The best gifts for wine lovers this Christmas
Corkscrews, coolers, and carafes for the wine buff in your life
There is a lot to be said when looking for the best gifts for wine lovers. These are people who have a particular palette, so nothing too gimmicky will really work as a present. And that's how we approached this best wine gifts list - thinking about what people will really want to complement their wine tastes.
With that in mind, now’s the time to start thinking of those special people in your life, and what they might want for their next birthday.
There’s almost certain to be a wine buff among them. Someone who gets a kick out of obscure French village names, grape varieties, and improbably florid taste notes.
So what do you buy the wine lover in your life? Here are a few potential items to consider - so make like a sommelier and slurp them up.
- The best corkscrews and bottle openers revealed.
Here are the best wine gifts for wine lovers.
Gifts for wine lovers
1. Majestic Wine's Ultimate Christmas Case
Majestic Wine's Ultimate Christmas Case consists of 12 bottles of fantastic wine for just £159 (including delivery). It's packed with all the wines you will need to celebrate the festive season - featuring exclusive wines from world-renowned producers, historic estates and up-and-coming regions - with champagne and port mixed in with some rather ace white and red wines. Order by 23 December and they endeavour to deliver before Christmas
2. Chambord Liqueur
If you fancy a bit of luxury in your fizz, then Chambord is always a great choice - the raspberry flavoured liqueur adds a fantastic flavour to whatever drink you are having and is always a handy ingredient for a cocktail (or two).
3. Grosseto Cut Crystal Glass Wine Decanter
For the price, this is one of the best wine decanters out right now, offering a sleek but traditional shape. There's a nice cut crystal motif on the bottom of the decanter and the thick stopper is the veritable cherry on the cake. It holds 900ml of liquid - and the good stuff isn't included int he price, unfortunately
4. Cuisinart CW050U Electric Wine Opener
If you're buying a gift for a loved one who really likes their wine, then they're not going to want to work up a sweat opening up bottle after bottle – even some of the fanciest ones are particularly tricky to get open, after all. With that in mind, you should consider buying them the Cuisinart CW050U Electric Wine Opener. This simple and practical gift allows them to quickly and easily open any bottle of wine, working as well with natural and synthetic corks. It also has a vacuum sealer in order to preserve freshness.
Not only is this a great gift for opening wine, but its sleek looks and black and gold finish make it almost a work of modern art for any kitchen. That base at the bottom charges up the device, so it's ready to go whenever you're ready to pop.
5. Wooden Cello Wine Rack
The moment we saw this wine rack, we fell in love with it. Shaped like a cello, the rack can hold eight bottles of wine and is made of composite wood but with a mahogany effect finish. The rack measures: H101cm x W39cm x D18cm (approx.) and is definitely a rack that you will want to have on show.
6. OXO Steel Vertical Lever Corkscrew
If the simple corkscrew remains a timelessly pure tool for removing a cork from a wine bottle, the OXO Steel is its evolved form. This classy gadget removes a cork in two easy motions, with a die-cast zinc handle and non-slip grip providing comfortable leverage. You can then release the cork with a simple pump of the lever. The OXO Steel even stores a handy foil cutter, cutting down the manual labour further.
7. Vicloon wine chill rod
There are a number of these handy devices out there, but they all do two key things for an opened bottle of wine: keep it chilled and keep it aerated. In addition, they stop up an open bottle, and also aid with the pouring process. The chill factor is applied through a long stainless steel rod that sits in the wine, and that you keep in your freezer when not in use. This is attached to a stopper, which handles the rest.
8. Quicke's Devonshire Red Truckle
There is nothing better for a wine lover this Christmas (apart from, er, wine) than a fantastic cheese pairing and this is the one for us - and it's been taste tested. This clothbound mini truckle is from award-winning cheesemaker Quicke's. It's a brilliant 1.8k centrepiece for any wine-based feast, and recently picked up a Great Taste 2-star award. This cheese is crumbly, with a fantastic nutty texture and has a real freshness to it.
9. Russell Hobbs Table Top Wine Cooler
This compact wine fridge that can sit on any table top has space for 12 bottles of beer or around 4 wine bottles. It not only saves space in your main fridge, it also lets you control the precise temperature of your wine. As any wine buff will know, keeping and drinking wine at the right temperature is crucial to its proper enjoyment, and this wine cooler has a temperature range of 5-18°C. Meanwhile, a glass door and internal light let you see your current selection without having to compromise that temperature.
10. The Wild Beer Co's Christmas Wineybeest gift box
We have been lucky enough to taste test the Wineybeest from The Wild Beer Co and it is a stunning beer that will be a hit for any wine fan in your life. It's a beautiful, dark imperial stout that has a real hit of wine in the mix. This gift box includes a bottle of the Wineybeest, alongside a branded Teku glass.
11. Joseph Joseph BarWise One-Pull Waiter’s Friend
If your wine buff acquaintance has a purist streak - or your budget is simply a little constricted - the Joseph Joseph BarWise One-Pull Waiter’s Friend is a much better pick than one of the more elaborate mechanical corkscrews. As the name suggests, this is a refined all-purpose bottle opener, with a unique bent shape that lets you wrench a cork out in one fluid motion. It also features a foil cutter and a magnetised bottle opener for those beer-swilling heathens.
12. The New Wine Rules: A genuinely helpful guide to everything you need to know
There are countless wine books out there vying for space on your coffee table. But The New Wines is a true connoisseur’s choice from one of the most authoritative wine writers in the business. Despite its provenance, Jon Bonné’s book cuts through a lot of the highfalutin' nonsense that tends to clog up the topic like so much bottom-of-the-bottle sediment. You’ll learn how to choose, store, serve and enjoy your wine, and you might even have a little fun along the way. It's a few years old now (was written in 2018) but still essential and now has a brilliant price!
13. TenTen Labs Wine Aerator Pourer
Decanting a bottle of wine isn’t always practical, particularly if you’re out and about when you crack it open. That doesn’t mean that you have to compromise on aeration or neat pouring. This simple device has a small air chamber that infuses air into wine using the Bernoulli effect for, according to its maker, optimal oxygen intake. You get to spouts in the box and a gift box is included.