26 Wine Gift Ideas

A bottle of wine is a simple and tasteful wine gift. But, what should you buy?

1) The Wine Lover's Favorite: The perfect wine gift. However, the wine may be too expensive or unavailable.

2) Inexpensive Wine: You may be watching your wallet, but you don't want to buy schlock wine. Luckily, there are many good wines under $20.

3) Top-Rated Wine: Want something really classy? A top wine may fit the bill.

Or, you can kick it up a notch and buy a collectible.

4) Collectible Wine: This is an impressive wine gift, but you need a good source for rare, fine wine. Collectible wine can be bought retail, or through an auction, or you can purchase a wine future.

Note: Wine futures usually require a minimum purchase of 6 bottles.

5) A Certain Type of Wine: Champagne for a celebration, dessert wine for someone with a sweet tooth, kosher riesling to go with latkes for Hanukkah, organic wine for the health nut.

A Popular Organic Wine:

Red Truck grapes are grown by the Barra Family, organic farming pioneers. Organic farming requires a commitment to a method of farming that eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers and toxic insecticides in favor of natural practices that protect the health of farm workers, create a thriving wildlife habitat, and result in clean run-off and healthier soils. Even better, these practices result in delicious wine. The grapes are certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers, the most recognized and trusted seal in the organic marketplace.

Popular Wine Regions

6) French Wine: Suppose you have a friend that likes French wine but you don't know whether to get Bordeaux, Burgundy or the Rhone? Simple, get all three.

Travel to Bordeaux with the bold Chateau Les Graves de Barrau, made by Dominique Hebrard of the Cheval Blanc family. Experience Bouchard's silky Burgundy from the birthplace of Pinot Noir. Explore the Cotes-du-Rhone with a spicy Grenache and Syrah blend from Louis Bernard. Passport not required.

7) Italian Wine: Classic Chianti or Super Tuscan? Help them find a new favorite and pair it with a delicious meal.

Viva Italia, combines six bottles representing the best winegrowing regions and varieties from Italy. Completing the gift set is the definitive wine first cookbook: The Wine Lover's Cookbook ($25 value).

Includes:

The Wine Lover's Cookbook: Great Recipes for the Perfect Glass of Wine - Using color-coding, select recipes and ample photographs, author Goldstein leads readers through food and wine pairing in a systematic fashion. With beautiful photography, creative recipes and wine pairings, plan the Italian culinary adventure of your dreams.

From the Veneto Region - Anselmi San Vicenzo Soave. Anselmi's highly sought-after wines are an established benchmark for Italian white wines. San Vincenzo is medium-bodied, dry and fresh, with notes of citrus fruit, pear and grapefruit.

Tuscany - Castello di Verrazzano Rosso. A spicy Tuscan blend of Sangiovese and other native grapes from the northern portion of Chianti Classico.

Friuli - Conte Brandolini Pinot Grigio. Classic Italian Pinot Grigio from Italy's top growing region for this variety. Pale gold in color with fruity aromas and flavors of ripe apple, citrus and acacia flowers. Delightful with fish, risotto and Italian cheeses.

San Gimignano - Teruzzi & Puthod Rondolino Vernaccia. What a cool bottle of wine! Flavorful, bright and crisp with lemon/lime, minerals and peach with a complex, soft mouthfeel.

Sicily - MandraRossa Nero d'Avola. Nero d'Avola is a variety native to Sicily, sometimes referred to as the Godfather of Sicilian red wines. Warm, ripe flavors make this a great match with rich, flavorful pasta dishes.

Piedmonte - Marchesi di Barolo Maraia. Maraia is infused with scents of wild berries and hints of vanilla. On the palate, it expands into a warm, robust flavor that is attractively assertive and well-balanced.

Wine in Unique Packaging

8) Wine Bottle Size: A magnum is rarer and makes a more impressive gift than a standard bottle. Or, if you want to buy a really nice wine but can't afford a standard bottle, try a half bottle.

Veuve Clicquot presents an innovative cooler pack to transport a 375 ml bottle of Veuve Clicquot champagne... that tranforms into an elegant, stylish handbag or vanity case (once the cooling neoprene insulation is removed). This limited collection includes: One City Traveller handbag (Neoprene and leather) One 375ml Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label Champagne.

Wine Gift Baskets

9) California Wine Tour Gift Basket: Celebrate wine country living with three top shelf wines and assorted gourmet foods in a wicker picnic basket. Intense aromas of cherries and black raspberries define this full-bodied Kenwood Pinot Noir from the Russian River, while Wente's Sandstone Merlot delivers flavors of blackberry and spice, accented by hints of licorice and tobacco. DeLoach Chardonnay is rich and clean with a smooth, long-lasting finish. Enjoy these wines with scrumptious treats such as Napa Valley mustard, Ghirardelli chocolates, lemon almond biscotti, California pistachios and much, much more.

• Kenwood Russian River Pinot Noir
• Wente Sandstone Merlot
• DeLoach Chardonnay
• Sonoma creamy jack cheese
• Ghirardelli Masterpiece chocolates
• Beef salami
• Napa Valley mustard
• Spanish olives
• California pistachios
• Toasted sesame crackers
• Lemon almond biscotti

10) Vineyard Picnic Gift Basket: The ideal gift for those who enjoy the great outdoors, our traditional-lined picnic basket has everything you'll need for a picnic in the park. We supply the wines, cheese and snacks, you supply the fun.

