Gift ideas....

So I need gift ideas for an aspiring wine snob. He has a nice decanter that he doesn't use. Riedel stem ware. A wine fridge (that happens to be full).

I would appreciate any ideas!

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That's a really good idea. I think I might just do that. Thanks!

Since I know the geek in question, does he have a copy of The Oxford Companion to Wine? It would be really appropriate and expand his knowledge. If you purchase it from the link on Wine Lovers Page, a small sum will be donated to keeping this place going.

Or a copy of Robin's The 30 Second Wine Advisor: Learn about wine in 30-second tastes -- quick, easy & fun.

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

Stuart, the one you had with me was 'homemade' by our hospitality person and all around off-the-grid moutain girl, Colleen, up at Bonterra. She makes them up as needed, with about 12-18 different aroma essences.

But there is a commercial one (not as good as ours, but there you go). It's called Le Nez. The primary one is huge, with lots of little vials (some of them vile) and imo its way overpriced. But I believe there are smaller versions.

But Liz might want to call the Society of Wine Educators (http://www.societyofwineeducators.org). They had---and I think still have---available a kit created by a very good perfume master in New York. I've been through one of his seminars, and he does a good job with the essences. Call 202-408-8777.

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

The Wine Enthusiast sells something like this on their website. I never tried one since I find it so much more satisfying to sniff the real thing.

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

The Wine Enthusiast sells something like this on their website. I never tried one since I find it so much more satisfying to sniff the real thing.

Er, Doug....they're not in lieu of the real thing, dude.

It can be interesting to take a base wine and "doctor" it up with a bit of an isolated essence and then have people try to identify what that is. It can be surprisingly difficult to pick out and identify (rather, it's easy to pick them out, difficult to successfully identify, even with some very basic, very common aromas). We generally do this with a red base and a white base, and then selectively doctor with aromas that are commonly identified with particular varieties.

But the first thing we tell the participants is "Don't drink this wine!"

Hi Liz,

How about a Laguiole corkscrew? Most wine geeks I know would really appreciate one of those.

I like Dave's idea. Another idea, if you can find one, is some sort of cool antique corkscrew.

How about a magnetic wine aging device?

How about a magnetic wine aging device?

Neil, I heard that our resident scientist, Stuart Yaniger, experimented with those things...only he turned them around backwards to reverse the polarization, and then carried one around in his front pants pockets for several days.

Sadly, I heard the experiment did not produce the expected results. So it's just the same old thing...

But, boy, can I hit those high notes now!

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

Stuart, the one you had with me was 'homemade' by our hospitality person and all around off-the-grid moutain girl, Colleen, up at Bonterra. She makes them up as needed, with about 12-18 different aroma essences.

But there is a commercial one (not as good as ours, but there you go). It's called Le Nez. The primary one is huge, with lots of little vials (some of them vile) and imo its way overpriced. But I believe there are smaller versions.

But Liz might want to call the Society of Wine Educators (http://www.societyofwineeducators.org). They had---and I think still have---available a kit created by a very good perfume master in New York. I've been through one of his seminars, and he does a good job with the essences. Call 202-408-8777.

When I first open the wine in our kitchen and my wife and I are still sniffing, she will often dig through her spice cupboard to confirm something she has smelled on the nose.

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

Stuart, the one you had with me was 'homemade' by our hospitality person and all around off-the-grid moutain girl, Colleen, up at Bonterra. She makes them up as needed, with about 12-18 different aroma essences.

But there is a commercial one (not as good as ours, but there you go). It's called Le Nez. The primary one is huge, with lots of little vials (some of them vile) and imo its way overpriced. But I believe there are smaller versions.

But Liz might want to call the Society of Wine Educators (http://www.societyofwineeducators.org). They had---and I think still have---available a kit created by a very good perfume master in New York. I've been through one of his seminars, and he does a good job with the essences. Call 202-408-8777.

When I first open the wine in our kitchen and my wife and I are still sniffing, she will often dig through her spice cupboard to confirm something she has smelled on the nose.

And that's part of why she smells better than you, Bruce.

Seriously, women are generally more attuned to aromas than us lowly men. And they generally pay more attention to that element, and consequently remember that element in their wine sensory banks.

I think a part of that is biological and part is conditioning. The biolgoical part would be the sensitivity to baby smells; the conditioning part would be the historical involvement with food ("Hmm. This smells bad" May be spoiled. Or even " If I put these herbs in they'll like my stew."), as well as cosmetics and perfumes.

sigh Just another advantage women have over us males. Thank god for upper body strength and cluelessness on our side. It's pretty much all we've got left.

The idea of the collection of aromas from a perfume maker reminds me of our visit to Galimard in Grasse where we concocted our own perfume or cologne with the help of a "nose." We each had about sixty or seventy perfume scents from which to draw.
Also, on an Antiques Roadshow I saw recently, they appraised an antique kit for a medical school with dozens of tins of sample medicines (early 20th century I believe--maybe even from the 19th century.) All but three tins still had
contents. One that was empty had formerly held Cannabis. (The man that brought in the kit for appraisal said his brother got hold of that one.)

I can't remember who makes it, but there was a kit of aroma essences (little glass vials) that you could use to spike wine. The idea was to learn what the aromas were, become more accurate in aroma descriptions, and see how different aromas react. I tried it at a seminar and thought is was very educational.

Maybe one of the geeks in the Wine Forum would know the name and source? I bet Hoke in particular would know (I ran into this kit at a seminar he was hosting), so you might drop him a PM if this is appealing.

The Wine Enthusiast sells something like this on their website. I never tried one since I find it so much more satisfying to sniff the real thing.

The commercial one is Le Nez du Vin by Jean Lenoir and is available in the US through Make Scents of Wine in many different forms. I agree that it's a very educational tool for the aspiring winegeek and also that it's overpriced -- but I know folks in the flavors and fragrances industry. The other suggestion I had was a Laguiole corkscrew, but I see that that's been covered, too.

Mark Lipton

OK, I confess that I'm on this list, but I thought the Enobytes blog did a really interesting run down of unusual gifts for the wine lover at all prices.

Nice suggestions, Wink.

...I'll send you all my corks and he can build a house.