5 Gift Ideas for a Wine Lover (and 5 to Avoid) – Part 2.
December 14, 2011Following on from yesterday’s post, here are my 5 gift suggestions for a wine lover:
A Good Wine Opener
Every wine lover needs a decent wine bottle opener! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy; I know there’s a bunch of electric and even gas powered gimmicks on the market, but I personally like to keep it fairly simple!
If you’re looking for a quality opener that combines form, function, and practicality, I recommend a Screwpull (pictured to the left). They do tend to be a little pricey, with an average one setting you back at least $100, but they’re guaranteed to get the cork out of the bottle quicker than any other method. They also come with a decent manufacturers warranty, which is useful because working in a wine bar, I normally only get 6 months (at the most) before I break any lever-style bottle opener . To be fair though, in that amount of time it’s probably opened as many wine bottles as most people will consume in 2 lifetimes!
If you’re searching for something a little more traditional, Laguiole are without question one of the finest “waiter’s friend” style of corkscrews that money can buy. I don’t own one. I’d lose it within a week…
Wine Aerator
Out of all five categories, this is the only one that I have a strong personal interest in, mainly because I actually use it almost daily.
I’ve never been a fan of wine gadgets, but the fact of the matter is the Soiree works (as I’ve tested it on various people in blind tastings). It functions as a bottle-top wine aerator, and unlike other products on the market which require the use of 2 hands, all you need to do is snuggly fit the Soiree into the top of the bottle, and away you pour! Perfect for quick wine aeration, with the other side bonus being that it looks really cool when it’s in action!
Wine Glasses
A quality set of wine glasses should never be underestimated, but of course their fragility is a big concern. Who wants to spend $70+ on a single premium wine glass, only for it to potentially fall victim to a tragic kitchen-sink accident!?!?
I’m currently using oversized Bordeaux and Burgundy glasses from the William Yeoward Olympia line (featured in all my videos), which I make sure to hide from any house guests so as to avoid hearing <SMASH!>….”Oh, I’m sorry. Was that expensive?”.
The rest of the time (i.e. for guests), I’ll just pull out the cheap knock-offs from World Market.
De Long Wine Map
This one’s a little more specific than the rest, which I’m only recommending because I impulse purchased the Metro Wine Map of France a couple of months ago, and now it’s proudly hanging in my kitchen!
De Long produce some of the finest and most detailed wine maps available, perfect for someone who is SERIOUSLY into wine!
Nambe Anything
I can’t say enough good things about Nambe. Once again, they aren’t inexpensive, but I personally own a couple of their decanters, and one of their wine chillers, and get regular usage out of them.
If you’re looking for quality bar/kitchenware that also looks REALLY cool, and is very durable, you might want to check out Nambe.
