Wine.com Simply Indulgent Gift Basket

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Um, I really hate saying this, especially when it's supposed to be a gift. When I got the box, I was rather excited, because the box was pretty big, and the basket looked really good when I took it out and saw all the pretty packages. Soon, I was wondering whether my eyes were deceiving me.

When I picked up the first package, one of Vanilla Caramels (my favorite), it seemed strangely lightweight. When I opened the packet, I discovered why: the rather large cardboard package contained 15 small (one inch square) candies. As I looked through all the other treats, one theme remained nearly constant that the boxes were much too big for their contents, and that the contents themselves weren't as good as we expected.

A 4.75" x 6.75" box of chocolate chip cookies contained 2 oz of tiny, hard and crumbly yellow cookies containing two chips each. Actually, that's a slight exaggeration: we found one cookie with three chips, which we averaged with a one-chip cookie. They tasted like no other chocolate chip cookies I have had before.

One of the larger boxes contained smoked salmon. Two ounces of smoked salmon. I can't count on its quality, because two ounces of smoked salmon is two ounces too many for my family, but the salmon had a lot of room in its package. So did a package of chocolate non-pareils which my husband tried and deemed "weird. They don't taste like any chocolate I've had before." To their credit, they nearly filled the packet at 5 oz, unlike the package of chocolate roll cookies, a real lightweight at 0.9 oz.

A very large package, by comparison, contained Jelly Belly Jellybeans. They were consistent with the Jelly Belly Jellybeans I've enjoyed before, but the package contained less than the small bags I buy at the store. It was larger than most of its basket-mates at 4 ounces. Both the Jellybeans and some Ghiradelli Chocolate and Caramel Squares (5.3 oz) and Candy Bar (1.15 oz) were from brands I recognized and were as tasty as I expected.

There were other items in the basket, making it look very full and generous, including 5 oz honey roasted peanuts, 4 oz Pepper Jack, Beef (Sausage? it didn't say, but it was 5 oz), 1.79 oz Honey Hot Mustard, 2 oz Sesame Crackers, 7oz Almond Biscotti, and 4 oz Butter Cookies. These followed the same pattern of food packaged by munchkins in relatively big boxes.

I can't say that this would make me happy either as a giver or a recipient. The item quality is not very good and the quantity is positively stingy. For the amount of money this basket costs, I could purchase several delicious options from Amazon's grocery store and deliver them without a basket. My friends and family would be much happier that way.

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program To be clear, this product for flavor alone would get 3-4 stars, but I have to take into account the price, and as such was expecting quite a bit more out of it.

Pros:

Decent variety of item (salmon, honey roasted nuts, cheese, chocolates, crackers)

Basket and presentation are pretty good, and could be used as a present

Cons:

The typical price hovers around $100, I can't see how anyone would pay more than $40 for it because:

Sure there is salmon (but 2 ounces of it)

The chocolates are not a fancy unique brand, they are different variations of Ghirardelli that you can buy at any grocery store. (at least here in the northwest)

In all, you get 6 pounds of food and a decent basket (not sure what id use it for though). Basically, you're paying like $16 a pound, for maybe slgihtly above average products, but nothing spectacular. With lots of filler candy...

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program This is a huge basket full of a lot of nice foods. The backet everything comes in is a nice willow/wicker combination and is extremely well made. The food itself runs the gambit from awesome (Jelly Bellys, a nice sausage, a great mustard and some fine pepper jack cheese) to the mediocre (the honey roasted peanuts, vanilla caramels and crackers) to two downright TERRIBLE things (almond biscotti and the worst chocolate chip cookies I have ever had).

You get a TON of food in this basket and even after a week and a half, we still have a lot of the basket left to nibble on. The presentation is wonderful and the majority of the foods within will sate the appetite of most folks. Any basket with this much variety will always have one or two things someone doesn't like, so hopefully those in your household will find something to enjoy in this basket. For example, neither the wife nor I wanted the salmon, but the cat sure did!

All in all this is a terrific basket and one I could see myself purchaing for a holiday or housewarming present.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I tend to be fairly pragmatic when it comes to gourmet gift baskets. They always seem like a great idea, but oftentimes fail to live up to the price valuation placed on them. As someone who frequently purchases gift baskets (I average four to six a year and at one time procured hundreds as corporate gifts), I was actually pleasantly surprised by this offering from Wine.com. While I did receive this product free of charge, my evaluation is based on the same criteria I would use had I purchased this as a premium gift. Last year, I received a complimentary basket from Back Mountain Baskets (represented through the igourmet label) that I awarded the lowest possible rating due to amateurish packaging and a lack of luxury products. So again, I'd like to commend Wine.com for the appearance of the Simply Indulgent Basket. When you purchase a gift basket, two things are relatively certain: 1) you're going to overpay for what's actually included, and (2) at least you're going to get something presentable and of gift quality. And this, at least, looks expensive and will represent the giver in a positive light!

Basket: I received exactly the basket pictured in the sample photograph (this is oftentimes not the case, and doesn't matter to me as long as the substituted one is presentable). It is extremely sturdy, simple, and classic enough that the user can surely repurpose it.

Wrap/Packaging: The basket was tightly secured in a just right packing box that seemed made to insure no slippage during transit. The basket was wrapped in tightly fitting cellophane (no tears or unsightly pockets) with a big professional looking gold bow. Very elegant. Furthermore, the assortment inside were placed perfectly and secured (in some instances) with tape to insure that everything looked just right when the gift is opened. It simply looked expensive.

Contents: I was pleased with the contents. I might not have selected everything included individually and didn't love everything, but that's part of the gift basket experience--to sample brands/items you would not ordinarily. Aside from Ghiradelli and Jelly Belly, the other product brands were less common and definitely had an upscale feel. Although there is some variation (I suspect), my basket included 15 items: Chocolate Non-Pareils, Ghiradelli Chocolate Squares, Partners Sesame Crackers, Almond anise Biscotti, Chocolate Milano Biscotti, Sweet Butter Cookies, Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Pastry Straws, Jelly Belly Jellybeans, Vanilla Caramel, Smoked Salmon, Honey Roasted Peanuts, Beef Sausage, Pepperjack Cheese, and Spicy Mustard. It's a basket that favors the sweet tooth for sure.

Value: As I mentioned, the cost of any gift basket surely exceeds its content value. You are paying for the experience as much as anything. With its luxurious presentation, this is upscale gift quality. Whether the price is right for you is a matter of personal decision, but this made an extremely impressive visual gift whose contents were just interesting enough to make it seem fairly exotic as well. KGHarris, 5/12.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program So yeah, I too really liked the presentation and I thought the basket was cool. The price ranges as too expensive, but more importantly since I did not pay for it, most products for me just did not taste good. I liked Girardelli, I liked Jelly Beans, I do not think I liked anything else, not even salmon. In short, looks like very nice gift, but I did not feel it would be after I tasted it.