Questions Uncorked

Dec 1, 2008

Hi Paula!

What a great question – and yes, I definitely have some good ideas for you. There are gifts to be found at any price point, so you have quite a lot to choose from. If the person on your list is a bit of a “wine geek,” than there is no better choice than the book I consider to be the bible of wine – Jancis Robinson’s Oxford Companion to Wine. The new edition just came out last year and it is the ONE book that every wine lover should own. Mine is almost what I would consider a security blanket – I’m rarely without it and have been known to even travel with it (even though it weighs quite a bit!). But it is the one book that can answer almost any wine question, no matter how obscure.

Other great gifts for your favorite wine lover are those neoprene wine totes, a good quality corkscrew, and a set of good quality stemware. And of course you can rarely go wrong with the gift of wine. I like to create half and full cases of wines to give as gifts. You can easily put together a selection of wines using my list and just add a label or a tag to each wine with my tasting note/food pairing suggestion. Or you can ask a local wine retailer to make up a selection of wines for you within a certain price range – I’m sure that he or she would be happy to help! And lastly, a gift certificate to a local wine class is always a nice idea – and even better if you decide to sign up too – then it is something that both of you can look forward to doing together. Happy shopping!