Top 10 wine (and beer) gifts
Something for everyone
Pemberton Wine Region - Western Australia [©Stormlight Publishing]
Finding the perfect gift for wine lovers is easy in 2009. If you aren't buying him or her a bottle or two of must-have wine, then think book, cellar or VIsitVineyards.com Membership - this year there is a fantastic wine gift selection whcih wil only heat up towards Christmas.
The Australian Wine Encyclopedia
Our pick of the recent wine book crop is James Halliday's The Australian Wine Encyclopedia. This is a long overdue, definitive guide to all things wine in Australia, from someone who has immersed himself in the topic his whole life.
From Abbey Creek Vineyard to zinfandel, James Halliday gives detailed explanations of regions, personalities, grape varieties, winemaking processes and terms used in discussing wines, in the must-have wine book of the year that no dad who takes his Australian wine seriously should be without. Great for expats, recent wine-loving immigrants, winemakers and growers, too.
Links:
- Review of the The Australian Wine Encyclopedia by James Halliday
- Buy The Australian Wine Encyclopedia through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$59.95
Australian Wine Vintages 2010
A totally revised wine-drinker's guide is Master of Wine's Rob Geddes Australian Wine Vintages 2010, more commonly known as The Gold Book. The book has changed significantly under its new authorship and any wine-lover will want one of these new editions.
Once again it's packed with gold - this year there are 94 gold-star winners, including a first for a Tasmanian wine and many others that are sure to get wine buyers' pulses racing »
Australian Wine Companion 2010
Any wine lover worth his or her salt will also be begging for James Halliday's annual softcover update on what's worth drinking in Australia. Combine it with the Gold Book so you can compare scores, team it with the Encyclopedia - or leaf through the pages for ideas on a couple of bottles to buy before you wrap it up.
Links:
- Review of the Australian Wine Companion 2010 by James Halliday
- Buy the Australian Wine Companion 2010 through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$34.95
Buy many of James Halliday's Wine Companion 2010 top-ranking wines at Auscellardoor.com before they sell out - and for every select dozen you will receive a FREE copy of the Australian Wine Companion 2010 (while their stocks last).
Better still, become a VisitVineyards.com Member first and receive 5% off all your purchases at Auscellardoor. (When you join you receive a special purchase code to enter into the Auscellardoor shopping cart and your discount is calculated automatically. Or quote your Membership number when ordering by phone or fax).
Learn How to Taste Wine with the wine mistress Jancis Robinson
More of a wine beginner? Then try this a step-by-step guide that in no way says 'novice'. How to Taste Wine is a hardback revision of a book British wine writer Jancis Robinson wrote 25 years ago, when she was a female pioneer in a male-dominated wine world. The new updated edition will help anyone through the wine basics, how to recognise the most popular grape varieties, to the nuances of Burgundy and Bordeaux, and why you should buy good sparkling wine instead of a lesser Champagne.
Links:
Already a fan of Jancis? Join sommelier Dan Sims and others with a remnant crush on the wine mistress when you sign up a year of her witty wine writing on JancisRobinson.com
- VisitVineyards.com Members and subscribers receive A$40 discount off the annual subscription to the famous Jancis Robinson Purple Pages. It's free to subscribe to VisitVineyards.com so do yourself a favour and sign up today.
Or become a Member of both JancisRobinson.com and VisitVineyards.com and you'll save A$60 on joint Membership - email us direct for details and we'll do it all for you.
The Big Red Wine Book
If you love red wine then The Big Red Wine Book certainly makes choosing great red wine easy. Split into varietal chapters for shiraz, pinot noir, cabernet and blends, and sparkling, with sections for organic and biodynamic. The Italians, Spaniards, merlot and grenache and their blends also share a chapter. Great value reading, especially for those who are serious about their red wine investments.
Links:
- Book review and video - The Big Red Wine Book
- Extract - Top 10 reds under $20
- Buy The Big Red Wine Book through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$24.95
Beer: A Gauge for Enthusiasts
Prefer hops? There are occasions when only a beer will do and in this book you will find a beer for every one of them, from watching the AFL Grand Final or the Bledisloe Cup, through weddings and the cricket to mowing the lawn, a barbecue or eating fish and chips. The beers are arranged in alphabetical order and in sections: standard, premium, diesel, biofuel and ethanol.
Each entry starts with a summary review (they are not all good), followed by alcohol percentage, the good and bad points, and some more technical details like colour, condition and carbonation.
Links:
- Review of Beer: A Gauge for Enthusiasts
- Buy Beer: A Gauge for Enthusiasts through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$29.95
The Beer Bible
Life, according to beer afficiando Willie Simpson, is too short to drink light beer and many would tend to agree. His book The Beer Bible could certainly inspire you to travel to your favourite bottleshop or bar and beyond to discover some local and international beers.
Links:
- Review of The Beer Bible
- Buy The Beer Bible through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$29.95
Fired Up
Australian men in particular take pride in their barbecue skills: their ability to deliver all cuts of meat, including those 'insipid' vegetarian options, perfectly cooked and in syncronisation to their waiting diners. Some even manage to carry it off. Ross Dobson gives men (and women) around Australia some new meals to practice in their outdoor kitchen.
Links:
- Review of Fired Up
- Buy Fired Up through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$39.95
The Heart Foundation BBQ and Grill Cookbook
Look after your heart! Courtesy of accomplished food writer Loukie Werle as a VisitVineyards.com exclusive we get to review the latest cookbook from The Australian Heart Foundation. Yes, you CAN eat healthily and have fun, too (and enjoy a glass or two wine with it as well). It will be out in time for Father's Day.
