The Vinous 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

BY ANTONIO GALLONI | DECEMBER 07, 2021

With the holidays fast approaching, Vinous has you covered for that perfect gift for the wine lover in your life. You will find plenty of ideas in this curated list of the season's most intriguing books, glassware, openers, maps and more.

Zwiesel - Sensory Glass

Roberto Conterno has established himself as more than just an elite winemaker. In just over a dozen years, he has expanded his family's estate in Serralunga by adding significant holdings in the Cerretta and Arione crus. He then purchased the historic Nervi winery in Gattinara and gave it a huge face lift, which includes a new restaurant. He has done all of that while also raising the quality of all his wines. Along the way, Conterno also found time to create the Sensory Glass in collaboration with his son, Gabriele, a trained engineer who took his father's designs and created the first computer models for a glass that has quickly become a favorite of those in the know. I have mostly used the Sensory Glass with Piedmont reds and Burgundy reds and whites, and have found it to really accent a wine’s aromatic presence and persistence. The Sensory Glass makes for a great splurge this holiday season. ($99).

For the past six years I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Alessandro Masnaghetti on a number of projects. During that time, I have seen his attention to detail first-hand, on a nearly daily basis. What Alessandro has done for Barolo and Barbaresco in mapping the vineyards and geologies and collecting all sorts of historical data is truly groundbreaking work that forms the core of what will one day be regarded as one of the most important legacies in wine. The significance of his contributions to our field can't possibly be overstated. 

Barolo MGA Vol. II by Alessandro Masnaghetti - Includes a Free Annual Subscription to Barolo 360

Barolo, with its ability to produce complex, multi-dimensional, ageworthy reds, is one of the world’s most fascinating wine regions. For years, Alessandro Masnaghetti has enchanted us with breathtaking books and maps that explore the vineyards of Barolo to a degree that has never been possible before. But one piece of the puzzle in understanding Barolo has long been missing: a thorough study of its geology and soils. Leave it to Masnaghetti to shed light into this complex and fascinating subject in Vol. 2. I can’t recommend the Second Volume of Barolo MGA enough. It is absolutely essential for anyone who wants to discover all the nuances that make Barolo and its wines so special. Purchase of the book includes a free annual subscription to Masnaghetti's site, Barolo 360. ($90; 55€)

Barbaresco MGA, 2nd Edition The Encylcopedia of the Great Vineyards of Barbaresco by Alessandro Masnaghetti

Alessandro Masnaghetti takes the same approach he has used with Barolo and applies it to Barbaresco, its vineyards, producers and wines, shedding light on this endlessly complex and fascinating region. Barbaresco MGA is must-have book for all Piedmont aficionados.($90; 50€)

VineMeUp: An Activity Book Celebrating The Melanated Wine Enthusiast

Sarita Cheaves is one of the most dynamic figures in wine today. She co-hosts the popular wine podcast The Swirl Suite and also recently published her book, VineMeUp: An Activity Book Celebrating The Melanated Wine Enthusiast, a collection of crossword puzzles and word finds. Cheaves conceived the book during the lockdown, after she had completed all of her usual crossword puzzles and found there were no equivalents in wine. A single page quickly became many pages and then a full-fledged book. VineMeUp is fun and entertaining, for both experienced oenophiles and those who are just beginning to explore wine. Sarita Cheaves is one of the recipients of the Vinous BIPOC Mentorship. ($25)

Coravin Sparkling

What to do with that unfinished bottle? Should I open something? But I only feel like having one glass of wine tonight. These are dilemmas that have long frustrated the wine loving consumer. Coravin founder and inventor Greg Lambrecht solved the problem for still wines with his revolutionary Coravin wine preservation system years ago. But what about Champagne and other sparkling wines? Well, Lambrecht and Coravin are back with a new creation that takes care of that too. Coravin Sparkling gives wine lovers an invaluable tool for opening a bottle of sparkling wine tonight and finishing the rest over the next weekend, or at any time over the following few weeks. It's another game-changing concept from Greg Lambrecht and Coravin. ($399)

Vinous Napa Valley Vineyard Maps 

Created in collaboration with renowned Italian cartographer Alessandro Masnaghetti, Vinous’s Napa Valley Vineyard Maps are the most detailed vineyard maps that have ever been produced in the history of Napa Valley. The Collection presently includes seven maps: St. Helena & Conn Valley (poster format only), Oakville, Pritchard Hill, Rutherford, Stags Leap, Howell Mountain (poster format only) and Yountville. Vinous Maps are available in a handy, folded format, full-size poster format suitable for framing and special autographed Collectors’ Edition. ($25/folded map, $50/rolled map)

The Durand Corkscrew

The Durand Corkscrew is a must-have for wine lovers who enjoy opening older bottles. Two blades work alongside a conventional corkscrew to extract even the most fragile, brittle corks with ease. Quite simply, the Durand is an essential tool for the serious wine lover and collector. ($125).

Vinous Classic Gift Subscription

Give the gift of (wine) knowledge this holiday season with a Classic subscription to Vinous. Our team of critics spends months of the year on the road to bring Vinous readers the most up to date and in-depth insight into the world's major wine regions. Just as Vinous is the go-to destination for wine enthusiasts around the world, a Vinous gift subscription can make it become so for the wine lover in your life. A Classic subscription gives full access to the Vinous website and the apps, where you can look up reviews on the go. And if you use any of these services, you can also link your account to Delectable, CellarTracker and WineOwners. Give the gift of Vinous, and we will extend your own subscription by 3 months (offer ending January 6th, 2022). Tip: the gift subscription email is sent immediately to the recipient. You can send the email to yourself to get the gift link that you can pass on whenever you like. ($140).

For more gift ideas be sure to take a look at previous editions of our Gift Guide.