Christmas lights on Aleksanterinkatu. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

      Buying a wine related gift for a lover of wine can be a daunting task because I have found that they have a very well-defined idea of what they like and dislike.  Wine drinking has a limited need for accessories beyond the basics of a bottle of wine, a corkscrew and the proper glass for the wine in the bottle.  Buying them an unfamiliar bottle is a gamble, they may love it or an equally possible outcome would be that they hate it. 

      A red wine drinker can’t deny that aeration helps loosen a tight wine and a Vinturi Areator is the quick and easy way to open a red up ultimately bringing out its hidden character.  Cheese & Wine  A Guide to Selecting, Pairing and Enjoying, by Janet Fletcher and published by Chronicle Books is a classy book with excellent photography and descriptive text.  This book is a guide to all the well-known cheeses and their origins, production and wine pairings as well as many more obscure examples.  Lastly, Kevin Zarley’s Complete Wine Course 2012 Edition is the latest update of a book that is the standard by which all others are judged.  This is a great gift for the novice as well as the enthusiast because there is always something exciting to learn. 

     All of these gift suggestions meet my criteria of being easy to wrap, fitting nicely under the tree and are readily available online.  Good Luck with the rest of your Christmas shopping list. 

Related articles

• Put a Cork in it: Top Gifts For Wine Lovers (redenvelope.com)
• 5 Wine Wrapping Tutorials (apartmenttherapy.com)