Links:
- Review of The Heart Foundation's BBQ and Grill Cookbook
- Buy the BBQ and Grill Cookbook for A$24.95 direct from The Heart Foundation, and other titles including the New Classic Cookbook, Real Food and Deliciously Healthy - all profits go to heart research so you can feel virtuous as well.
Good Weekends Away 2009
Good Weekends Away features over 100 short breaks as reviewed by journalists from The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and Good Weekend, so if you're a little stressed, grab this and plan a weekend away.
It's particularly rich in finds in NSW and Victoria. Search for available dates and book them right here on VisitVineyards.com's accommodation section, of course.
Links:
- Review of Good Weekends Away 2009
- Buy Good Weekends Away 2009 through our online book partner, Seekbooks, and receive a 12.5% discount off the RRP of A$29.95
Plan ahead and save - order 2 or more books from Seekbooks; as the postage is calculated at a flat rate, the more you buy at once the more you save. They can be posted to you or a gift recipient anywhere in Australia (or overseas).
Armchair wine travel
If you are more of an armchair traveller you might prefer to take a photographic journey of Pemberton Wine Region Western Australia by local landscape photographer and wine lover Alex Bond. It's a visual treat and explores twelve wineries (and a truffle grower) of this emerging wine region hidden amongst the karri gums in the far SW corner of Australia. If you can't get there this is the next best thing.
We can never stop at 10..... buy or build a cellar
Meanwhile, if you want to know not only how to cellar wine but how to build your own, then Stelzer's slim volume Cellar is not only a bargain at A$16.95 (and 12.5% off that at Seekbooks) but will keep you busy for months.
If you're not a DIY person, and just want somewhere to cellar your wine away from heat, cold, humidity and other wine killers, VisitVineyards.com Members get 20% off all state-of-the-art wine cabinets and 10% off wine racks from Classic Cellars.
Join VisitVineyards.com today and get your entire Membership back (and more) without leaving home.
Don't forget to add wine ...
What use is a good book - or indeed a cellar - without something delicious to drink? Choose one of the fine wines from our Top 10 wines to take to dinner - they taste just as good when relaxing at home....
Buy some wine including many of James Halliday's Wine Companion 2010 top-ranking wines at Auscellardoor.com before they sell out - and for every dozen you will receive a FREE copy of the Australian Wine Companion 2010 (while their stocks last).
Become a VisitVineyards.com Member first and receive 5% off all your purchases at Auscellardoor. (When you join you receive a special purchase code to enter into the Auscellardoor shopping cart and your discount is calculated automatically. Or quote your Membership number when ordering by phone or fax).
And a VisitVineyards.com Membership - extend your gift for a whole year and win Grange!
Make sure you get yourslef or your wine lover a year's VisitVineyards.com Membership - great value for A$99, or a double membership is even better at A$169.
Enjoy year-round exclusive experiences and fantastic offers available to our Members in Australian wine regions (and beyond - we've even got two culinary and wine adventures in India, and more in France and Italy.)
- Go to this link for special Membership rates for members of the Wine Society - and if you join before 30th November you wil receive two entries in the draw to win a bottle of Penfolds Grange 1998.
Want to keep VisitVineyards.com Membership a surprise? Email Kerry our friendly Member Manager with your details and she will arrange your gift Membership card(s) in a beautiful gift card holder that you can personalise, and post them to you or the gift recipient.
Our Recommendations
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Accomplished food author Loukie Werle has written another winning cookbook for The Australian Heart Foundation, the BBQ and Grill Cookbook, so if you're planning ... few barbies, make them healthy ones »
Taking heed of the 'No Leave, No Life' campaign? Then the Good Weekends Away guide could be your starting point »
As the cold closes in and we retreat indoors, we reach for warming, meaty reds to match the winter dishes on our tables. Make your choices with help from the many ... The Big Red Wine Book »
Just in time for a mid-winter party James Halliday's Australian Wine Companion arrives, full of more than 5500 tasting notes and 1661 winery reviews. Twelve pages of the best of the best Australian wines might do.
Happy days for outdoor men await in Ross Dobson's new cookbook, Fired Up. Take the home barbecue to amazing new heights »
Greg Duncan Powell road tests an international beer selection, from the amber fluids of major brewing companies to some of the up and coming microbrewies around Australia.
Willie Simpson thinks that life's too short to drink light beer - find out why in The Beer Bible.
Tutor your nose to detect the subtle aromas in wine and learn to appreciate and enjoy its complexities. VisitVineyards.com subscribers purchasing Le Nez du Vin aroma sets can save up to $110 and get two Essential Wine Tasting Guides for the price of one. Read about the 
Thinking celebration? Then surely thinking Champagne, the wine that's always part of life's most important occasions. And sometimes just for the pure bubbly, enjoyment. Dine and sip with royalty, celebrity at history-making moments with your copy of Champagne and Chandeliers by Bernadette O'Shea. VisitVineyards.com subscribers, you receive a 15 per cent discount on purchase 
Le Figaro calls her "the undisputed mistress of the kingdom of wine". Receive an immediate introductory 
Like to discover more about this state's lifestyle, wine, food and more? Then ask us now for your free copy of Tasmania 40 Degrees South the magazine that showcases the best of Australia's island state. 
In our No 1 Wine Book of 2010, Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein matches distinctive wines with recipes from his favourite chefs in this book focussing on new and emerging grape varietals. VisitVineyards.com subscribers and Members buying this book will receive a 
Eleven days of bright blue skies, sparkling turquoise waters that are warm and inviting, abundant marine life and relaxed, friendly surroundings – tropical holidays with your someone special don't get any better than this. Enter now and you could 