Friday, November 26, 2010

GIFTS FOR WINE LOVERS


Gifts for wine lovers

Certainly the best gift for someone who loves wine is - wait for it - wine!  But if you don't know what kind of wine to give, or what kind the person likes, you might consider a wine club membership.

Wine clubs send a package of wine to their members at monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly intervals.  It may be a grab bag of different styles, only red, only whites, etcetera.  The cost varies widely, as does the quality of the wine.

There's a seemingly endless supply of clubs to choose from.  You might select one from a good wine store or a winery the recipient likes.  Most wineries offer wine clubs featuring their wines.

Gift options vary from club to club, but you may be able to gift a month, a year or longer.  Keep in mind that when the gift subscription ends, it's up to the recipient to extend the membership.

Fancy corkscrews are a hit if your friend only has one around the house, but there are only so many corkscrews a person can use, unless they collect them.  The Rabbit Corkscrew (from Metrokane Wine Tools) retails from about $40 to $100 and claims to allow the user to open any bottle of wine in three seconds without any huffing or puffing.

Stemware is always a good gift for a wine lover, especially if it's special.  Austria's Riedel Crystal is generally regarded as the standard-bearer for quality wine glasses.  Look to spend $60 to $100 each for Riedel glasses.

Wine Chiller is something every wine lover would love to have. For under $20 you can find these items which employ a reusable cooling element you keep in your freezer until you need it. It can chill a bottle of wine in five minutes.

People who can't wait for their wine to chill probably can't wait for their wine to breathe, either.  A Wine Aerator is what they need.  Vinturi makes one that goes for about $30.  The wine breathes while it's pouring into the glass.  Is that fast enough for you?

No matter what kind of wine the person on your gift list likes, anybody can use a nice bottle ofChampagne.  Dom Perignon has a special release this year honoring Andy Warhol, which goes for around $150 a bottle, special label included.  Buy the three labels separately, or as a set - forreally good friends.

By the way, the cute little items in the image can be found at San Antonio Winery in downtown Los Angeles.

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