The Best Gifts for Wine Lovers in the UK

For most people the best gift is a set of good varietal glasses: our top pick, Riedel's Vinum range (around £59 for two), is a near-universal upgrade that a wine lover will actually use every week, and the brand is recognised at every level. If your budget stretches and you want a show-stopper, a Coravin Pivot (around £180) is the standout premium gift - it lets them pour a glass and keep the rest of the bottle fresh for weeks, something no glass can do. The only thing to check first is whether they already own it.

You can give something genuinely useful across a wide range. Around £50 covers an aerating carafe like the Audo/Menu Wine Breather; roughly £59 buys a quality pair of Riedel Vinum glasses; about £85 gets a Le Creuset lever corkscrew that lasts years; and around £180 puts a Coravin Pivot preservation system in reach. A Naked Wines gift card lets you set any amount from £20 up if you want to spend less or keep it flexible. All these figures are indicative and change often, so confirm the current price before buying.

Buy an experience or a consumable rather than another gadget. A Coravin Pivot changes how they drink day to day and is unlikely to be something they've bought themselves, while a Naked Wines gift card sidesteps duplication entirely by letting them choose wines - ideally small-producer bottles they might not otherwise try. If they collect glassware, a single varietal of Riedel Vinum they don't yet own (say Pinot Noir if they mostly have Bordeaux glasses) is a safe, thoughtful top-up.

For a wine lover, generally yes. Riedel's Vinum glasses use bowl shapes tuned to specific grape varieties, and both the maker and many reviewers credit that design with improving how aroma and flavour come through compared with a generic glass. They're machine-blown lead-free crystal that's dishwasher-safe, so more durable than delicate hand-blown rivals, and at around £59 a pair they feel like a considered gift without the fragility or cost of top-end stemware. The main caveat is duplication - keen wine drinkers often already own a set, so it's worth checking or choosing a varietal they lack.