What are the best wine gifts to give loved ones at Christmas

There are so many wonderful things we do with wine over the Christmas period. We marinate it with various mulling spices, we pour it into hearty stews, and best of all, we gift it to our loved ones.

But, a bottle of the good stuff isn’t the only thing to give a wine lover this year. Here are six alternative wine gifts to give this Christmas.

1.   A wine suitcase

For those friends who are in the wine business – or who can’t leave the house without a bottle – we recommend a wine suitcase. The VinGardeValise Grande can hold up to 12 bottles, along with a few travel essentials.

If your friends are into visiting vineyards and enjoy collecting bottles from across the globe, this TSA and FAA-approved suitcase could be just the thing they need to avoid a mid-flight spillage.

2.    A wine cooler

Just because it’s wet and cold outside, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a crisp and refreshing white wine instead of a cosy red. For white wine lovers, why not gift a wine cooler?

Whether it’s a single bottle cooler like this VonShef double walled cooler, or this Inventor Vino wine fridge that holds up to 24 bottles; if it’s cold and ready to go, I’m sure they’ll be happy.

3.   A wine and cheese pairing experience

The best part about gifting a wine and cheese pairing experience is that, more often than not, the giver of the gift gets to go along too.

The West London Wine School offer a wine and cheese pairing experience that pairs six different wine and cheese combinations, including:

• Delice de Bourgogne (triple soft cheese) with Champagne
• Crottin de Chavignol (goat’s cheese) with Sauvignon Blanc
• Taleggio (soft wash-rind cow’s cheese) with Nebbiolo
• Cashel Blue (Irish blue cheese) with sweet wine
• Aged Comte with oaked Chardonnay
• Mature Cheddar and Bordeaux/Bordeaux Style red

If you’re looking to experience succulent tastes, we thoroughly recommend an evening with the smelly stuff.

4.   A giant decorative wine glass

Just for kicks, why not gift an annoyingly large wine glass? If you’re not looking to spend a lot of money, and if your loved one is an avid cork collector, this could be the perfect gift to give.

This Brookstone wine glass is an impressive 20 inches high, and can be used to hold corks, business cards, change or, if you’ve had a tough week, an entire bottle of wine.

There’s more to wine than just drinking it

Wine is about enjoying an experience with the company you keep, and what better company than that of your loved ones at Christmas?

But wine gifts are redundant if you don’t have a bottle sitting at home ready to enjoy. Our advice this Christmas: stock up on a selection of palate pleasers. Between that and the open fire, we’ll guarantee it’ll be a Christmas worth remembering.