In any case, serious oenophiles do love drinking out of elegant, thin-rimmed glasses that are big enough for swirling the wine. Good stemware would be a welcome gift. The gold standard for wine glasses is the Austrian-made Riedel crystal. Even less expensive are Riedel s Ouverture glasses or German-made stemware from Schott Zweisel and Spiegelau. A fine decanter makes a lovely gift for someone who loves older wines.
Decanters are also useful for aerating young, tannic reds.
When it comes to wine- related gadgets, the useful ones are few and far between. But here are three that would also make good inexpensive gifts. It s a gel-filled sleeve that you keep in the freezer and then slip over the bottle you want to chill. In about 10 minutes, the bottle is ready to drink. A champagne stopper for sealing partly consumed bottles of sparkling wine makes a great stocking stuffer.