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.
6) Wine from a Popular Wine Region: Spanish wine is
en vogue these days. Top regions are Rioja and Ribera del Duero.
7) 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.
8) Wine in Unique Packaging: How about a chocolate
-covered wine bottle. No, I'm not kidding! Each bottle of wine is hand-dipped in gourmet Guittard dark chocolate for a beautiful and unforgettable wine gift presentation. Simply pull the ribbon "zipper" to release the chocolate jacket from the bottle, pour the wine into glasses, and enjoy!
9) Wine Gift Baskets: A gift basket can be as simple as
Champagne and Godiva chocolates, or as lavish as a premium
selection of French or California wine with cookies, chocolate truffles, a wide variety of cheeses, gourmet food, even caviar. They make great corporate gifts.
10) 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.
11) 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?
12) 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.
13) 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.
14) Wine Accessories: There are many aspects to wine
appreciation and most of them need a tool. Stoppers, corkscrews,
wine glasses, decanters, even a wine refrigerator would be a great gift for an oenophile.
15) Personalized Wine Accessories: You can add an initial
or a name to a wide variety of wine gifts. The most popular are
personalized wine glasses, but you can also personalize coasters,
trays, wine chillers. You can even buy a personalized wine jail
(decorative metal wine rack with lock). Personalized items can take 4 to 6 weeks for delivery so plan accordingly.
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.
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. There are also great deals on the 2007 and 2006 versions.
20) Cellar Software: Know someone still using a journal to keep track of their wines? The Personal Wine Curator Wine Cellar Software 2.0 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.
26) 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.
27) Wine Bottle Holders: Some are handmade works of art.
The wine bottle holders by Festco are unique creations of steel and river rock. They're perfect for table tops, walls and corners. Provides the finishing touch in kitchens or wine cellars.
28) 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.
29) Ceramic-Tile Art: Wine-themed coasters and trays, perfect for the entertainer. You can even buy a ceramic-tile mural.
30) Art Prints / Posters: Wine-inspired landscapes, still lifes, or photographs may be just the thing for someone's kitchen, dining or living room wall. See the huge selection below.