Three Great Gifts for Wine Lovers
Pulltex wine key (the waiter’s friend). $23.10 on Amazon
Wine Folly Magnum Edition. $16.54 on Amazon
Zalto Bordeaux glasses (pair). $176 on Amazon (.de)
Introduction
Shopping for people at the holidays can be challenging, especially for those who seem to have everything. If you have a family member or friend who loves wine, but you don’t know much about wine yourself, then consider these three gifts this holiday season. I personally own all three of these items and I use them regularly. They’re great for people who simply enjoy wine, as well as for serious wine geeks.
Gift 1: Pulltex Corkscrew - the Waiter’s Friend
I personally use Pulltex wine openers and I often give them as gifts. I encountered my first Pulltex opener several years ago while touring Bordeaux vineyards. I was immediately impressed by the simplicity and ease in opening bottles thanks to Pulltex’s patented “ClickCut” technology, and these are the openers I order and gift.
Pulltex History
Pulltex is a Spanish company founded in Barcelona in 1985. The company, initially called TEX, manufactured measuring instruments for industrial refrigeration and heating equipment, but it expanded to making wine thermometers. This eventually led to the manufacture of other accessories related to the world of wine, such as alcoholimeters, distillers, stoppers, corkscrews.
Technology
Pulltex is a company that constantly innovates. They are engineers at heart. They work closely with suppliers, partners, and consumers to identify how to make existing products better, but also to invent new product lines.
Pulltex created one of the first “double-pull” corkscrews - the Pulltap - but I personally prefer a more recent innovation: the ClickCut. It has a small retractable button that supports the second pull. The ClickCut corkscrew was awarded with the 1st Prize at the Gevrey-Chambertin corkscrews contest. It works effortlessly on all varieties of corks, even the longest ones.
Preferred by Sommeliers
If you’ve even had a friend or family member struggle to open a bottle of wine, please give them a Pulltex ClickCut opener. It is a sommelier’s best friend, and I guarantee when you’re out at a nice restaurant in the future you’ll notice that these openers are the preferred choice of many somms.
I am partial to the Monza style below - something about the carbon fiber exterior and Ferrari red interior. Don’t you just want to open a bottle of Barolo?
Please note that Eat Drink Fun is a member of Amazon’s affiliate program. We will receive a small commission when you use the links in this article. Same price for you. A warm thank you from us.
Gift 2: A Copy of Wine Folly, Magnum Edition
Certain books are required reading for anyone studying for a wine certification exam. Wine Folly is one such book. Again, I personally own two copies, the original and the more recent hardcover Magnum Edition, and it is a resource I continue to use today.
Wine Folly’s History
Wine Folly launched in 2011 in Seattle, Washington. It was created by Justin Hammack, Madeline Puckette, and Chad Wasser.
In 2015, they launched their first book, Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine. It became a New York Times bestseller.
In 2018, Wine Folly launched its second book, Wine Folly: Magnum Edition, The Master Guide, which won the James Beard award.
In 2019, Wine Folly merged with Global Wine Database to help improve wine information worldwide. The parent company is now Folly Enterprises.
In 2021, Wine Folly started publishing Region Guides, which combine the simplicity and fun of Wine Folly and the depth of data from Global Wine Database. (source)
Great For Curious Beginners and Those Who Study Wine
I find Wine Folly’s online content essential for looking up core facts and information about different grape varieties and regions. Wine is a beautiful thing to study because no person can ever know everything, so you are constantly learning. And as you learn new things old facts and concepts become stale. That’s where Wine Folly saves the day. They present material with excellent graphics and visualizations that stick in your mind, or at least trigger recognition when you see them again.
The book is an excellent resource that I consult even when my computer is nearby. The content is unique and well organized. If you know someone who is wine curious, or interested in becoming more knowledgeable about wine, I can’t recommend this book enough.
“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.”
Gift 3: Zalto Wine Glasses
If you want to give a very special gift that a serious wine lover will deeply appreciate, consider giving Zalto wine glasses. In the industry, Zalto is regarded as one of the best, if not THE best, manufacturers of wine glasses. A person knowledgeable about wine will understand what you are giving them.
Prized by Fine Restaurants
True story, restaurants reserve their Zalto glasses for customers who order the nicest wines on the list. These Zalto glasses are expensive, and breakage is common in the restaurant industry. Usually, the larger the restaurant, the greater the amount of glass breakage. Consequently, beverage directors advise their sommelier staff and servers to use these Zalto glasses sparingly.
This is not to diminish the elegance and quality of other fine glassmakers, but it’s undeniable that the Zaltos are often reserved for special occasions and guests.
Tradition, Perfection, and the Human Element
Based in Austria’s Waldviertel (Forest Quarter), a centuries-old region famous for high quality crystal glass production, Zalto prides itself on making hand-made, mouth blown wine glasses and decanters. They insist that the mouth-blown bowl creates a larger surface area that cannot be imitated by machines, even today. Moreover, their website states that the “human component is by far the most important factor. Every part of the glass is made by hand with the help of the simplest tools, with a perfectly coordinated team of eight people dividing the various stages of work. With the exception of the bowl, which is blown into a mold, the glasses are created free-hand using the trained eye of the glassblower. Only the best master glassmakers in the world can produce glasses of this quality and level of execution.” (source)
“Zalto glasses are the thinnest and most delicate glasses I have come across, yet seem springy and almost elastic in the hand ... and would give any serious wine lover a real thrill over the closeness of contact they offer.””
CONCLUSION
In summary, these are three gifts that any wine lover will appreciate. I have used, and continue to enjoy, all three of these items, and I have gifted them to others on various occasions. If you would like to learn more about wine glasses, please check out the Eat Drink Fun Podcast episode with Maximilian Riedel or Riedel Crystal (Blog / YouTube / Apple Podcasts / Spotify).
