Last Minute Gifts for Wine Enthusiasts
Posted by Anna Miranda on December 20th, 2007Here are some gift suggestions to help with last minute gifts. Many of these recommendations can be fulfilled by December 25 if ordered by tomorrow, Friday December 21. Please be sure to check the retailer’s website for purchase dates and shipping information.
Puzzled?
Is it a piece of art? Is it a game? Check out Family Games, Inc.’s “Don’t Break the Bottle” puzzles. There are five designs to choose from, and if you can’t solve the puzzle, the answers can be found online. “Don’t Break the Bottle” puzzles can be can be found online or at specialty wine stores and retail between $20-$30.
You can find “Don’t Break the Bottle” at Amazon.
A Gift that Supports a Good Cause
The Limited Edition Riedel Vinum Pink Rose stemware. 15% of the proceeds are donated to the Living Beyond Breast Cancer Foundation. You can find these special glasses at Wine Enthusiast.
Smell Like a Pro
Another offering available at Wine Enthusiast is the Wine Bouquet kit. Learn how to recognize aromas in wine to help you identify the wine varietal. This is a great kit for beginning wine tasters.
Splendor in the Grass?
For those who enjoy a great bottle of wine with their picnic, Red Envelope has the “picnic basket”. Loaded with plates, napkins, flatware, corkscrew, cheese knife, cutting board, salt and pepper shakers, and of course, wine glasses, their picnic backpack is sure to please any picnic or wine fanatic.
And for those who enjoy splendor in the grass (sans a picnic table), here are some handy wine glass and bottle holders that keep your wine and glasses upright! No spills here!
Tired of the Rabbit Wine Opener? How about a Penguin?
Trecini Cellars features a unique and classy wine opener at an affordable price!
Glasses that breathe?
Eisch Breathable wine glasses claim that there’s no need for decanting with their breathable stemware. A featured item and best seller for Windsor Vineyards, you can find them here:
Good luck and happy holidays!
December 21st, 2007 at 12:38 am
Great ideas! I love the picnic sets, especially the glass and bottle holders. I bet those would also be useful at the beach.
Another useful thing is a wine preservation system- on the (admittedly somewhat rare) occasions that I and/or my guests are not going to finish the bottle, this lets me save it for later without sacrificing taste.
Here’s a good one (after all, it managed to make 3Luxe’s top three picks) http://www.3luxe.com/best_ofs/Wine_Accessories/Wine_Preservation_System
Those cute little decorative bottle stoppers are pretty fun too, but I think an actual preservation system would yield better results in the end.
January 17th, 2008 at 12:23 am
Great stuff! I have been enjoying reading your blog lately. Love the picnic sets, the glass and bottle holders.
Anyway, regarding packaging, I think you’re right about how interesting it has become. However, one guy that I think does an excellent job of direct to consumer is Kolbi. I’ve been a wine club member of theirs for nearly 15 years now.
I am not talking about bring a Chardonnay in your Gucci. I’m speaking of Wine Bags by Kolbi, the new enlightenment in gift bag packaging for wine lovers. You will also be happy to know, that you need only fork out for these elegantly designed creations, now available with wholesale pricing from www.giftbags1.com or www.totebag1.com.
Inspired by his travels to exotic fabric markets (including Morocco, India, Turkey and China), Kolbi has combined his love for international wines and his talent for fashion design into a budding empire of exotically designed gift bags and tote bags for wine enthusiasts.
Hey, I’ll send you a prototype when I get one made so you can see what I’m talking about!
January 17th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
Do not purchase the 16 bottle wine cooler sold By the Wine Enthusiast. I’ve had 2 of them and they both quit working in about a year.
The warranty expires after a year and they wont do anything and they don’t carry replacement parts.