Better yet, give your friend a 3-bottle gift set from wine.com for $55. This is a nice sampling of different varietals and styles.

https://www.wine.com/product/90-poin...ift-set/120039

Have you tried it?

On the wine.com site - my recommendation is a couple of Oregon pinots. Adelsheim & Benton Lane. And, yes, I’ve had them - several times.

For a gift, I'd go with a magnum rather than two bottles. Much more impressive and fun.

I think that depends on what the recipient's situation is as far as being able to share with others. Personally I would rather have 2 or 3 regular bottles. The OP says the gift is going to someone who is not necessarily a major wine expert so I would suggest 2 or 3 bottles that are rated 90points or higher.

Some wine stores offer a gift pack of a couple selected bottles that comes with a group tasting session via zoom or streaming to watch at your leisure. The quality varies.

I haven't, but there are a few things you are not realizing, and it seems that wine is not really your thing if I'm understanding the context here.

1. In the price range you are specifying, everything will probably be better than merely drinkable. These wines have 90+ point ratings, and while they are not ratings from Robert Parker (the best known wine critic), in general I would take these ratings as an indication that the wines are good but not fancy.
2. You indicated your friend is not a wine drinker, so he probably doesn't have much in the way of experience/taste preferences and won't know a Cheval Blanc from a Yellowtail. In other words, it's about the taste and not the label.
3. Therefore it makes sense to offer an assortment so he can try different styles, varietals, and winemaking approaches. This is the fun of wine - tasting the different flavors. A curated "gift set" like this is a nice introduction.

Honestly, I think that, given the fact that neither of you is much of a wine drinker and you don't know what he likes (maybe he doesn't either) then I'm scratching my head wondering why you are so dead set on giving him wine as a gift instead of something you know he likes. But if you're going to give wine, I'd give a few bottles in a set that someone at the wine store picks, like this.

very well said. I might add that a $100 bottle of wine is probably overkill and would not be appreciated by somebody who is not a major wine lover/drinker. I love wine and I am sure it would be lost on me and I would much rather have a few bottles of $30 wine. Fortunately there are many excellent wines in that price range.
Another thing to remember is that taste is subjective ....some prefer or drink only red. Some prefer dry or fruity or big or light etc. You might also consider a couple bottles of champagne instead of wine. It is the thought that counts.