10 best Christmas gifts for wine-lovers: From champagne buckets to vineyard tours

What to give a wine-lover for Christmas? Wine is the, er, obvious choice. And, at this time of year, there are plenty of options out there, whether it is just a great bottle of lovingly packaged champagne for that festive meal, or a hamper of wine alongside other treats, such as elegant glasses, aged cheeses or chocolates.

But there are also pitfalls – are you sure of their wine preferences? You don’t want to buy a nice magnum of aged rioja, for instance, for someone who really only drinks German pinot noir or prefers white wine anyway.

Plus, there is the wine etiquette scenario – if you give someone a nice bottle or two, is it incumbent upon the receiver to open it there and then to share or do you tell them they can drink it when they choose?

Thankfully, there are also great wine-related options for all circumstances that avoid such awkward situations, and there are many gifting possibilities out there – whether they are small, stocking-filler gadgets; wine subscription services that enable recipients to make their own wine choices, or various means of storing and serving wine.

So, here is our IndyBest selection of great vino-related gifts for Christmas 2022 (some do involve actual bottles of wine, too).

How we tested

Testing and ranking wine-related Christmas presents as diverse and varying in price as a wine cooler and a bottle stopper can be a tricky job, because it is not a like-for-like comparison, as it is with, say, vacuum cleaners or with even bottles of wine. So, the criteria we applied here was something more flexible and organic.

We looked at each product on its own merits and examined and assessed it against three main criteria: whether it did the job it sets out to do; whether the present offered the purchaser value for money, and whether it gave the receiver that special something that makes a really great Christmas gift, be it small or large. We hope you agree...

The best Christmas gifts for wine-lovers for 2022 are:

• Best overall – The Wine Society lifetime membership: £40, Thewinesociety.com

• Best luxury present – ElectriQ 36-bottle freestanding wine cooler: £429.97, Appliancesdirect.co.uk

• Best stocking filler – John Lewis wine bottle foil cutter: £3.50, Johnlewis.com

• Best wine book – The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition, by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, published by Mitchell Beazley: £44.39, Amazon.co.uk

• Best wine decanter – Eisch glas crystal claret wine decanter 1.5l: £52.95, Wineware.co.uk

• Best sparkling wine stopper – Kloveo professional-grade bottle stopper: £19.99, Amazon.co.uk

• Best deluxe bottle opener – Le Creuset corkscrew: £99, Lecreuset.co.uk

• Best champagne bucket – BarCraft mercury fire zinc fired glass champagne bucket: £22.31, Wayfair.co.uk

• Best bottle and glass gift set – Barbadillo Pastora manzanilla pasada en rama sherry tasting set: £32, Harveynichols.com

• Best vineyard tour – Ridgeview tour and tasting gift voucher for two: £50, Ridgeview.co.uk

The Wine Society lifetime membership

Unchanged now for many years, the £40 Wine Society lifetime membership is a great gift for someone who is keen to expand their knowledge of wine, as well as those becoming more-regular consumers. Membership of this non-profit body gives access to its own reliably excellent society and exhibition ranges, the society’s various subscription buying plans, as well as access to regional wine tastings and other events. Or you can just browse thousands of high-quality wines from around the globe, ranging from bargain value bottles from around £7 to fine wines at £40 and above, all with free delivery. If you are already a member, there is a fabulous range of festive gifts, ranging from mixed cases to wine and food hampers.

Buy now £40.00, Thewinesociety.com

ElectriQ 36-bottle freestanding wine cooler

Anyone who is serious about their wine, and likes to keep a few bottles to hand, will need a cool, dark place to store them. If they are not fortunate enough to have a cellar or garage, this is the ideal luxury present and has the added benefit of freeing up fridge space. This model has two separate compartments to store reds and whites at different temperatures, with space at the bottom for larger bottles, such as champagne and magnums.

While it could be housed in any spare room or cupboard, with its stylish blue LED lighting and stainless steel frame, it would look great in any kitchen – and the UV filter glass door will keep out sunlight.

Buy now £429.97, Appliancesdirect.co.uk

John Lewis wine bottle foil cutter

Thin metal covers on most wine bottles – known in the trade as capsules – were originally there to keep dirt and insects away from corks during storage, but are now part of a wine’s branding and visual appeal. Although many bottles may have screw tops, wax capsules or no capsule at all, almost all wine drinkers curse the need to remove the capsules with knives or scissors, all the fiddling involved and the risk of a nasty cut or graze from a jagged edge. So, all the more reason to welcome this handy little device, which takes the top off a capsule in an instant, with minimum fuss. Genius.

Buy now £3.50, Johnlewis.com

‘The World Atlas of Wine 8th Edition', by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, published by Mitchell Beazley

Regularly updated and expanded massively since its first edition in 1971, this is the guide to wine-producing regions of the globe. Created by two of the greatest wine writers and critics, 4.7 million copies have already been sold.

