Holiday wine gift guide 2022

The Wine Curmudgeon's holiday wine gift guide 2022 -- value, value, and more value

Once again this year, the WC received the same sort of news releases for holiday season wine gifts -- lots of overpriced items that hardly anyone actually needs. Yes, that means you, Yeti wine cooler.  Plus, and as always, lots and lots of plugs for the Coravin opener, which begs the question: How many Coravins does one person have to have?

Which doesn't do those of us much good who want quality and value, as well as a gift we’ll enjoy. Which brings us to the blog's 2022 holiday wine gift guide. As always, keep the blog's wine gift buying guidelines in mind:

• Give the gift of the blog, and save the WC from all that Substack subscription advice.  One year of the newsletter at 20 percent off, just $56. Click this link to send a gift subscription. Use the email address of the person getting the subscription where it asks for an email, add a credit card, and they'll get the $10 Hall of Fame, the Cheap Wine of the Year, and all of the rest -- plus the rants and analysis that have made the blog what it is.

• Windows on the World, 35th edition ($21): There are probably a trillion wine books, including mine (which is almost out of print). But the Zraly is almost certainly the best overall look at wine and how to make sense of it. I own a couple of editions, and it has been the textbook for most of the college wine classes I have taught. And if it seems like I recommend it regularly, that's because it's that good.

• The Language of Yes Syrah 2020 ($40, sample, 13.9%) is a collaboration between Randall Grahm, who is about as iconoclast as wine gets, and E&J Gallo, which isn't. Ever. In any way. Hence, it's an interesting and well-made wine that doesn't taste particularly a Randall Grahm wine, and especially a syrah. Remember this? Instead, it's less meaty, but fruitier (black fruits) and more rich. And, because it is what it is, it has received high praise from the Winestream Media. That's something that doesn't always happen with Grahm wines.

• Yes, wine glasses seem sort of cliched -- until yours break and you need new ones And then they're expensive and confusing. But a company called made-in has quality glasses -- four red and four white for $69.

Photo:"More Wine Racks" by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

More holiday wine gift guides:
• Holiday wine gift guide 2021
• Holiday wine gift guide 2020
• Holiday wine gift guide 2019