Wine Gifts for Xmas: The Perfect Treat

Have you ever considered why wine gifts for Xmas tend to be so well received? If you’re currently scratching your head trying to decide what gifts to give to certain people you know, this could be a good area to focus on. Wine gifts come in lots of different types for starters, and the other good thing is that they are often things that people don’t buy themselves.

Let’s look at some wonderful examples of wine gifts for Xmas that could be worth getting for the people you love this year.

An expensive bottle of wine gifts

Plenty of people will be giving wine gifts for Xmas that consist of nothing more than a superb bottle of wine. Most people have bottles or types of wines that they get all the time, but they rarely invest in a really good bottle to treat themselves to, unless it is a special occasion.

And what better occasion could there be than Christmas Day itself? So if you are not sure what to get for the wine lovers in your family, look for an expensive bottle of wine to give them on the big day. This can be a real treat for someone who appreciates a good wine and knows how to savor it.

A quirky but useful item such as a wine aerator

If you have ever heard of a wine aerator you might be familiar with what it can do to a bottle of wine. The idea is that it brings out all the flavors that were intended to be there when it was first made. In fact if you drink a glass of wine without pouring it through a wine aerator first, you won’t be getting the full flavor.

So what better item to give when you want to look for quirky wine gifts for Xmas than a wine aerator? Simply look at the wide range of aerators on the market today and choose one that has a good name. The Wine Weaver and the Vinturi are both top of the range models, giving you a good choice when it comes to getting wine gifts for Xmas.

A wine and cheese hamper

If you happen to know someone who loves cheese just as much as they love wine, you could be onto a winner here. There are plenty of hampers around, containing a wonderful selection of wine and cheese and giving you the ideal opportunity to choose something that will be well received by someone you know. Wine gifts for Xmas can be terrific when they include more than just wine. You can also enjoy the thrill of giving someone something they wouldn’t buy for themselves.

So don’t worry if you still have Christmas shopping to do because wine gifts for Xmas are among the easiest ones to get. With so many choices and options in front of you, you are bound to find something for every wine lover in your life this festive season. Cheers for wine gifts!

Sparkling Ideas for Wine Gifts for Christmas

Are you thinking about buying some nice wine gifts for Christmas? If you are you shouldn’t leave it any longer to get them. Time is running out for doing the all important festive shopping, but luckily there are plenty of ideas for wine gifts for Christmas online.

Here are some tips and ideas you might find useful in your search.

Wine and food hampers – a tasty choice

There is arguably nothing better than buying a wine and food hamper to treat someone to at Christmas. It usually consists of all the things people wouldn’t normally buy themselves, so it really is a nice treat.

However you don’t have to get a hamper ready-made. You could also create your own by getting a nice basket filled with a couple of wine bottles and some nice items to add to it. Why not throw in some festive food treats and perhaps a Wine Weaver wine aerator as well?

Think gadgets!

Gadgets are always a sure bet for a great gift at Christmas. If you want to buy a wine themed gift for someone you know, it doesn’t take much effort to find wine gifts for Christmas that would fit into this category.

One of the best examples is to get a wine aerator of some kind – the Wine Weaver and the Vinturi are both good examples of great wine gifts for Christmas. What’s more, not only will they be used throughout the festive season, they can be used all year as well.

Wine gifts for Christmas – small or large?

Think about whether you should get small or large wine gifts for Christmas when you are deciding on things to buy for each person. For example you might decide to buy a huge hamper for your parents if they both like wine. Alternatively if you only ever get token gifts for each other, you can think on a much smaller scale.

Size will also be important if you want to mail a gift to someone. The cost of mailing large packages is always going to cost you more, and this has to be factored into the cost of each gift.

Stocking filler items

Not all wine gifts for Christmas have to be large ones, as we have seen above. If you still have the tradition of putting together stockings packed with gifts each year, why not think about popping in a nice corkscrew or a bottle stopper to add to the gifts you already have?

This is a nice treat for any adult who enjoys the odd glass of wine, and it will prove to be a gift that will be used over and over again as well.

You can tell that there is plenty of inspiration out there for gifts to be given this Christmas, so don’t worry if you haven’t thought of anything yet. Hopefully the above ideas will inspire you to get more wine gifts for Christmas to pop under the tree for your loved ones.

Wine Aerator

If you had to pick a bottle of wine – just one bottle – to call your favorite, which wine would it be?

It’s a tough question to answer isn’t it? But let me ask you something else. If I was to tell you that your favorite wine could taste even better, would you believe me? I’m betting you’re skeptical, so I will reveal the reason why it can taste better – a wine aerator.

Okay so what exactly is a wine aerator?

Good question. It is a piece of kit that you pour the wine into before it hits your glass. It is designed to allow the air to permeate the wine and bring out everything you are supposed to be able to taste.

Some people are naturally a little skeptical of a wine aerator. After all it doesn’t make your wine look any different once you have used one. This much is true – but when you taste it you’ll be amazed at the transformation!

Why should I buy one?

