10 Gifts for Wine Geeks

With hundreds of wine gadgets around, it’s easy to shop for the wine geek in your life.  Here are 10 of the best.  Wine not included.

Saber

For the geek who loves the limelight. There’s nothing quite as flamboyant as opening a bottle of champers with a saber. Practicing before the big night can be fun too.

Drop Stops

There’s always a bottle that, no matter what you do, drips. Drop stops mean no more red wine dribbles on your perfect white linens. I love these.

Wine Wipes

Sometimes all it takes is a single glass of red wine to make you look like Dracula’s evil sibling. Wine wipes make your pearlies white again.

Wine Aromas – Le Nez du Vin

“Black cherries with underpinnings of leather, black pepper and violets”. Every wondered what that actually means? For the curious and more serious student, wine aroma kits come with single phials of common aromas and help you hone your tasting skills.

Inert Gas Wine Preserver

Occasionally, even a geek may not finish the whole bottle of wine. Squirt inert gas into the bottle and it blankets the leftover wine, protecting the wine from oxygen until you’re ready to imbibe again.

Filter and Funnel

It happens to us all at some point; a cork that just won’t come out gracefully and you end up with cork bits in the wine. A fast filter and life is good again.

Champagne Stopper

After all the effort that goes into getting the bubbles into the wine, keep them there until you’re ready for your next glass.

Wine Suitcase

Every wine geek brings back wine from a trip. A custom wine suitcase comes with a hard shell, temperature-regulating padding and is designed to meet airline checked-baggage weight limits. Beats wrapping precious bottles in sweaters and praying they arrive safely.

Bicycle Wine Rack

For more local transportation, the leather bicycle wine rack is perfect. Just strap it to any bike frame and away you go. Very west coast.

Waiters’ Friend

Yes, of course your geek has a corkscrew. Probably several. But the dedicated wine geek will have donated a few to airport security over the course of the year. Time to replenish stocks.

—By Sharon McLean