Wine tastes can be so personal and as such, wine lovers may have gained an unfair reputation as difficult to buy for. But don’t despair. We’ve pulled together a guide to the best gifts for wine lovers to help you find something fitting this Christmas.
We’ve considered interests of all levels in order to gather this selection – from wine subscriptions to wine-filled luxury getaways, gadgets to glassware, many of our picks will suit those with a new-found passion for the drink, as well as the aficionados. The gift ideas listed below are stylish, practical, fun or a combination of the three and made with wine lovers in mind.
Please note, all items in this wine gift guide include prices and stockists for those based in the UK – but should hopefully provide inspiration when buying gifts for wine lovers around the world this Christmas.
Top Christmas gifts for the wine lover in your life
Bordeaux Advent Calendar by Jane Anson, 67 Pall Mall
Open the door to Bordeaux with this gorgeous way to discover some amazing wines: in luxury advent calendar form. Wine-themed members’ club 67 Pall Mall is selling four vinous countdowns to Christmas in 2024, covering this famous French region, as well as Burgundy, Italy and a collection of the club’s bestsellers and staff favourites. Behind each numbered window you’ll find a 75ml miniature bottle of wine selected by an expert; this particular version is curated by leading Bordeaux wine critic Jane Anson.
£550 for members, £625 to non-members, 67pallmall.com
Art print, Willi’s Wine Bar
This iconic image was first created in 1935 by artist A M Cassandre for wine retailer Nicolas. Years later, in 1983, famous Parisian wine bar Willi’s acquired the rights and created its own poster. This rare 25th anniversary edition of the print would look great on any wine aficionado’s wall but there is a wide selection of new and vintage art prints produced by Willi’s over the years in the online shop. You’re bound to find a print that looks beautiful and hopefully also serves as an aide memoire of leisurely wine stops in the French capital.
£171, willis-wine-bar.myshopify.com
Timeless Six+ Forest Green, Coravin
Coravin is, of course, the brand that facilitates the enjoyment of a single glass of wine from a bottle without removing the cork, thus preserving the contents for the future. This limited-edition version of the Coravin Timeless Six+ comes in fetching Forest Green with three argon capsules (the gas that keeps the inside of the bottle inert), as well as some other accessories. The new colour has extra significance; Coravin has pledged to plant a tree for every one sold on the website in a collaboration with a non-profit organisation focused on reforestation. Trees aside, we can imagine this coming in handy for special bottles and for those wine lovers who don’t always wish to finish a bottle in the space of a day or two. It may also be useful for any special Christmas wines that (by some miracle) don’t get finished.
£239.99 (discounted at the time of writing), coravin.co.uk
Dinner, bed and breakfast at Lympstone Manor Estate
Lympstone Manor Estate is a hotel-restaurant in Devon with a Michelin-star and one of the best English vineyards to visit. Influential British chef Michael Caines is the chef-patron and was quick to recognise the potential of the southwest-facing land that stretches from the hotel down to the shore of the Exe estuary as a place to grow grapes when he first found the property. Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay were planted; tours and tastings are available now that the vineyard is established. As you’d expect, there’s a major focus on wine at the hotel’s restaurant, with a list featuring more than 600 wines to accompany the elegant dishes emerging from the kitchen. As a luxury, UK-based break for a wine lover, this gift is difficult to beat.
From £950 for dinner, bed and breakfast, lympstonemanor.co.uk/dinner-bed-breakfast
Hardbound Cellar Book in Panama, Smythson
If you feel that Excel spreadsheets detract from the romance of wine collecting, there’s no smarter way to keep tabs on what’s in stock than with Smythson’s gilt-edged, hardbound calf-skin Panama cellar book, with each page offering a printed template for scribbling down vintages, merchants, purchase dates and any other relevant notes. You can personalise the gift and even purchase black Panama leather coasters to match.
£225, smythson.com
Mosel Magnum Decanter, Riedel
Riedel makes some spectacular decanters that cost hundreds of pounds but many of them look as easy to smash as they would be difficult to clean. This Mosel decanter, however, is from the brand’s M Series, designed with practicality in mind, and is available in magnum size. It’s slender enough to fit in the fridge door and is dishwasher safe but has some elegant details and is made from crystal glass. It would make a great first decanter for someone building their glassware collection and the larger size could well be useful on Christmas Day.
£65, riedel.com
Port. Club, Churchill’s
On Christmas day, all roads inevitably lead to port. But why let the fun stop there? With its quarterly deliveries, Churchill’s Port Club is determined to make sure that the fortified wine is for life, not just for Christmas. Each delivery offers three bottles of the estate’s own blends – buy as a one-time gift or sign up for a year-round subscription direct from the Douro producer.
