Wine Gifts for all Occasions

Tuesday, 26 November, 2013
Wine Spectator
A range of gifts, including fun new wineglasses, for every wine lover, from stocking stuffers to big-ticket keepsakes
Lockey Bottle Lock ($20; lockeyusa.com)
This is too good to be true: a lock to keep people out of an open bottle. Though we suspect it will be given in jest to especially stingy wine lovers, it's a fully functional piece of equipment. And it was not made by a gag shop or a wine accessories company, but Lockey, a Michigan-based lock manufacturer.

Operation is simple: Turn the lock to a four-digit combination, insert it into the bottle and hold the base while turning the top. This causes a rubber gasket to expand in the neck. Keep turning until it seals. Scramble the combination, and your wine is secure. Just don't forget the code—it's not like your open bottle is something you can stand to lose, like your gym clothes or a bicycle. To make things easier for you, we suggest 1-8-5-5.—Owen Dugan

Thomas Sandell coasters by Georg Jensen ($75 for four, georgjensen.com)
Coasters have a simple job: They protect a tablecloth from wine stains. Because they are simple objects, they tended to be decorated ornately—a turned wooden base might have a filigreed wall around it, for example.

More modern and youthful are the Thomas Sandell coasters by Georg Jensen. The high-gloss steel looks formal and polished, and a simple thumb grip is functional, but the real beauty in them is that they celebrate simplicity in form and function.—O.D.

Laguiole Champagne saber ($300, williams-sonoma.com)
Whisking the edge of a knife or sword up the neck of a Champagne bottle to pop the cork off has been one of wine's great flourishes of service for centuries. Even today, there are few greater wine party tricks than sabering a bottle—and few more embarrassing party fouls, as a quick YouTube search of "Champagne saber fail" will show. That's why while some people, like G.H. Mumm's chef de cave Didier Mariotti, can "saber" with as little as the base of a Champagne flute, the novice sabreur needs his trusty sword. For that, try the 10.5-inch blade of the Laguiole Champagne saber (also works on other sparkling wines, if you must). Each saber is fashioned by a single master cutler in France's famed Laguiole region. The blade is made to get wet—corrosion-resistant Sandvik stainless steel—as is the water-resistant handle, carved from zebu horn. With a blunt edge, this sword is only intended for sabrage and unfit for battle, but as always, be careful where you aim that cork. You wouldn't want to lose out on a gift like this because Santa thinks you'll shoot your eye out.—Ben O'Donnell

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