A bottle of wine is a year-round gift: It’s what you show up with at a dinner party or bring to someone’s housewarming. But for people who already have fridges and cases full of wine, what can you buy that complements the collection? In pursuit of answering the question — what do wine lovers buy each other for the holidays? — we talked to oenophiles about what they’re gifting this year. 

Brianna Pintens

Sommelier Brianna Pintens loves to buy label lift-offs that preserve wine labels for those who want to catalog their drinking experiences in a tactile manner. In the same vein, you can purchase either a dedicated wine journal or any blank notebook to encourage a practice of recording tasting notes

Pintens added: “No one ever buys a decanter for themselves. I don’t know why. There are excellently designed ones on the market that elevate the home.” 

Ariel Glazer

Collector Ariel Glazer said, "I got my sister a baby decanter for just one or two glasses." Combining that with either a Coravin or a nice set of wine pumps would be amazing for someone who loves wine but lives alone and doesn’t like drinking a full bottle by themselves! 

For more glassware, Glazer suggests Estelle Colored Glass, whose design-minded Instagram presence will help you match your giftees to the colors that will complement their collection.

Ionut Gitan

Ionut Gitan, Greek wine aficionado, suggests handblown glassware from La Soufflerie in Paris. “I’ve been known to pack a seemingly impossible amount of fragile glass into my suitcases coming back from France." But for those without a trip to the continent on the calendar, La Soufflerie does ship to the United States. Gitan notes that they also carry decanters and bottle chillers. (And vases, and candle holders … )

André Mack

Restauranteur André Mack knows that drinkers can always use another wine key. Whether they’re lost, broken, given away, or taken by airport security, it’s always good to have extras. The sommelier and author suggests the key that he collaborated on with a Brooklyn-based design company: “I bought 18 different keys, showed them stuff I loved and didn’t love, and we created this wine key called The Best Wine Key.” For the restaurant side of his business, he added: “One year we gave out those Theragun massagers to everyone — it was a rough season; we worked people hard.”

Ray Isle

Several people we spoke to recommended books. Ray Isle, executive wine editor at Food & Wine, said: “I’m giving people my book! For people who are wine people, I like to give books. I love books. I like pages and covers. I’d also give Jon Bonné’s book, "The New French Wine," if I could afford to give it to people. Henry Jeffreys’s book about English wine is pretty great, too.”

Valerie Kathawala

Writer Valerie Kathawala had another book suggestion. “Wine books make excellent gifts for the nerd in your life. The Oxford Companion to Wine is sine qua non: a brand-new edition truly reflects the world of wine right now.”

She also suggested magazine subscriptions. “I am also a big fan of gifting magazine subscriptions (indie journalism lives!). Some of my favorites are Noble Rot, Full Pour, and one that's extra close to my heart, TRINK.” [Ed. Note: We’ll add an NWR subscription to that excellent list.]

Backing away from books, Kathawala said, “As a lover of all things Alpine and wine, high on my list this year (to give and to get!) is a stunning new map of Europe's highest elevation vineyards.” Of course, you can adapt this one to the favorite regions of your giftee – there are tons of maps on the market for all of the beloved wine regions of the world. 

For those who want to help their loved ones get out there and experience said wine regions, Kathawala added: “If you love experiences more than things, why not find out where the nearest winery making wines that interest you is and gift a day there together with a fellow wine lover? You'll support a local grower, cut product carbon miles, learn a lot, make great memories, and possibly come home with a trunkful of … even more gifts.”

Nick Jackson MW

For a non-wine reading experience, Nick Jackson MW, president of Crescendo Wines, had a broader suggestion: 

“I think in times of global uncertainty, novels and history are great recourse for people to contextualize their own lives and their current situations and to understand human beings have always undergone the same experiences. I could suggest giving War and Peace, but it’s a bit obvious. So I’ll say I’d give A Dance To The Music of Time, the great 12-novel cycle by Anthony Powell covering the lives of the upper-middle class of English society.

It has these wonderful characters spanning decades with the strange coincidences and romances that course through people’s lives almost inexplicably and unintelligibly, but which give shape nonetheless to people’s experiences. The sense that there is some cohesion in our human experience despite the chaos on the surface is a reassuring thing in these times.” 

Though we’re sure Jackson wouldn’t mind you purchasing his own book – Beyond Flavour, a hefty guide to wine tasting – Mack’s book, 99 Bottles, is another solid option. 

Anna McAlbee

Heading back to the home hearth, the holidays are nothing if not a celebration, and what says celebration more than sparkling wine? Anna McAlbee, who works with local drink brands at Le CollectiveM, suggests wines from Sparkling Pointe Winery, a Long Island-based winery that only produces sparkling wine. 

Two unique holiday sparklers: the 2017 Boisseau Blanc de Blancs is a single vineyard, 100% Chardonnay, sourced entirely from a 2.2-acre planting a few miles east of the winery called Boisseau Vineyard. Aged four months in new demi-muid French oak barrels prior to bottling, and a sparkling red, the 2020 Cuvée Carnaval Rouge, with a deep garnet color and frothy pink mousse achieved from a one-week maceration on the skins of the Merlot grapes. 

A holiday party host should always get a bottle for their trouble. She recommends Brut Seduction: "Aging nine years prior to its disgorgement, this expressive sparkler shows a deep gold color with fantastic aromas of lemon custard, cherry, and vanilla. Perfect for the host/hostess who has devoted hours to throwing a holiday party."