke Pines store. You can find more of his wine ideas at his personal website, www.larrythewineguy.net.