My favourite Christmas gift idea for someone who loves wine is an erasable silver felt marker, specifically for writing your name on your wine glass at a party. It was the hit of the last party I went to!
Finding a Christmas gift for a wine enthusiast is easier than you think. My husband and I slurp red wine – especially Malbecs and Merlots – and we love giving and receiving wine enthusiast-type gifts. These holiday gift ideas and tips are for both red and white wine lovers.
Before the tips, here’s a quip for the Christmas card: “What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?” ~ W. C. Fields. While I’m not a fan of drinking only wine for lunch, I’ve been known to enjoy a crisp white Chardonnay with an apple, cheese, and walnut salad! Yum.
If you’re looking for a gift for wine enthusiasts who seem to have everything, give him a Lafite around the World Red Wine Gift Trio. It’s contains three beautiful, delicious bottles of red wine, and even if your gift recipient has it already, he or she will love to receive it again.
Here are six more holiday gift ideas for wine connoisseurs…
6 Easy, Inexpensive Christmas Gifts for Wine Lovers
Wine saver or preserver. This is my best gift for wine enthusiasts: a Vacu VIN Stainless Steel Wine Saver Gift Set. It extracts air from open wine bottles, so you can save a bottle of wine for days — or even months! The people who make these wine preservers — Vacu Vin — say it keeps the wine fresh for 7-10 days, but I know better. I’ve sealed wine for weeks, and it tastes better than when I first opened the bottle.
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Gift certificate from a wine making store.
We “make” our wine at Your Wine Cellar in Vancouver. It’s not quite “do it yourself” — we just go to the wine store, choose a type of wine, and then wait for six weeks while the wine ferments. Then, we go back and bottle and cork it ourselves. It’s a blast, and those bottles of wine cost half as much as the cheapest store-bought wine. If your wine connoisseur hasn’t tried making wine, give a gift certificate to a local wine making shop.
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Tickets to an International Wine Festival.
Many cities have International Wine Festivals — from New York City to Cincinnati! Check your local newspaper, or do an internet search for “International Wine Festivals.” Most search engines, such as Google, will display local results.
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Tour of a local winery.
Many wineries offer lunches or dinners as part of their tour. Treat your wine enthusiast to a road trip, winery tour, and meal at a nearby winery — or even one that requires a flight to get to! It’s a splurge, but it may be one of the best holiday gifts for wine lovers.
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A wine aerator, decanter, or medium-sized ceramic pitcher.
Who has time to let wine breathe? A Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator whooshes oxygen into wine, bringing out its deepest flavors and textures. A wine decanter works in a similar way, but it’s a slower process. But my all-time favorite way to nudge our red wine into the heavens is to pour it from wine bottle to ceramic pitcher to wine glass. Then, I pour the wine from the glass back to the pitcher two or three times. Our ceramic pitcher is from a wine and pasta restaurant in Rome, Italy — which is another fabulous holiday gift for wine enthusiasts!
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Books about wine.
As much as I love wine, I have zero books about pairing food and wine, where different grapes come from, how wines get their name, or how to “master” wine. Check your wine enthusiast’s bookshelf for Windows on the World Complete Wine Course or The Wine Bible. Those are two fabulous books for people who want to learn more about wine.
By The Adventurous Writer Blog