The Vine Inspiration’s Wine Christmas Last Minute Gift Guide
There’s still loads of time. Not enough that I’ll subject you to reading a long intro though, so let’s get straight to it – The Vine Inspiration’s Wine Christmas Last Minute Gift Guide. There’ll be a catchier title next year, I promise.
Coravin – The high roller’s gift that will allow the wine geek to have a glass of wine at home without pulling the cork on the bottle. Already a Coravin user? Cartridges or a new needle would make a nice stocking filler. Widely available in department stores and good wine shops.
Glassware – It has to be Zalto. The wine geek in your life is either already drinking their wines from Zalto and will privately scoff at anything else you give them, or they’re about to love you forever for introducing them to it. It really is a simple as that. Available in Ireland from Searsons or in the UK from Winerackd.
Go Vino – Didn’t I just say that it has to be Zalto? Well until Zalto ‘break’ into the plastic glass market, this remains the standard bearer. They might stay in the box until spring, but once BBQ season rolls around they’ll become indispensable. Available online or in Ireland from Stock Design.
Wine Books – Probably the most common misstep. I’ve lost count of the number of wine guides I’ve received over the years that sit gathering dust. What the wine geek wants is specialisation – so look for new(ish) publications like Peter Liem’s ‘Champagne’, John Szabo’s ‘Volcanic Wines’ or Luis Gutiérrez’s ‘The New Vignerons’. In the classic corner seek out something from The World’s Finest Wines series or the Mitchell Beazley Classic Wine Library which includes Irishman Raymond Blake’s recently released ‘Cote d’Or: The wines and winemakers of the heart of Burgundy’.
Noble Rot Subscription – A quarterly guide to the best in wine and food that I really can’t recommend highly enough. No ads, just great content. See www.noblerot.co.uk
SIYPS Membership – Under no circumstances should you attempt to buy wine. A wine club membership to new wine website SIYPS would allow them to chose their own wine including some ‘members only’ bottles.
You really want to buy wine? – If you must ignore my earlier advice, it needs to be Champagne. Something from a grower like Bérêche would be an excellent choice (available in Ireland from 64 Wine or Green Man Wines and in the UK from good wine shops). Fortified wine would also be good if you are able navigate that potential minefield.