Well we mentioned the word ‘transformation’ above, and you might think we’re being a little too dramatic there. But we’re not, as you’ll see when you have tried a wine aerator to taste the difference in your wine – whatever type you might drink.

It’s not just a case of making a bottle of wine taste more expensive than it actually is, although this is a factor. It’s a case of making every bottle of wine taste just the way it should, instead of only getting half the story. As any wine lover or aficionado will tell you, a wine aerator will help you get the most out of every drop you drink, rather than simply tasting it as it comes out of the bottle.

Does it really make a huge difference to my favorite wine – or any other wine for that matter?

A wine aerator will make any wine taste superb, but it works best with a red wine. This is because reds are traditionally heavier, warmer and fuller bodied than whites. You need to get the air into a red wine to really allow all the flavors and aromas to be released for you to enjoy.

But it’s understandable that you would look at one of these gadgets and wonder how on earth it works. It doesn’t seem possible that the act of pouring your wine through it will make any difference at all, does it?

One of the best ways to understand how it works and to believe that it makes a difference is to read some reviews for the aerators. You’ll find these online, and a lot of people try their favorite wine with and without the aerator in place. Read their comments and you’ll soon be persuaded to try one of your own.

Some people still think that their wine couldn’t possibly be transformed by a wine aerator – But as any expert will tell you, this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Wine lovers need a wine aerator

Red wines take longer to open up or “breathe” than white or blush varieties. This can mean hours in a traditional decanter for maximum drinkability. The darker the wine, the longer it may need to air. You can save yourself some valuable time by using a wine aerator to tame the tannins that can pucker your cheeks and make a wonderful wine taste awful when it’s first out of the bottle.

What are Tannins? – wine aerator
Tannins are organic compounds that are found naturally in grape seeds, skins and stems. They add part of the complex flavor of wine, often causing a tart or puckering sensation on the tongue at the back of the mouth. Wine makers use specific extraction processes to control the amount of tannins present in each specific variety of wine.

Tannin is controlled by the amount of time the juice is in contact with skins, seeds and stems, and is responsible for the sediment sometimes found in heavier bottles of red. The time ageing in the barrel also contributes to the distribution of tannins, as the oak itself contributes to the overall tannin level.

Tannins are essential to wine’s ageing process –the anti-oxidant properties allow wines to develop complexity and character while maintaining their integrity and drinkability.

The puckery sensation sometimes accompanied by a bitter aftertaste is described as “tannic”. The astringent, bitter sensation can be unpleasant to new wine drinkers. Recent efforts to control “hard” tannins while allowing “soft” tannins to remain has revolutionized the California wine industry, by allowing younger vintages to achieve a complexity that wasn’t before possible.

By the Glass – wine aerator

If you like to enjoy your full-bodied red wine by the glass, without decanting an entire bottle, you may benefit from a versatile aerator like the Wine Weaver – it can change settings from bottle to glass, and aerates in seconds. This particular model is notable as it makes it’s aerators from several jewel-tones polycarbonate plastics, as opposed to the higher-priced glass aerators which are known to chip and crack.

If you are concerned about tannin sediment or under-aerating your wine, you may wish to examine the color through the bottle. The very darkest of wines may benefit from both double aeration, though in most cases one use of a well-constructed aerator should be sufficient. Sediment generally collects at the bottom of the bottle, so the final glass will need to be watched as it’s poured.

To learn more about the benefits of oxygenating your wine, or to browse a selection of wine glass and bottle aerators, visit WineWeaver.com - wine aerator.

Wine Weaver

Holiday Wine Tasting

A wine tasting party is a great, casual holiday party for tons of interactive fun. Ask your guests to bring a favorite bottle from your local region. Try mailing a handwritten note 6 weeks ahead of time if you’re planning on hosting a holiday party –there is a lot of competition for your guest’s time around November and December, get your event in their calendar before it fills up!

Essential Wine Tasting Party Supplies:

A Wine Aerator – wine tasting
Wine needs to breathe, and you’ll want to aerate each bottle as you open it. Minerals, oils and aromatics are released as you pour the wine through these little circulating gadgets. The oxygen calms and mellows the flavors immediately. Without an aerator, some darker wines take up to 4 hours to properly breathe – you won’t want to make your guests wait hours for their wines to be ready to serve.

A lot of glasses!
You may want to hit the dollar store or your local salvation army – you’ll want about 5 glasses per guest – don’t worry if they don’t all match, you’re having a casual night, and a table full of shining mismatched glasses is a charming sight.

A Large White Tablecloth
Set up your tasting area on your largest table, with a bright clean white cloth underneath.

Small Notebooks and Pens
You’ll want one notebook per guest, they can write down their impressions and ideas in the notebook and take it home as special keepsake.

Cardboard Place Cards and Markers
Label each bottle on the table by placing a large neat card in front of it, that way, your guests can make notes without picking up every bottle individually. This will save a lot of confusion, (and potentially spilled wine!)

