French wines flow like water; it’s not only that in French homes that wine is treated like water as it’s drunk out of rocks glasses like one would drink a glass of milk, and there are no water glasses to speak of. Asking for water in a restaurant only gets one response—still or bubbly; meaning do you want flat bottled water or carbonated bottled water as tap water with lemon is unheard of.

Though all of this might be annoying or at least disconcerting for the un-expecting tourist, the positive side is that the French have wine for every taste, and that is not an exaggeration. It’s for this reason that choosing a wine gift that’s French is guaranteed to please, provided that you know the tastes of the person to whom the wine is being given.

Beyond White Zinfandel and Chardonnay

French wine gifts range from sweet bubbling white wine that is, to most, indistinguishable from champagne to the driest of the dry reds; so dry they stick in your throat. It is not wrong to say that French wine gifts have endless possibilities. If you are headed to a dinner at which you know what is being served in advanced, you can choose a wine that complements that dinner even though your wine may not be served if the host has chosen wines when doing their shopping for the meal.

If you’re looking to complement summer grilled fish, you could choose a dry white French wine as a gift. If you know that grilled steaks will be served, you could choose robust red Bordeaux. When you are unsure about what is being served, or are unsure about the tastes in wine of the people for whom you are choosing a French wine gift, a sweet white wine is always a safe choice. People who are game for a dry red wine are also game for a sweet white wine, whereas the reverse is not always true—someone who would ask for a white wine might not also enjoy a red one if it’s too dry.

A wonderfully kept secret in French wine is the white moelleux. This kind of wine is the ultimate French wine gift in America because this wine is sweeter than most juices sold in the supermarket. This wine also goes down more easily than your average apple juice. If you can find a distributor in your area, this is a way to wow a wine gift recipient and in the way that wine should wow—not by a sky-high price tag but by an absolutely heavenly taste.