Beautifully designed, with brilliant photography and 22 new maps since its last edition in 2012 reflecting the opening up of new wine areas, including the remarkable rise of English wine, particularly sparkling.

An essential reference work for anyone who wants to know more about the places, soils and people behind the wines they are drinking.

Buy now £44.39, Amazon.co.uk

Eisch glas crystal claret wine decanter 1.5l

While any wine can be decanted – apart from sparkling – only red wines benefit from it, and those with some complexity and ageing really demand it, particularly if the wine is going to be drunk quite soon after opening.

Decanting improves the flavours of even a budget red wine by aerating it through pouring and continued exposure to the air. So, decanters with a wide bottom, so more of the wine is exposed to the air, are best. While there are many styles and variations out there, the elegant design of the Eisch, with its classic, timeless appeal, wins our vote for a stylish present.

Buy now £52.95, Wineware.co.uk

Kloveo professional grade bottle stopper

In the unlikely event there is some sparkling wine left in the bottle and you want to keep it for later or even tomorrow, putting the cork back in is simply not an option. However, if you are a regular sparkling drinker, whether it’s everyday prosecco or special-occasion champagne, you will relish getting this elegant Italian-made chrome stopper, which creates a really tight and effective seal that will preserve the bubbles and delivers a reassuring “pop” when you flip it open again.

It fits ordinary wine bottles as well, and is much more stylish than the old method of putting a spoon handle in the fizz bottle, which rarely works for more than an hour or so.

Buy now £19.99, Amazon.co.uk

Le Creuset corkscrew

Opening wine bottles should be pleasurable but can be painful when the corkscrew goes in at angle or you simply cannot get that stubborn and tight cork out of the neck without some kind of extra mechanical assistance or a third arm. All of which can leave you exhausted.

While there are many, many corkscrews and “waiter’s friends” out there, this device is the reliable gadget you need to do the job effectively, every time. Made by the legendary French culinary company Le Creuset, the two handles grip the neck of the bottle and the lever screw mechanism, with a very sharp end to the screw, inserts and pulls the cork out cleanly, effortlessly and very satisfyingly. It comes with its very own foil cutter too.

Buy now £99.00, Lecreuset.co.uk

BarCraft mercury fire zinc fired glass Champagne bucket

Serving chilled sparkling or white wine at the table demands a stylish bucket or wine cooler of some kind, and they do not come more stylish than this attractive coloured-glass bucket.

While there are zillions of basic buckets and coolers out there in glass or metal, this bucket is a better option because it allows room for ice – and also serves as an ice bucket for cocktails and other mixed drinks, when it’s not holding wine.

These distinctive buckets come in shades of purple-grey and blue and the manufacturing process makes each one a little different, and sure to be appreciated by the recipient, particularly if there is a nice bottle already inside it.

Buy now £22.31, Wayfair.co.uk

Barbadillo Pastora manzanilla pasada en rama sherry tasting set

A single bottle of a good wine is a lovely present, but what if you want to give something more substantial that lasts longer than that final drop? A bottle and glass set is one answer. While many sets out there make attractive presents, mostly, the glasses bear the name of the wine or brand, which is fine for that first bottle, but can feel a bit odd when you want to use them later for other wines.

This gift for sherry lovers combines a terrific bottle from one of the great producers – a simply sublime aperitif – as well as two plain glasses that also serve very well as port or sweet-wine glasses. Plus, there are a couple of tins of nice olives and a recyclable retro-styled box.

Buy now £32.00, Harveynichols.com

Ridgeview tour and tasting gift voucher for two

The huge growth in domestic wine production has been accompanied by a growth in wine tourism – vineyards throughout England and Wales are offering tours and tastings and opening restaurants, hospitality venues and, in some cases, hotels and B&B accommodation.

Ridgeway, located in gorgeous East Sussex, north of Brighton, is one of the foremost sparkling wine producers in England, and this voucher for two is valid for a year. It covers an education tour of the vineyards, a tour of the winery and a tasting of some of the fabulous award-winning sparkling wines, such as the sublime Cavendish (£30, Ridgeview.co.uk), a pinot-noir-dominated blend.

Buy now £50.00, Ridgeview.co.uk

The verdict: Christmas gifts for wine-lovers

There are presents here for all pockets and for whichever type of wine lover you are buying for – the person with a small collection will relish the chance to keep and display their wines in style in the ElectriQ wine cooler, while the regular dinner-party host will appreciate the chance to serve their wines in a glamorous wine bucket or a stylish decanter.

But, in our judgement, the lifetime Wine Society gift membership – which introduces someone to well-priced wines from around the world and the opportunity to meet other wine buffs at tastings – simply represents great and long-lasting value, making it our best buy for wine-lovers in 2022. Cheers!

Discover the best wine deals with our guide – from bargains on rioja to sauvignon blanc