£70 per delivery of three bottles every three months, port.club
Frizz Black Expandable Wine Cooling Sleeve, Peugeot
A cool bottle of wine getting warm on a hot day is never pleasant and this cooling sleeve from revered manufacturer Peugeot is the present that provides an answer. Designed to mould to the shape of the bottle you’re cooling, the gel inside the sleeve can chill a bottle in 20 minutes and keep it cold for two hours. Available in black, red and grey, and thoroughly portable too.
£25, uk.peugeot-saveurs.com
Gift membership, The Wine Society
Membership to The Wine Society grants access to a wide range of wines that have been selected by buyers dedicated to particular regions. The Society has bottles to suit all budgets and tastes. Also impressive is the fact that it offers free delivery, even on a single bottle, with no minimum spend. Lifetime membership is a one-off payment of £40 and the recipient receives £20 towards their first order.
£40, thewinesociety.com
The Smart Traveller’s Wine Guides: Rioja and Bordeaux
Perfect for those inspired to travel by their favourite wines, these guides from Academie du Vin Libary cover everything you need to know about these two classic fine-wine regions. Each book covers the area’s wine history and geography, how wines are classified, the best villages and wineries to visit in the region, where to eat and stay, routes for wine-focused day trips and weekends, and the inside scoop on where winemakers dine.
£12.99 each, academieduvinlibrary.com
France Wine Jigsaw Puzzle, Water and Wines
No more puzzling over what to get the wine lover in your life. They’ll be entertained over the Christmas period and might even learn something along the way with this hand-drawn, 1,000-piece jigsaw that features the wine regions and grape varieties of France. When everyone’s too full of Christmas dinner for Charades or Twister, this is the present to reach for – the perfect excuse for a glass of French wine and some quiet time.
£39, uk.waterandwines.com
Fieldbar Drinks Box, Hadeda
If you’re looking to buy someone a wine cooler that’s perfect for picnic, then Hadeda’s Fieldbar is a stylish option. Proving that not all coolboxes are made equal, it has a retro aesthetic and comes with interchangeable leather handles. The box is available in several Pantone shades and the finish is scratchproof, so it should stay looking pristine even if it has the odd unsecured journey in the boot of the car. The 10-litre capacity accommodates three standard wine bottles or two of Champagne.
£179, hadeda.co.uk
Banks Brothers Chardonnay No. 3.1
When it comes to stocking fillers, bottles take up far too much space. Luckily, the standard of wine in a can is on the up – witnessed in the range from acclaimed York restaurateurs, kitchen gardeners and brothers James and Tommy Banks. They’ve sourced from small South African producers as with this Chardonnay from Newton Johnson, whose toasty notes are still singing despite time in the tin. This new, 3.1 version promises some of the same characteristics as the previous wine, but with a more intense and zippier acidity.
From £21 for three, banksbrothers.co.uk
Cheese Canteen, Provisions
Of course, not all wine lovers are cheese lovers but hopefully the correlation is strong enough for us to suggest a monthly subscription to one whole kilo of cheese. North London wine and cheese importer Provisions is delivering the goods with a service that sends out boxes filled with five farmhouse offerings – available as a one-off purchase all the way up to a monthly doorstep blessing.
From £31 for one month, provisionslondon.co.uk
M’Tradition 6 Bottle Champagne Bowl, Mauviel
Keen cooks may recognise the Mauviel name from the brand’s professional-grade copper saucepans but here the French company has employed the material to create a gloriously lavish bowl for cooling and presenting up to six bottles of Champagne. While the aesthetic is undoubtedly the main selling point, the copper’s thermal conductivity means the bowl keeps fizz colder for longer. If there’s a special someone in your life who loves hosting, this is a present to wow them and their future guests.
£349, boroughkitchen.com
Josephine No. 2 Universal glass, Josephinenhütte
Zalto glasses may have developed a cult following but the man behind them, Kurt Zalto, has moved on from the company to create glassware at Josephinenhütte. The Josephine No. 2 is the brand’s ‘do-it-all’ universal glass and features a trademark kink that’s designed to deliver optimal aroma to the drinker. There are, of course, grape-specific glasses on the market but this universal option will upgrade the experience of any wine compared with the average vessel. It’s as light and thin as you’d expect of a premium, handmade product and the shape all but guarantees gasps when the glass is unboxed.
£70, josephinen.com
Chocolate & Port tasting pack, Vinte Vinte
Is it even Christmas without chocolate and port? Make sure your loved one has both covered with this gift set from the founders of Taylor’s and Fonseca. The set comes with four different ports and four bars of artisanal chocolate, and each one has been perfectly paired for maximum enjoyment.
£21.95, EW Wines
Club Oenologique magazine
Might we suggest a subscription to our flagship print publication? Each issue covers the very best in fine wine and spirits, food and travel, which includes plenty of insights into world-class regions, collectable bottlings and winemaking personalities. Pick up a single copy for a glossy stocking filler – Issue 16 saw pioneering chef Ferran Adrià take the reins as guest editor – or gift them a subscription that includes both issues of the magazine each year at a preferential rate.
From £14 for a single issue, click here.