Vineyard Picnic Gift Basket


This gift includes:

• Camelot Chardonnay
• Camelot Cabernet Sauvignon
• Partners crackers
• Creamy jack cheese spread
• Nunes Farms California almonds
• A bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate squares

11) Super Grand Gourmet Gift Basket: This basket is filled to the brim with an unparalleled selection - four great bottles of wine including Murphy-Goode Cabernet Sauvignon, Matanzas Creek Merlot, Cambria Chardonnay and Schramsberg Mirabelle Sparkling Brut - perfect for celebrations. To this is added a collection of superb goodies tied up with a big, festive bow!

The words gourmet, grand and glorious do not even begin to describe the gift that is sure to impress...

• Murphy-Goode Cabernet Sauvignon
• Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay
• Matanzas Creek Merlot
• Schramsberg Mirabelle Sparkling Brut
• Godiva Chocolate Biscuits
• Godiva 22 pc milk chocolates
• Collector's Tin Pretzels
• Focaccia Crisps
• Chocolate Orange Cookies
• Caramel Popcorn
• Vanilla Cremes
• Creamy Jack Cheese
• Snack Mix
• Peppermint Popcorn
• Angelina's Butter Cookies

Many Wine Lovers Dream of Owning a Winery

12) Winemaking Kit: Winemaking is a hot, new trend. Do you know someone who likes to cook or is always fixing something? A beginner's winemaking kit is a great gift for someone who is creative but doesn't mind getting their hands dirty.

13) Make Your Own Brew: If you're a creative person or an accomplished winemaker, give someone a bottle of your own wine personalized for the occasion. Personalized wine labels are easy to make. You can even make wine for a specific occasion. Your wine can be ready in as little as 4 weeks.

Need a Quick Wine Gift?

14) Wine Club Membership: A wine club membership is a fun, easy way for a novice to discover their favorite wines. Two bottles of wine are chosen by experts and shipped to them on a monthly basis. Prepaid memberships are available for 3, 6 and 12 months.

15) Wine Gift Certificates: Ahh...the savior of the procrastinator, or the hard to please wine lover. The good thing about gift certificates is they can be delivered and used almost immediately if you choose the E-delivery option. Don't worry a gift certificate will be physically mailed to the recipient as well.

Wine Education

16) Books: Three excellent books for the novice

• The Wine Bible, Karen MacNeil
• The World Atlas of Wine, Hugh Johnson
• Wine for Dummies 4th Edition, Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy

17) Wine Magazine Subscription: Ratings and reviews of hundreds of wines and spirits, food pairing articles, as well as expert commentary on wine trends, vintages and wine regions.

18) Wine Taste and Aroma Kits: Wine lovers can learn to identify flavors and scents like a pro.

19) Electronic Wine Guides: The Wine Master Pocket Wine Buying Guide 2008 offers over 10,000 wine and spirit reviews, ratings and suggested retail prices. Wine lovers never have to make another wine buying mistake again.

20) Cellar Software: Know someone still using a journal to keep track of their wines? The Personal Wine Curator Wine Cellar Software 3.0 allows oenophiles to categorize their wines into 500 sub-regions. They're alerted when cellared wines have reached maturity, and are even given food pairing suggestions.

Wine Games

21) Murder Mystery Party - A Taste for Wine and Murder: Host a deadly delicious evening for fellow wine lovers! Invite 6 to 8 friends to help solve the murder of Barry Underwood, a local vineyard owner. Suspects include Ralph Rottingrape, Marilyn Merlot . . . and you! You get: party planner with recipes, a menu, and music and decorating tips; 8 character booklets; 8 party invitations, envelopes, and place cards; 6 secret clues; and CD with intro, summary of events, and solution to crime.

22) Don't Break the Bottle: Intrigue and strategy in one great gift! To enjoy the fruit of your labor, you must first release the bottle from the wooden enclosure. Watch friends turn white and then see red as they struggle to free the bottle from this fun, mind-bending puzzle. Also makes a great display piece whose value is further enhanced with a handsome monogram engraving.

Don't Break the Bottle fits standard wine, herb vinegar, olive oil, and glass pop bottles. The gift includes three wooden puzzle pieces and instructions. Wine not included.

Wine Art

23) Cork Art: Winos love their corks. Collecting corks is a way to remember all the great wines they tasted. Help put those corks to use. There are kits available for making wine cork trivets, bulletin boards and trays.

24) Wine Bottle Holders: A man who knows how to hold his own! Add artistry and a little fun to your wine presentation with this solid bronze sculpture handcrafted using the lost-wax casting process. Felt base prevents scratching.

25) Wine Glass Charms: Usually in a set of 6, they're a fun way to identify everyone's glass. There are Faberge charms or Swarovski charms, you can even make them yourself. Choose your theme.

26) Art Prints / Posters: Wine-inspired landscapes, still lifes, or photographs may be just the thing for someone's kitchen, dining or living room wall.

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