Gift Ideas

Riedel Sommeliers Blind Tasting Stemware

Ok, ok, so we’ve talked about Riedel’s blind tasting glasses in a previous issue, but it just begs to be brought up again during this season of gift giving. Rather, this glass is so badass that it actually threatens to be mentioned again. Sexy, sleek, and commanding only respect, this unique stemware can take your blind tastings with friends and enemies to the next level: the black as night, cold as Eisch level. Yeah, we went there. You can pick this stemware up online at various outlets.

How to best handle the inlaws

Scenario: You’ve been slaving away all day preparing various classes of meat-things for the incoming in-laws. Everything is going to plan, excepting for the wine. You’ve completely forgotten about chilling the wine. This is a problem because you just know that “Mother” will flip her new hair-do if you don’t hand her a glass of Chardonnay the moment she walks in the door. Hell, you’re gonna need one yourself. Alas, you’ve taken precautionary measures by aquiring for yourself a Cooper Chiller. Six mintues later everything is back on track. Now, where did you put Dad’s Knob Creek?

Game On

The weather’s getting colder, forcing many into the confines of their homes. You can invite your friends over, but in the occasion that the conversation runs dry, what can you do? Flex that skull-muscle of yours, that’s what. There are a few wine games that can be really fun with the right company and the right wine. This isn’t quarters, friends. These games are like Trivial Pursuit for winos. Winerd® tests your mettle by presenting you with questions about wine as you progress along a board. A new game called Washington Wine Trails® takes it a bit further by leading you through local wine country while putting you into common wine situations. By doing things like pairing wines, pronouncing things correctly and knowing tasting room etiquette, you can build prestige, complete a wine cellar, and commit Faux Pas (losing you some prestige). The wino with the most prestige at the end of the game wins. What’s more fun than earning some bragging rights and looking down your nose as you tip up a glass?

Home Vintner Kit

Were you one of those kids who never had a chemistry set? In those old TV shows, it seems like all the kids had one at some point. If you didn’t, it’s OK, because now that you’re a wino, there’s something even better. It’s called Fusebox, a clever product from Crushpad that lets you use graduated cylinders and pipettes in Bill Nye fashion to create your own bitchin’ blends. In one big box, they supply all the gear, plus six smallish bottles of pure varietal wines and a bottle of mystery wine. There are recipes to blend imitations of well-known wines (like the Opus One), mats for flights and tasting notes, and a handy instruction booklet to explain the whole shebang. (Caution: Read the book first so you don’t waste wine like an idiot.) Once you’ve mixed and drank your way through the program, you feel like both a master sommelier and a master winemaker. Retailing for $120, it’s a great way to add a new twist to your wine-centered get-togethers, and you can finally forget about that damned chemistry set.

The EuroCave

So, you have space in your closet or basement or bathroom and you think to yourself, “That space is just so empty and tacky. What ever should I do with it? I’m no interior designer, sirs!” What to do, indeed. And, all the while you wonder this with six or seven bottles of wine and beer in your arms, like usual. We have the perfect idea for you and your negative space: a EuroCave wine cellar. These handy little wine chillers can preserve opened bottles of wine for up to ten days using fancy, patented vacuum technology. With two independent compartments you are able to chill both white and red wines to specified temperatures at the same time. How cool is that?

Keep It Simple, Stupid

What is the simplest way to know that you’re getting your loved ones something they’ve always wanted for the holidays? Make them pick it out themselves. So very “win-win,” the beauty of the gift card is that it actually displaces the time you spend shopping onto the recipient, which they are ever so glad to take, as they’ll get to spend that time spending your money. It’s brilliance, really. So, consider a gift card from your local independent wine merchant or restaurant and let your favorite wino pick up that 2005 Boudreaux Cellars Cab Sauv they’ve been eyeballing.