Great Wine-Related Gift Ideas?

The frenzy of holiday parties may be over but there are many more celebrations ahead. So, what to bring the host or hostess? If the party giver likes wine, you’re in luck. There have never been more options for wine fans, and at all price levels.
How many times have you picked out a special bottle of wine only to find it gets lost in the shuffle at the party? Here’s a tip: before you hand over a carefully selected wine to the host or hostess, sign the bottle with a gold or silver pen. That way, if it’s consumed at the party, at least they’ll know you brought something when pouring the wine. Or, if they don’t drink the wine at the party, it will bring a smile to their face when they do open the bottle at a later date.
Something else to consider, if you’re giving wine as a gift, why not get creative with the packaging? Perhaps put a special bottle in a vintage wine carrier, or one of the newer (and inexpensive) neoprene carriers, which help protect and keep wine cool during transport. Brunello makes a neoprene carrier that comes with a waiter’s corkscrew attached (retail $20). Another idea is to find a fun bottle like Armida Winery’s Poizin Reserve Zinfandel, which comes in an etched, hand-painted bottle resting in a wooden coffin (retail $60). Bottle coasters are another nice gift to bring with a bottle of wine. There are many different types on the market with silver and granite styles starting at about $10.
Another one of my favorites is a $20 wine journal complete with wine label removers. You use the adhesive to remove a special wine label and then place it in the journal with your tasting notes. There’s a section for red wines and white wines, and space in the back for wines you didn’t like. The adhesives are easy to use and they preserve important labels, not only helping you remember the wine, but also preserving memories of a wonderful night.
If your host or hostess has arthritis, or just hates wrestling with a corkscrew, they might appreciate another gift item, The Cork Pop ($19.99) or Cork Jet ($29.95). The devices make removing a cork from a bottle of wine almost effortless. There’s no twisting or tugging, simply pierce the cork with the needle, push the button on top of the corkscrew and pressurized gas makes the cork pop off.
Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein has also given “In Wine Country” lots of great gift ideas. Evan says for a hostess or last minute gift idea, you can’t go wrong with wine decanters, corkscrews or fun bottle stoppers. They’re readily available at all price points and design styles.
For those times you don’t care to decant a red wine, a wine aerator is a handy tool that instantly improves the bouquet and the taste of red wine. The Nuance Wine Finer (retail $39.95) combines an aerator, filter, non-spill pourer and stopper into one do-it-all instrument. Similarly, the Final Touch Aerator fits on a bottle and aerates as you pour ($24.99), while the Vinturri Essential Wine Aerator ($39.95) is held over a glass and it aerates as you pour wine through it.
Vacuum top wine preservers make useful gifts, too. Most are pump styles that seal your opened bottle and prevent air from breaking down the wine. They’re available in an array of styles, including one with an attached gauge that lets you see if you pumped enough and properly sealed your wine. It’s called the V-Gauge Wine Preserver Pump & Stopper (retail $19.95).
Sur La Table has lots of fun wine related gift ideas including Wine Lines, which are funny i.d. tags that you wrap around your stemware, such as, “nutty, with a kick” or “mellow but charming” (retail $5.95). They’ll keep guests from getting their glasses mixed up and they’ll keep everyone smiling, too.
Help your hostess clean up when you bring a gift of Decanter Cleaning Balls ($14.99). These small stainless steel balls look like BB’s. Just put them inside your decanter, fill it halfway with water and swish it around for a few minutes. They’ll get your decanter crystal clean and can be used again and again
Evan also says home wine tasting kits make fun gifts for wine lovers. There are several on the market that include everything you need to throw a wine tasting party, except of course, the wine. “BlindWine,” a wine-tasting game created by two Bay Area friends, bills itself as the only complete wine tasting game in the U.S. The game retails for $19.99 and includes everything from step-by-step instructions to invitations, bags for the wine, scorecards, a first place medal and even thank you cards.
There are books and guides for the wine novice and expert, and all of us in between. Look for up to the minute pocket wine guides, Jay McInerney’s new book, “A Hedonist in the Cellar: Adventures in Wine,” Janet Fletcher’s latest “Cheese and Wine: A Guide to Selecting, Pairing and Enjoying,” Julia Flynn’s eyebrow raising, “The House of Mondavi,” Karen MacNeil’s classic, “The Wine Bible,” and, of course, “Perfect Pairings – A Master Sommelier’s Practical Advice for Partnering Wine with Food” by our friend Evan Goldstein.
You can’t go wrong giving chocolate, but instead of a traditional assortment of nuts and chews, explore some of the new artisinal dark chocolate bars on the market. Better yet, wake up your recipient’s taste buds with a bacon bar or maybe an olive bar (yes, you read that correctly). Vosges Haut Chocolat, which you can find at Whole Foods and other gourmet grocers, makes an applewood smoked bacon and deep milk chocolate bar, a Kalamata olive and Venezuelan white chocolate bar and a number of other mind-boggling chocolate combinations, from Indian curry to Macha green tea. They’re unusual, surprisingly good and at $7 a bar, an assortment of the exotic bars makes a great hostess gift.
Lucky for us, wine gifts are easy to find on the fly. You need only stop by your local wine shop, gourmet market, or housewares store (such as Sur La Table or Crate&Barrel) and you’ll find an array of appropriate gifts to fit your budget and gift giving style. You can have a gift in minutes that looks as if you planned it out weeks ago. Happy shopping and Happy New Year!