I just got off the phone with a customer who is excited to purchase unique accessories from us to add to her Holiday Wine Gift Basket.  And so, she inspired me to share with our readers some wine gift ideas that will look great in a Wine Gift Basket.

What to Add to a Wine Gift Basket…

Fun Kitchen Towels

Kitchen towels are purposeful and decorative.  It’s a useful gift that can also put a smile on your face.  Especially our fun towels!  You’ll see what I mean when you view our unique collection of dish towels with fun sayings on them.  The featured martini towel to the left says, “Dinner is Served!”

Gift Basket Idea -Use a dish towel as a bottle decoration.  Take a towel and wrap a wine bottle in it with the front of the towel facing out. Then use a ribbon to hold the towel to the bottle.  Finish the tie with a bow.

Coasters with Bling!

Flip Flop Coasters slide on the foot of a stemmed glass.  Each coaster is unique with a different bling design.  They aren’t just drink coasters but wine charms too!   We have the neatest collection of coasters.

A set of four coasters with carrying bag like the featured Hautie Pink Animal Print Flip Flop Coasters is a great gift basket idea for the woman who has everything.

Wine Bottle Candles

Wine Candles are a perfect gift for any occasion.  Once the lucky receiver of your Wine Gift Basket finishes their wine, they can recycle the bottle to create a wine lamp.   There are so many choices for turning a bottle into a wine bottle candle.  You can use pewter bottle wicks that come in pineapple, pine cone, grapes, candlestick and dragon designs.

If you are seeking a wax candle rather than an oil lamp I highly recommend the wine cork candle sets that drip down a bottle.

Wine Preserver

A Wine Preserver is an essential wine accessory that extends the life of an open bottle of wine.

The featured Metrokane V Gauge Wine Preserver comes with a gauge with a needle that shows you when the bottle reaches the necessary vacuum for preserving wine.

This wine gift pays for itself after saving the left overs from a bottle or two of wine.  With this innovative wine preserver you won’t be throwing away any more wine!

Bottle Plates that come Personalized

Bottle Cheese Boards are made from recycled wine barrels.  Our custom melted bottle plates come with designer wine labels that are customized with your family name, varietal, year and message as you can see in the label image of the Your Name Vineyards Chardonnay Flattened Custom Cheeseboard.

These one-of-a-kind bottle bottle plates can be used as cheese platters or hang it on the wall as wine art.

For Holiday Gift Baskets

View this Year’s NEWEST

Holiday Wine Gifts.

First step is finding a white oak barrel.  Our barrels are made from premium quality American White Oak. The staves are air dried for two years and all barrels have a medium char.  We have a variety of small oak barrels that range from 1 to 10 liters.  You’ll find the traditional shaped barrel in addition to the NEW oval barrel design.

How to Use Oak Barrels for Making Wine

No glue or nails are used in the making of our barrels. As such, barrel preperation called “curing” is required prior to use.

Curing a Barrel

This process serves two functions;

• Allows the barrel to swell to prevent leaking, and
• Limits the amount of alcohol absorbed by the barrel

Start by placing the appropriate number of storing tablets in the barrel and filling the barrel with boiling or hot water.  Allow it to soak for 3 to 5 days.  Water may leak from between the staves or at the barrel head seam.  This is normal and will stop within 24 hours as the wood swells.

Barrels that do not leak should still be cured for 3 to 5 days.  This will minimize the amount of alcohol absorbed by the barrel staves.

After curing the barrel, empty the solution and rinse with hot water 3 times.

And there you have it!  You very own barrel is ready to age wine.

Important to remember: To prevent the barrel from drying out and minimize the possibility of contamination, barrels should always be stored full with spirits or sterilizing solution.  With proper care, you can use your barrel for 8 to 10 years. Following the cleaning and re-charing instructions (that come with barrel) will insure a long life for your product and be sure to not let your barrel dry out.

Liquor was getting  jealous of the Vinturi Red Wine Aerator‘s ability to drastically improve the aroma and flavor of wine.  So, the innovative Vinturi wizards created another magical instant decanter called the….

Vinturi Spirit Aerator

Brand NEW liquor aerator!   Be the first to own a Spirit Aerator that lets you measure an ounce pour and aerate at the same time!  Similar to wine, liquor has many flavors that are enhanced if oxygenated.

The more you appreciate fine spirits, the more you’ll appreciate the difference in taste.  The NEW Vinturi Spirit Aerator significantly improves the taste of spirits-INSTANTLY.  Unlike the Vinturi Wine Aerator, the Spirit Aerator includes a built-in jigger with volume markers and push-button flow control.

What Can I Use The Vinturi Spirit Aerator on?

Scotch, Cognac, Port, Tequila, Whiskey, Bourbon, Vodka, Gin, Rum, Brandy, Sake, and Liquors.

Spirit Aerator Features:

• No-drip stand
• Acrylic Aerator
• Both are are dishwasher safe
• Integrated measuring jigger