Wine Lover Holiday Gift Guide 2011

It’s Holiday Time again and you are wondering what intriguing gift would excite the wine enthusiast in your life… Here are a few ideas that will bring a smile to any wine lover.

Wine Club Membership. First, a question. Does your wine lover want wines from their favorite winery or a wine club that adds to their exploration of the wine world? A wine club membership from your wine lover’s favorite winery seems like an easy call but what about the perks? Often membership has its privileges. Does the wine club offer free tastings and tours if you visit, special wine tastings with food pairings, wines not offered to the general public, discount lodging, older vintages? Winery wine club gifts are especially nice if your wine lover is planning a visit to the winery to ensure they get special treatment. The Napa Valley Vintners Association provides links to the 236 Napa Valley winery wine clubs

Explore the world of wine with a wine club. Wine clubs that ship monthly or quarterly allocations have been around for a long time. Often you can choose the number of bottles and the split between reds and whites. Be careful as not all clubs are the same. Personally, we like wine clubs that focus on small, family and artisanal wineries. Some wine clubs offer second label and private label wines. These, in our opinion, should be avoided. The Wine Club Guide offers reviews and web links to many of the most respected clubs. One of our personal favorites is The Bounty Hunter in Napa Valley. New on the scene, focusing on busy young professionals is Club W.

Wine Books are always a good choice. Some are technical, some literary, some beautiful and all are wonderful. Here are some of B & B Wine Blog’s favorites.

Kevin Zraly’s Complete Wine Course

Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop

Reading between the Wines by Terry Theise

Vertical (The Deluxe Edition): The Sequel to Sideways by Rex Pickett

Naked Wine: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally by Alice Feiring

Coffee Table Wine Books

Spectacular Wineries of Texas

Spectacular Wineries of the Napa Valley

Wine Dogs USA 2

Wine Tasting/Aroma Kits – Do you ever wonder how wine writers come up with all those descriptive terms for wines such as honeysuckle, saddle leather, guava and the always dreaded descriptor, cat piss? Wine Tasting/Aroma Kits offer a variety of tastes and smells that will allow you to hone your nose and palate. Some of the more popular kits are offered by Wine Enthusiast and Le Nez Du Vin.

Save Your Wine for Tomorrow – Admittedly, left over wine is rarely found around the B&B Wine Blog home. For wine enthusiasts more judicious in their wine consumption, we have found a couple easy and inexpensive ways to save that wine for another day. The first is the Wine Shield (See video), an easy to use soft plastic barrier that sits on top of the wine in the bottle, protecting it from excessive oxygen exposure. We have used this product…and it works! For other wine preservation ideas, check out this article in Snooth.com.

Wine Picnic Backpack – For that romantic afternoon in the vineyards…or just at the park, dreaming of wine country, check out the Wine Picnic Backpack. Complete with plates, utensils and the all important wine glasses.

Chocolates – What wine lover doesn’t love chocolates, too? None I know. Hershey bars and Cabernet, no way! Brix Chocolates has created wonderfully delectable chocolates made to go with specific wines. They even come in gift packs with a cutting board and knife to carve the chocolate blocks. In addition to Brix, take a look at Wine Lover’s Chocolates, similar concept but these come in cute wine tins and the pieces are chip size.

Lots of other ideas – Didn’t find just the right gift on our list? Don’t despair, peruse these wine gift catalogues and you are sure to find just the right gift for your special wine lover. Napa Style, Wine Enthusiast Catalogue, Wine.com and Wine Country Gift Baskets