2012 Holiday Gift Guide

Since simplicity equals elegance, let's look at some useful, perhaps conservative, gift ideas for wine drinkers that, if well cared for, should last them a lifetime. 

Despite the global move toward screwcaps, you still need a decent corkscrew to open cork-finished wines.

An easy opener for all ages is Le Creuset Pocket Model Screwpull, $25. It has a compact, convenient design, including a long, sharp Teflon worm, and features a revolving handle that turns effortlessly with just one finger. You simply re-grip the cork after extraction and reverse the screw to remove the cork and you are done. You can find the Pocket Model in most wine shops. My online source at $25 is www.thebay.com Once the bottle is open, you can decant or aerate with a glass decanter, or if you are in a big hurry, you can use one of the many aerators on the market. Both devices achieve similar goals, i.e., getting air into young wine so it might better express itself in the glass.

The Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator for Red Wine is my choice. Using the Bernoulli principle, the Vinturi speeds up the aging process. All you do is hold the aerator over a glass and pour wine through it for instant aeration. The aerator comes with a no-drip stand and can be found in wine shops or online from $25 to $40. My source was www.amazon.ca, $36.44.

I'm more of decanter fan - less mess and it adds a nice touch to the dinner table. Again, I can't oversell plain and useful. Those four-foot glass tube decanters look sensational in restaurants but pouring them is a real art and cleaning them is the proverbial pain in the rear end. My choice is the Riedel Merlot Decanter, $30, available everywhere wine is sold. It couldn't be any easier to hold or pour and it's relatively easy to clean.

If you want something a bit more unusual and you have the budget, look at the Spiegelau Loop Clear Decanter, $160. The hole in the middle of the decanter makes it easy to grab and its dual chutes of glass that reunite at the spout ensure plenty of air gets into the wine. Both of these decanters can be found online at www.thebay.com.

Now all you need are proper glasses. My choice for everyday use is the Riedel Ouverture Red Wine Glass, $12. The glass is lead-free and dishwasher-safe. Its thin rim is cut and polished to Riedel's exacting standards, allowing the wine to flow easily onto the palate. Prices vary according to the seller but you can find these glasses all over the province.

All you need now is some wine to complete your gift, so check out today's picks.

Stags' Leap Petite Syrah 2009, Napa Valley, California

Price $47 | Score 91/100

UPC 00089819045853

The Stags' Leap Petite Syrah comes from a handful of very old vines on the estate and from other sites in the north and south of Napa Valley. The attack is rich and intense with complex aromas and flavours that mix black pepper, raspberries and chocolate. There is sufficient acidity to keep the wine fresh and linear, with a sweeter finish flecked with vanilla and brown sugar. Winemaker Christophe Paubert also uses a small but varying mix of Syrah, Grenache and mourvèdre to add complexity and balance to the blend. A super wine that is always outstanding when served with lamb.

Pedestal Merlot 2008, Columbia Valley, Washington

Price $56 | Score 92/100

UPC 808755003853

The Long Shadows Michel Rolland Merlot label, Pedestal, is in essence a blend of Merlot (81), Cabernet Sauvignon (12), Cabernet Franc (4) and petit verdot (3) and production is just over 2,000 cases. Rolland's style is always generous and is perhaps amped up by the warm Washington weather. Look for rich black fruits, plums, plenty of oak mocha, coffee and bitter chocolate notes. Always textured and layered, it has enough balance to let the fruit shine through the finish. A large a part of the fruit is grown on or near Red Mountain. This will be a very fine bottle in six to 10 years; if you must serve it now try it with roast beef.

Mission Hill Compendium 2009, Osoyoos, Okanagan Valley, B.C.

Price $50 | Score 91/100

UPC 776545555717

The latest Compendium blend is 40/35/20/5 mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and petit verdot. The grapes come off specific blocks in Oliver and Osoyoos and end up in 100 per cent French oak for 14 months. The nose is remarkably floral, with a strong sense of minerality and a hint of seashore. The attack is sleek and sophisticated. The tannins are small, firm and chalky; the flavour profile is very Bordelais, with tobacco and black olive savoury notes throughout. An impressive young red wine.

Paul Hobbs Chardonnay 2009, Russian River, Sonoma County, California

Price $57 | Score 92/100

UPC 897941000158

Paul Hobbs knows California Chardonnay and this is a perfect expression of the Russian River. The nose is expressive, even exuberant, with citrus fruits and warm, floral, exotic notes of orange and spicy lees with just the right amount of oak to support the rich fruit. Fine complexity. Hobbs seems to be heading down the less extracted route with this wine and we applaud that tack. The attack is fresh and vibrant with pear and green apple fruit flecked with honey, clove and hazelnut flavours. Fine elegance -- and food-friendly too. Try this with lobster or crab.

Catena Alta Malbec 2009, Mendoza, Argentina

Price $54 | Score 93/100

UPC 89046444061

The Alta malbec is a mix of fruit grown at four separate high-altitude vineyards that, because of ideal weather conditions in February, March, April and May 2009, were each harvested four different times. It's a method used to pluck "aromatics (early harvest), fine tannins and mid palate (mid harvest), concentration of ripe tannins (late harvest)." Look for an intense colour that previews the classic, brooding malbec nose, and flavours stuffed with savoury black fruit and minerals mixed with licorice and vanilla. The textures are round and soft but with fine underlying power that suggests a decade of aging would be well rewarded. If you must try it now a T-Bone steak would be the required dish to tame the wild, youthful bits of this blockbuster red.

Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Rouge Mourvèdre 2010, Rhone Valley, France

Price $92.00 | Score 95/100

UPC 6331350072101

There is Chateauneuf and then there is Beaucastel. Surely one of the Top 10 out of hundreds bottles made in the region. A great vintage demands time but the balance and freshness of this wine suggests it will be drinking well throughout its long life. The fruit is organic and in 2010 pristine. The mix is classic Perrin 30/30/10/10/ Grenache, mourvèdre, Syrah and counoise, and the balance is spread across the remaining nine permitted varieties. Rich in aromas of blueberries and cassis jam, with plenty of licorice and meaty notes but with no baked fruit or over sweetness. More than anything, this young wine displays the finesse and a floral savoury character that will help this age for two decades. A superb bottle and one for the ages from Perrin.