This — along with the gas-filled types — is a great gift for a person who enjoys wine but who has a hard time getting the cork out of bottles. Being too weak or coordinated to get a cork out of a bottle is nothing to be ashamed of, and shouldn’t relegate a person to screwtop wines. This nifty electric opener does all the work for you, opening up to 30 bottles in one charge (yes, it’s rechargeable). The fact that it is rechargeable, and therefore does not require the future purchase of gas cartridges, gives it a slight edge over the equally efficient gas-charged openers.

Some folks don’t have their own wine blog, so they write down their wine notes every time they open a great bottle. If you know someone who jots down their wine notes in a regular notebook, then this gift is the ultimate upgrade. It looks fancy, has room for all the details for the wine, and includes a page for pasting in the label. Of course, you’ll want to get a few packs of label savers to throw into the gift box.

The Rabbit and other me-too’s have been more popular recently, but it all started with the original leverpull by Screwpull. I’ve owned one and been quite happy for almost ten years of rigorous use — it has been through several tastings that required the opening of 200 bottles or more (in one day). I think it is the easiest to use cork extractor on the market, with the only caveat being that every once in a while it will refuse to pull out a cork (sometimes it just takes a second or third jab, once in a while it won’t grab it at all). This particular kit is more giftworthy than the Screwpull on its own, as it comes with a small assortment of useful wine gadgets and is packaged in a nice gift box.

If one of your gift recipients has a full-blown wine cellar, these color-coded tags are the perfect present. One of the most annoying things when looking for a wine in a cellar is having to pull each bottle out to see what it is. In addition to identifying the wine, you can also write in other details, such as purchase price, WineWeekly score, or a “drink by” date. One kit comes with 100 tags, so you may want to buy two if your recipient has a serious cellar.

Riedel is the name to remember when it comes to glassware, but you already knew that. Now that the Austrian glassmaker can be found in Targets throughout the US, is it still fancy enough for gift ideas?

Of course … but you want to choose glasses that are more unique and unusual — and pricey. These are gifts, after all, and a good gift is one that the recipient would not lavish himself/herself with.

After seeing a set of Riedels on sale in Target, you might wonder why anyone would pay upwards of $50 or $100 for a single glass. Well, what you’re getting on sale is likely machine-made, while the upper-echelon of Riedel’s line — the glassware that impressed Robert Mondavi, Robert Parker, Jr., and the rest of the wine industry — are hand-blown, made from 24% lead-crystal. These ultra-thin, specifically shaped glasses really DO make a difference — their only drawbacks are their price and fragility. But if you know someone who is REALLY into wine, and often drinks expensive and rare wines, then a glass chosen from Riedel’s Sommeliers series is guaranteed to be a hit.

It’s kind of like getting a Balabushka cue for a pool player, a Steinway baby grand for a pianist, or an Akadema glove for a baseball player — in other words, the best of the best, and if your recipient is that passionate, the gift is well worth the cash outlay.

Remember — look for the Riedel Sommeliers Crystal Collection (or just click the link to get to the Amazon page full of Sommelier selections).

(FYI – all of the suggested gifts on this wine blog can be purchased from Amazon by clicking on its image)

OK, this these are pretty geeky items — but still pretty cool.

Basically, it’s for wines that need to breathe — think young, expensive Zins, Cabs, and mature Bordeaux and Burgundy. After placing the funnel thing into the top of your decanter, you pour the wine through it and it does two things: first, a screen traps the sediment, and second, its slanted spout further aerates the wine by directing it against the inside wall of the decanter. For those who are so concerned about “bruising” their wine, this is a gentler introduction to the bottom of the decanter. It also comes with a nifty, shiny stand to display the funnel prominently on the wine bar.

Want to go one better? Spend $55 for the Spiral Pewter Funnel. Remember as a kid you drank juice through one of those spiral straws? Well this is just the opposite — though that gives me an idea to freak out a wine snob at the next party. As you might guess, the wine takes a whirlwind of a tour before falling into the decanter, and the purpose of all this round-and-round motion is to further aerate the wine.

The “French” funnel is similar, except that it has little pinholes to direct the wine toward the the decanter sides. And it’s French, which means it carries a bit more wine snobbery cachet.

Any of these is a must for wine ubergeeks.

(click on images to learn more)

This 7-item Accessory Gift Set ($55) has just about everything a wannabe snob could wish for, all encased in a fancy wood box. It includes a ‘patented’ one-hand cork screw, thermometer, stainless steel stopper, foil cutter, wine ring, pourer, and bottle cap. Good for someone who often entertains wine drinkers and has one of those wine bar thingys in the home.

The MetroKane Houdini Wine and Stuff
($40) set’s centerpiece item is the Houdini corkscrew, which is a variation on the Leverpull and Rabbit cork removers. It also has a foilcutter, drip-stop ring, wine sealer, identification tags, metal whacker, and extra spiral screw. All nice pieces for the wine geek in your life.

Do you know someone who keeps a “wine book” ? In other words, they keep notes on nearly every wine they drink, and glue a label next to their notes to help remember the wine? Well, it can be gosh-darn difficult to get the labels off of the bottles — especially if they use a specific type of glue that seems stronger than cement. No amount of soaking, blow-drying, or peeling can take those things off. Enter the Wine Label Savers. All you do is stick the thing onto the label and peel it right off. It works every time. They work great, but they’re not cheap, especially if you’re always recording your wine notes. Therefore, they make a nice gift for someone who wouldn’t otherwise spend the ducats to make their life easier.