Christmas Wine Gifts
Top 10 Wine Presents for the Connoisseurs on Your Holiday Lists
Ten best presents for people who love wine: accessories, gadgets, wineglasses, and publications.
Wondering what to get the wine lover on your holiday list? Consider one (or more) of these sure-to-please connoisseur treats.
Boutique Wine: So-called "boutique" wineries are small operations run by dedicated individuals, particular in California's wine regions, who usually devote themselves to a particular grape variety, producing small batches of often exceptional wines that offer connoisseur an intense drinking experience. Wine lovers prize such bottles. Look for them at top-notch wine stores, or do a Google search. Just a single bottle would constitute a major present. Cost: up to several hundred dollars.
Decanter: Many great wines, particularly older ones, benefit from being carefully poured an hour or more before serving into a wine decanter, which helps the wine breathe, developing its flavor and bouquet. A fine, clear glass or crystal decanter also highlights the wine's inherent beauty. Look for the especially striking decanters made Riedel (see "Wine Glasses," below). Cost: under $100 to several hundred dollars.
Rabbit Corkscrew: Delightfully resembling a sleek rabbit's head, this durable, elegant corkscrew efficiently removes a cork from a wine bottle in just 3 seconds. Its makers, the Metrokane company, offers several different models in beautifully packaged kits. Cost: under $100.
Riedel Wineglasses: Wine lovers and wine experts everywhere almost unanimously sing the praises of this line of elegantly shaped, fine crystal wine glasses made in Austria. The company offers a wide variety of glasses, each tailored to showcase the qualities of particular variety of wine. Cost: under $40 for a set of 4.
Vacu Vin or Pek Wine Preserving Systems: The hand-operated Vacu Vin device pumps the air out of bottles in which some wine remains. The Pek system flushes out air and replaces it with inert Argon gas. Either system dramatically slows oxidation and thus keeps that wine in fine drinkable condition for several days. Cost: well under $100
Wine Book: One of the best, most reliable and comprehensive guides around is The World Atlas of Wine: Completely Revised and Updated, Sixth Edition by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (Mitchell Beazley) by one of today's acknowledged masters of the subject. Cost: $50 list price.
Wine Buckets: For keeping bottles of Champagne and other sparkling wines, whites, and rosés at the proper drinking, buckets are indispensable. Look for either traditional buckets that you fill with ice; or chillers that you pre-cool in the freezer before putting a bottle inside. Cost: under $20 to several hundred dollars.
Wine Club: Some top local wine shops will provide regular bottles tailored to a wine lover's passions. Or check out the variety of monthly shipment programs offered by such online wine retailers as wine.com or wineexpress.com. Cost: under $20 per month.
Wine Coaster: Both practical and beautiful, a wine coaster—new or antique, and whether stainless steel, sterling silver, glass, or ceramic—both keeps a bottle of wine from dripping on your table but also showcases a fine bottle. Cost: under $20 or up to several hundred dollars.
Wine Magazine: Most wine lovers swear by the writings and ratings of Wine Spectator. Also well regarded in Wine Enthusiast. A one-year subscription to either publication would be a welcome treat for any fan of wine. Cost: under $50.
Also consider putting one or more of these items together in a wine-lover's basket or another Christmas food basket.