Hors d’oeuvres and Snacks
The usual wine-tasting fare is French inspired, rich and flavorful – cheeses, meats, olives and other finger foods should be passed around liberally. All that drinking is bound to make your guests hungry.

Prizes!
You’ll want to purchase a few small gifts for the guests that bring the highest-ranking wines. Wine aerators, vacuum pumps and stylish wine carriers are wonderful for this purpose.

Dessert, and a few more bottles of wine!
Once the tasting is over, pop open a few more bottles and serve up a feast of seasonal sweets. Now that the hard part is over, it’s time to relax and enjoy your guests.
For more on wine tasting and wine aerators visit Wine Weaver.

Aerator for Wine

As the must have wine accessory of 2010, many people are asking if wine aerators actually work, or if they’re a passing fad.

Wine Aerator

The short answer: They work. Vineyards and sommeliers have been using wine aerating devices and gadgets at wine tastings since they arrived on the scene, because they understand the basic science of wine aeration or decanting: to reach it’s ideal flavor, and to meld the aromatic properties in a freshly opened bottle of wine, wine needs to breathe.

Most wines have some level of tannin, an antioxidant chemical that occurs naturally in the winemaking process from the stems, seeds and skins of the grape, as well as the barrels. The darker the wine, the more contact it has had with these elements in the process, and the more it will need to age, or air to fully assimilate the best aspects of its ingredients.

Tannins are easy to recognize, they make the pucker in your mouth when drinking wine, and sometimes leave a bitter or astringent feeling in the mouth.

To properly meld and develop the flavors in a bottle of wine, you can decant or aerate. Since some darker wines require hours to properly aerate in a traditional wide mouth decanter, aerators have become to go-to tool for an instantly drinkable glass of wine, straight from the bottle.

Aerators maximize contact with air as you pour the wine from the bottle. Many aerators have been introduced to the market, the best being constructed out of sturdy plastics with multiple channels for the wine to contact air on the way to the vessel.

Many models are specialized for single types of wine – red, white, single glass…etc. Others have taken the process and refined it, releasing multi-function models that can adapt to pour a single glass or an entire bottle at once.

Wine Weaver is a good example of a versatile, multi-use device – with more than 30 precision cut air streams, the wine is separated in the device, and streamed to the sides of the glass or vessel to complete the contact with air.

Other aerators also perform similar action, but so far, only the Wine Weaver can be set to work with either a glass or sit atop a decanter. Handheld acrylic and polycarbonate competitors are useful, but they need to be held above the glass at all times, a little cumbersome when hosting a party, or pouring several glasses at once.

Whichever model you choose, an aerator is the must have wine accessory this holiday season.

If you’re a die-hard fan of California wine, you may have noticed that the second glass tastes better and richer than the first. No, it’s not the alcohol influencing your taste buds, it’s air.

All but the most premium, aged vintages need to be decanted or aerated to achieve their most pleasing states. Contrary to your popular happy-hour bartender, you shouldn’t pour wine straight into a glass and drink it.

Wine is a living thing, in the sense that it absorbs oxygen and “ages” or oxides. Many wines benefit from “breathing” – exposing the freshly corked wine to oxygen to mellow the flavors and transform vino to an ideal, drinkable state.

Let it Breathe

Decanting is great if you have an hour or more to let your bottle breathe but when you want to break out a second vintage at the dinner table, you may need more than a wide mouthed carafe. You need an aerator. An aerator will transform your inexpensive bottle into the perfect vintage in seconds, not hours.

An aerator is a clever, funnel like gadget that maximizes the airflow through your wine while it’s being poured into a glass or decanter. This holy-grail gadget saves hours of waiting and is used extensively by chefs, sommeliers and wine professionals around the world.

Aerating has long been touted as an absolute for reds, but whites are emerging as benefiting as much, if not more from the process. Young wines, like our beloved California whites, have been found to improve dramatically from aerating immediately after opening – using an aerator ensures that your crispy white is served cool from the bottle, at the ideal temperature.

Aerating Reds

The darker your red, the more air it likely needs. Look at the color of the wine before opening your bottle – pale garnet or brick colored wines may only need a short time to breathe, as they’re closer to full maturity and at their peak state already. New, full-bodied reds need a thorough airing, between 1-2.5 hours in a decanter, or a room temperature run through your aerator.

Don’t make the mistake of uncorking a bottle and leaving it out to breathe, you won’t get enough oxygen into the narrow bottle neck.

Aerating Whites

If your freshly opened white seems to have little or no complexity, your wine needs more time to breathe, (and you may be serving it too cold). A word of caution, leaving a fresh Sauvignon Blanc to decant in the fridge puts your wine at risk of absorbing other food smells. A cheesy, garlicky glass of white isn’t on anyone’s menu. Use an aerator that funnels directly into the glass.

Where do I find wine aerators?

There are several new products on the market. Try to find one that uses a dual alteration air system and has a design that pleases the eye. After all, your guests are going to be watching in awe as you take their $15 bottle of wine and turn it into a masterpiece.

Now, who wants a drink?