Wine lovers/geeks/aficionados are easy to buy for. It's a rare one who has everything, and if there's one on your list who has, buy him or her another one of something. Here are just a few ideas.
First, corkscrews. They're still necessary, even though screwcaps are catching on and the LCBO is determined to stock a bigger range of wines in brick-box format.
I'm amazed at the number of people who still struggle with poorly designed corkscrews that sometimes force them to anchor the bottle between their thighs, knees or ankles (sometimes all three in succession) and risk a coronary trying to get at the wine. What you want is a simple corkscrew with a double hinge. You screw the worm (the curly bit) into the cork, pull the cork part-way out using the foot at the hinge, then pull it the rest of the way using the other. It requires little muscle power. They cost between $12 and $15, and anyone who's likely to uncork a bottle of wine should have one.
You don't need a corkscrew for sparkling wine, of course, but many people would appreciate a sparkling wine closure. It provides a gas-tight seal and helps retain the bubbles in a half-finished bottle. Put it in the fridge and you're good for three or four days. They cost about $3, and they're a good idea if you're giving a bottle of sparkling wine as a present.
Then there are decanters. You don't have to be serving great, expensive wine to decant it. Almost all wine benefits from decanting, even if you do it just before you serve it, because just pouring it from the bottle into the decanter aerates it and opens up the aromas and flavours. Forget opening a bottle of wine an hour or two before serving to let it "breathe." Decant the wine. All "breathing" does is aerate the surface of the wine in the neck of the bottle, and that's the surface area of a dime.
Look for a decanter with a wide base, so that when you pour in a bottle of wine, the wine is shallow but has a broad surface area. Most wines taste better when they're decanted, and a decanter needn't cost a lot. There are good glass decanters from $10 to $20.
Finally, there is a huge range of books: wine guides, introductions to wine, books on wine regions, books with dense words and books with beautiful pictures. If you're looking for a gift for someone who agonizes about food and wine matching, a new book by Shari Darling might be just the thing: Harmony on the Palate: Matching Simple Recipes to Everyday Wine Styles (Whitecap Books, 192 pages, $29.95). It sets everything out very clearly without dumbing it down.
Where to buy wine stuff? Department stores and kitchen stores have varied selections, but the widest range is still at C.A. Paradis Ltd., 1314 Bank St.
As a last resort, of course, you can always buy wine.
Four well-priced wines today: three from France and one from Australia.