Gifts for wine lovers don’t necessarily come in a bottle
Wine lovers love wine, of course, but you shouldn’t think your gift giving has to be limited to bottles (or boxes, for that matter). There are plenty of wine-related gifts out there, from clever ties to functional barware to must-have corkpulls to hundreds if not thousands of books on all things wine.
• Giving a bottle of Christmas cheer will take on a new twist if you wrap yours in one of Cerebral Itch’s snarky wine labels. Each self-adhesive label carries lines like: “This party better be worth the gas it took to get here,” “Don’t waste this wine on the uncultured palates of the other guests” and “Obligatory hostess gift; we bought it on the way here.”
Interestingly, these jokey labels carry the same serious government health warning about drinking alcoholic beverages that real labels display. Labels are $3.95 each. To order, go to cerebralitch.com.
• Wine and chocolates have long been a classic pairing. Now you can enjoy wine and chocolate together in one bite with the new Sonoma Grower’s Choice of Chocolate & Wine Collection. These chocolate truffles are manufactured by Chocolates a la Carte, makers of Signature Chocolates by Rena, in conjunction with the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.
The chocolates are infused with wine grape flavor. There are four varieties, each named for a specific wine region in Sonoma County: Russian River Pinot Noir, Chalk Hill Chardonnay, Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Knights Valley Merlot. A box of 16 chocolates costs $12.99 at World Market stores or sonomawinegrape.org/winechocolate.

