Seven Different Gifts for Seven Different Winos
/For the Entertainer
These gold plated wine glass markers are both stylish and functional, and a much classier way to keep track of everyone’s glass than “Guess Whose Lipstick?” As much fun as it is to sample everyone’s backwash, both the Entertainer and their guests will thank you. At this price point, you can even gift your favorite Entertainer a few sets to allow each guests to make their own lucky number combinations.
$16.99 for six Gold Plated Wine Glass Markers. Available at www.thebarcartist.com.
For the Sentimentalist
Label savers are a kind of holy grail for the Sentimentalists you have in your life – your lovable, but borderline obsessive hoarders with shoeboxes full of old movie tickets, receipts, shoelaces, postcards, and just about anything else that carries a “significant memory.” Well you can tell them to dump all the moldy corks they’ve been lugging around their last three apartments because label savers are a much more presentable way to keep their milestones alive. And there are plenty of ways to display them outside a shoebox. Bonus points if you gift these label savers with a couple of frames or an album book.
$12.95 for ten Label Savers. Available at www.wineenthusiast.com.
For the Slow Sipper
Ah yes, the wine lover who sips and savors and slurps and is still on their first glass after you’ve downed a whole bottle. In most cases, I would say if your white wine has gone warm then you’re not drinking it fast enough. But what’s a Slow Sipper to do? Gift them a set of wine chilling wands that take up minimal room in the freezer and can cool down a glass in minutes. Plus, they double as a great gift for the lazy friend who never has the bottle chilled in the first place.
$39.95 for a set of two. Available at www.williams-sonoma.com.
For the (Impatient) Collector
We’ve all been told that patience is a virtue. But any avid collector has been tested by that bottle they just can’t wait to drink. Introduce a Collector to a Coravin and they might not have to anymore. This pricey but so-very-cool gadget allows users to drink from any bottle without actually uncorking it. A thin needle punctures the cork and draws wine out, all the while filling the empty space with argon gas. This prevents the usual exposure to oxygen that can quickly spoil an open wine. The gift will allow the Collector to enjoy small pours and revisit special bottles in their collection. Voila, the future is now.
$199.95 - 349.99 depending on the model. Available at www.coravin.com.
For the Lush
Three bottles a month, delivered straight to your Lush buddy’s door. They’ll love Winc more than they love their Amazon Prime. Winc, formerly known as Club W, is a wine club that delivers monthly wines based on the member’s palate and preferences. It can be cancelled at any time so your Lush can even put it on hold if they decide to dry out for a while. Alternatively, Winc also offers a wide range of gifts that include multi-bottle tastings and Riedel glassware.
$39.00 a month for 3 bottles of wine. Available at www.winc.com.
For the Professional
The last thing your sommelier friend needs is another gimmicky toy to throw in the back of their closet for another year. Skip the crap and buy the Professional a Chateau Laguiole or Forge de Laguiole waiter’s corkscrew. These are the two top producers of knives and corkscrews from the famed town of Laguiole in France. Both producers make their corkscrews in a dizzying variety of woods, bones, animal horns, and even fossils. They have mammoth ivory! Mammoth ivory!! These are the Aston Martins of corkscrews so you won’t go wrong with any selection.
$99.00 - $999.000+ per corkscrew depending on the material. Available at www.laguiole-imports.com
For the Bookworm
There is a library of information available on the subject of wine, but the proprietors of winefolly.com have really outdone themselves with their recent book release. This is a must-have for all beginning Bookworm winos, as it breaks the immense topic of wine into much more manageable pieces. The charts and graphs are invaluable for visual learners. In fact, any introductory wine hobbyist will enjoy this gift.
$25.00. Available at www.winefolly.com
By: Amy Zhou
