Entertaining Holiday Gifts for Your Favorite Wine Lover 

Still wondering what to give your favorite wine lover? Most likely they have enough cocktail napkins, hand painted boards with pithy phrases, or aerators that will be re-gifted. And although that same bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon you wrap is your cousin’s favorite, it’s time to ramp up your wine game with ideas from this year’s holiday gift guide. Be that Santa who places under the tree (or in a stocking) a gift that’s not only useful, but appreciated…no gift receipts needed!

I love giving (and receiving) an interesting book or a lovely bottle of wine which may expand my wine knowledge in various ways.  A book that is a good story, offers a vast amount of useful information, or encourages me to learn more about a subject is always a welcome addition to my collection.  That bottle of wine from a new-to-me region or produced from an unusual variety of grape will not be saved, but poured and enjoyed. And who doesn’t love a fun surprise? Your take-away? Receiving creative, useful items always result in more than a few accolades to the thoughtful gift-giver!

Check out the entertaining gifts below (sent as samples) then click on the links to purchase!

For the Booklover

I’m proud to say that one of my wine colleagues has written an informative book that’s also fun to read. Heather Lipp and her husband Jordan, authors of Is There Apple Juice in My Wine? ($16.99 on Amazon) have taken a tongue-in-cheek approach to the inconsistencies and downright crazy laws that affect our enjoyment of wine. Chapter titles include: “Is There Chardonnay in My Cabernet?”, “Turn Water into Wine – How Wineries Can Legally Water Down Wine”, and “Seriously, the United States Postal Service Will Ship Poisons but Will Not Ship Wine?”. This is a terrific book to give to anyone, but especially to a lawyer or politician in the family (if you know what I mean!).

With plenty of infographics and easily understandable information, Michael Biddick has written 43 Wine Regions – A Practical Guide to the Top Regions and Vintages Around the World ($17.91 on Amazon). Biddick has tapped into his information technology background and wine scholar smarts (he’s a Certified Sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and a French Wine Scholar through the Wine Scholar Guild) to create an algorithm that uncovers the best wine regions on the planet. Plenty of practical and fascinating information based on climate data, consumer reviews, and his own hands-on experience in the regions will help you choose that perfect bottle of wine. This book is geeky, cool, and useful at the same time!

An entertaining and downright laugh-out-loud-inducing book, written by Peter Stafford-Bow, Brut Force ($12.99 on Amazon), is the sequel to Corkscrew. I loved following the antics of Felix Hart, a wine buyer who reached the pinnacle of his career and now finds himself in the cross-hairs of a “ruthless, multi-national drinks corporation”. In true Felix Hart style, intrigue, mystery, women, assassins, and a ridiculous amount of wine are involved. Pour a glass of our favorite beverage for yourself and settle in for a crazy ride with your new favorite wine-oh!

They Only Want Wine (in a Gift Bag)

Everyone knows that the presentation of the gift is just as important as the gift itself, right? Your favorite winelover will crave that bottle of wine even more when it’s placed in one of these creative gift bags from Nod Products. The bonus? Each bag ($7) has a built-in gift!

Stocking Stuffers That Winelovers Will Actually Use

We all have enough wine charms… or do we? Frankly, I have several sets of wine charms, but many have been lost for a variety of reasons. To replenish the collection, I found colorful wine glass markers ($6) that are made of silicone. In the event you switch from wine to tea, those antlers double as tea bag holders…

If your bottle of wine isn’t finished in one evening, you may need to use a wine stopper. Shocking!! This holiday themed bottle stopper set ($5) is dishwasher safe silicone. And who doesn’t want Santa or Rudolph atop their bottle??

There is always someone who announces that “wine makes me sick because I’m allergic to sulfites”. If you want to keep them as your friend, consider sneaking a small bottle of Just the Wine ($5.95 per bottle or $27 for three bottles) in their stocking. Just a few drops of the solution will reduce sulfites in the wine by up to 80% according to the producers. Add three drops of Just the Wine to your friend’s 6-ounce glass of wine, swirl, and let her enjoy without worry. (According to the producers, sulfites will be reduced up to 80%.) Then, call your friend in the morning to hear how she feels.

Cheers! ~ Cindy