I am from Mainz, Germany, spent a couple of months in Warwick/Coventry (England) and in the Bay area. Graduated in Maths (Dr. rer. nat.), became an IT guy. Used to work in a group of artists in the 80s and early 90s producing noise-music and sound/light-installations. Have some interest in Linguistics and Philology. I like various kinds of music, European classical, modern, South-Indian classical, Japanese, Bluegrass, Jazz, Soul, Korean etc.
The bottle of Kirschwasser and the bottle of wine are in different price categories. The wine bottle is something you would bring to somewhere you are invited, without a special occasion like a birthday. The Kirschwasser (unless it is of a cheap kind, but then it is not appropriate as a gift) would be a full birthday present. Usually, the reportees of a boss would collect the money and present such a present together. The situation to avoid is that your gift is in a completely different price range than the gifts your colleagues bring. Best you talk to them about what they intend to bring.
