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Published on December 23, 2007

Your consternation likely comes from your perception that the recipient has a connoisseur's taste while you have only a beer budget. The solution is simply to avoid the liquidity problem by buying something other than liquid for that special wine lover.

Here are some suggestions that will be appreciated far longer than the last drop from a respectable bottle of wine and give you plenty of leeway on price.

Wine paraphernalia, meaning everything from handy pocket corkscrews and bottle stoppers to crystal carafes, are always appreciated by wine collectors and put to good use. While most of the big department stores have a selection of suitable openers and glassware, you may get more advice and find a better selection at speciality wine shops.

At Silom Cellar on the second floor of Bangkok's Silom Complex, you can find the famous Rabbit line of wine openers. These are made to last a lifetime and - while not cheap, starting at about Bt3,000 - they're appreciated by all wine lovers. Cheaper knockoffs starting at about Bt1,000 also get the job done efficiently, but perhaps without the durability of Rabbit.

Wine Connection shops have a line of pocket openers in attractive boxes, some with pour spouts (handier than you might think) and stoppers, under the Pulltex brand that are good quality, ranging from Bt300 up.  

Quality glassware is always appreciated, with Riedel, Schott-Zwiesel and Mikasa among the best choices. Most small shops carry fine crystal, including Italasia's retail wine centre in All Seasons Place.

Long-stemmed glassware is beautiful on the table but a nightmare to clean without breaking. Stems of about three and a half inches with tulip- or chimney-shaped bowls are perfect for all purposes.

Books are another gift option. They range from the very basic ABCs of wine to reference tomes cataloguing nearly everything that's happened in the 7,000-year history of winemaking. Kinokuniya and the larger Asia Books stores stocked the following in the past week.

Arguably the best beginner's book is Kevin Zraly's 2008 edition of "Windows on the World Complete Wine Course" at Bt770. A bit more technical, but with good information on pairing wine with food, is "Wine Essentials" from the staff of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris at Bt990.

An excellent overview of the world's winemaking regions, with great maps and descriptions, is "The World Atlas of Wine" by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson. The sixth edition costs Bt2,500.

For ratings of 40,000 wines, try Wine Enthusiast magazine's "Essential Buying Guide 2008" for Bt1,200. And Hugh Johnson's 2008 Pocket Wine Book at Bt700 and Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2008 at Bt600 are real budget pleasers and very useful.

Happy shopping!

JC Eversole is a consultant to various companies in the wine industry and is employed by Bangkok Beer & Beverages Co.