Christmas Gift Ideas for Wine Lovers.
Do not buy me a wine gadget.
I managed to get a new coffee machine the other week a nice new, very manual, Sage thing a Duo Temp Pro as you asked. I’m comfy, and used to a manual coffee machine having run cafés and restaurants for quite a while, quite a while ago.
My Instagram algorithm is now flooded with coffee gadgetry and gizmos… those little wiggle WDT distribution tools, puck screens, funnels, scales accurate to 0.01 of a gram,oak handled tampers, bottomless portafilters.
The list is pretty much endless as are the variations in use and quality.
I’m a coffee gizmo fan now. The final nail in the coffin was some coffee influencer telling me that if you want to get better coffee at home then you should “just go and buy the gear”.
No amount of posh coffee from the hipster roasters under the railway arches is going to solve the issue of channelling at home. In fact you’re at risk of not getting the best out of your expensive beans unless you’ve got the best kit.
Similarly if you’re an audio nerd a low quality streaming service connected to a Bluetooth speaker is a disaster. There’s lots of parallels I could suggest.
BUT if you’re a wine nerd I’d say the opposite is true in almost all cases.
There’s an infinite list of gadgets and gizmos that categorically will not improve the wine in the slightest.
The best gift.
The best gift you can get a coffee lover who has all the gear is a training course on how to use the gear. Don’t buy them posh beans if they can’t make good coffee from them.
In total contrast the best gift you can get a wine lover who has ANY of the gear is to throw the gear in the skip for them. Definitely buy them posh wine instead, but only after you’ve extracted gadgets from the process.
The reason is pretty straightforward. Wine is a pre-packaged ready to drink consumable item. You don’t need to make the wine at home, the winemaker has already done that for you.
There is temperature, extraction, grind size, pressure, and water quality … all sorts of things that can go wrong with making good coffee at home. Most people will do just fine and never notice or care why the stuff at home isn’t quite as good as their favourite café.
Coffee beans have more in common with a raw fillet of turbot than any bottle of wine you can buy.
When cooking fish I could spend a lot of money on a fishmonger prepared, perfectly filleted piece of turbot, get home and burn it, wiggle it, over season it. There’s a skill in both of these practices and this is where great cookware or a decent bit of coffee preparation kit and, of course, a bit of experience and knowledge will make your ‘at home’ experience better.
With wine no matter how much kit you buy unless you really fuck it up you’re gonna open that bottle and drink it and that is pretty much all the influence you have on how it tastes.
The Gift of Appreciation
Appreciation of the final product is a different story. Walking into an amazing coffee shop with a considerate attentive barista with the skill to turn ground beans into something delicious is not an easy job.
Give three baristas the same equipment and they may each make a coffee that has a different characteristic. Give three enthusiastic sommeliers all the gear in the world to pour the same wine for you and it will taste almost identical.
Doesn’t matter if you pull the cork out with a £100 gizmo or with the cheapest Mr Flappy corkscrew it’ll taste the same. All the flair suits ceremony process whatever. Open the wine and pour the wine.
Same in a wine shop whoever you are if there 500 wines in that shop and I ask for a decent Chardonnay and you offer me pretty much any wine and I go home and like it job done. The person in the shop hasn’t really affected the flavour or taste of that wine. I can’t really go home and cock it up.
Other than knowing what the wine tastes I’d argue in most cases there’s less skill in suggesting a wine that a customer will like than there is in making them a brilliant coffee.
The What-Not-To-Buy Gift Guide
I get asked quite often what to buy for a friend who’s into wine and the answer is always “More wine.” Which is often met with disappointment as if I was going to suggest some special new fangled object of wine wizardry. I’m not.
Things that I would advise you to never buy for a wine loving friend.
Wine Glasses: They’ve usually already got some. Unless they’ve smashed them or have explicitly expressed an interest in some new glasses don’t bother. Certainly don’t bother getting various grape or wine style related glasses. Any wine loving friend will likely already have a preferred wine glass often a single style of universal design. I have. I also have glasses all over the house I’ve been gifted but don’t use.
Elaborate bottle openers: If you’re a wine lover bottle openers are essentially free. I don’t think I’ve knowingly bought a bottle opener in 10 years and I probably have 20 or 30 at home. If they have 1 solitary yet functional bottle opener they’ll be OK.
Associated bottle opening periphery: Such as knives foil cutters any knife is fine. Any method of getting the wine out of the bottle that isn’t just opening the bottle.
Fancy wine racks: Honestly that lovely looking oak carved thing? It probably wont fit a bunch of bottle shapes anyway. Those sturdy wood and metal things are just fine and you can pick them up for £5 at pretty much any flea market and your wine loving friend definitely already has one.
Aerators: the air does that for you. I’ve seen some that look like a three year olds marble run for wine that do about the same just letting the same kid pour the wine all over the kitchen table first for you.
Decanters: They 100% already have one in the cupboard they don’t need or use.
Any form of chemistry set: Look that little sachet or stick or wand or whatever that alters the flavour of the wine is not of interest to anyone truly into wine. You can’t remove sulphites or hangovers from a bottle of wine.
Preservation devices: Wine lovers don’t need to store the wine anything unfinished will just have the cork squidged back in then put in the fridge for another day. If they come back to it in a week or so and it’s knackered so be it an expensive preservation device or not.
Thermometer: Oh, come on now.
Cheers,
Dan
Some AI Suggestions: None of these, either
That’s a great gift idea! Here is a bulleted list of wine related gadgets and periphery items covering a range of prices and focuses:
Coravin: The ultimate high end gadget for the serious wine lover allowing them to pour wine without pulling the cork preserving the bottle for months or years.
High Quality Decanter: A functional and beautiful piece of glassware. Look for modern sculptural designs or classic shapes that offer maximum surface area for aeration.
Electric or Lever Style Corkscrew: For ease and speed. A good lever style corkscrew like a rabbit is robust and satisfying while electric models offer ultimate convenience.
Wine Preservation System: e.g. Private Preserve or an inert gas system Essential for someone who frequently opens bottles to enjoy over multiple days preventing oxidation.
Wine Thermometer and/or Digital Cellar/Fridge Thermometer: Crucial for ensuring wines are served at their optimal temperature 10-14 degrees C for most quality whites and lights reds 16-18 degrees C for full reds and stored correctly.
Aerator: Pour through or in bottle style Helps softer wines open up instantly when pouring ideal for young reds or robust whites.
Set of High Performance Glassware: Focus on a specific style such as thin lightweight glasses for aromatic whites like Riesling/English Bacchus or large bowls for Nebbiolo/Pinot Noir.
Bottle Stopper/Sealer e.g. Champagne stopper: An absolute necessity for sparkling wine lovers to keep fizz fresh after opening.
Wine Stain Remover Wipes/Spray: A practical thoughtful item for preventing mishaps especially if they entertain often.
Subscription to a Niche Wine Magazine or Digital Resource: For ongoing learning and discovery focusing on regions or styles they love…
But, maybe, actually, that last one might be a good idea.