OK- I wasn’t going to even do a Holiday gift guide this year, but then I got sucked into the colorful, kitschy world of my beloved Jonathan Adler and I just had to. I was inspired! Here are my top Adler drink related item picks plus the liquid you should gift it with.

What should you put in that Acid Palm Petitpoint flask? Bourbon, of course. It’s my spirit of choice and so very seasonally appropriate. I love me some Bulleit bourbon, but let’s take it up a notch for the Holidays and go with the more subdued, gentlemanly vibe of Basil Hayden’s, shall we?

I have a thing for needlepoint. It probably has something to do with being a total prep and a Kentuckian. Here’s a (more than slightly suggestive) Needlepoint Cocktail Coaster set to the rescue! Give to a friend with a sense of humor and send them straight to Barkeeper in Silverlake with a gift certificate in hand. Booze novices and even the most sophisticated spirit palates will revel in the amazing selection of small batch spirits, abundance of bitters and vintage barware and glassware. If you don’t live in LA, just call Joe at the store and he’ll sort you out.

Let’s call this the “Rip it, Sip it & Maybe Save it For Later” gift set. Brass Muse Opener + a Bottle Stock membership + the Peace Bottle Stopper. Aaaaand, you’re good to go drink. Shameless self promotion alert!

If you missed them the first time around, here’s a walk down Holiday wishlist memory lane: 2010 & 2009.

(photo credit: vintage glasses. all others from respective company’s websites or Brunellos Have More Fun.)

I’ve discovered a wine tote I think is both well designed and functional from Maptote, straight outta Brooklyn. Thanks to Molly! I got this little guy at her wedding in Chicago a few weeks ago and it was filled with all sorts of wedding guest goodies. Other than Bordeaux (not really a huge fan), there’s Rioja, Napa, Sonoma, Tuscany and then some non-wine city totes like Los Angeles and Brooklyn.

So, Maptote- where’s the Loire? Piedmont? Sicily? Those are the ones I want! Until they add to their repertoire, you can get custom orders. Thinking of bringing these into Domaine LA. Would you buy these for yourself or as a gift bag?

Right now, everyone is making gift guides and giving tips on last-minute gift ideas. And I am totally joining in. So, here we go: gifts for the drinker in your life…or for, ahem, me. Moving right along.

The little wine world and oenoblogosphere has been buzzing about Raj Parr and Jordan MacKay’s new book- Secrets of the Sommeliers. Since I follow Raj on Twitter (and steep in jealousy at the amazing wine he gets to open and taste on a daily basis), I know that he definitely has some secrets I want to know about.

The Bitter Truth, founded by two cool German dudes, has some great products- but, their bitters are of course what’s winning them awards.  Their Travel Pack of bitters is a nice entrée into what they have to offer. They will provide for endless in-flight fun or otherwise and are the right size to play and experiment with and later decide which full size one you want to purchase. I have my eye on you Celery and Creole!

The home brewing fad has already hit its heights, but I trust and hope it’s never gonna go out of style. It’s hard to find easy to use and great tasting beer kits, but Brooklyn Brew Shop manages to come to the rescue with their awesome starter brew kit for $40! Pretty good deal in my opinion if you don’t want to fuss with sourcing all the separate needed ingredients and tools on your own. You can choose your “mix” from Everyday IPA and even a Tripel or have fun with Holiday inspired flavor profiles like Honey Sage Seasonal, Chocolate Maple Porter and Gingerbread Ale. Mouth. Watering. Need. Beer.

And then something I certainly can never have enough of- vintage glassware, bar tools and other lovely accessories! Etsy is my number one go-to source for all things unique and affordable.

Like this milk glass punch bowl set! I’m also having a moment with delicate and romantic champagne coupes. Ever since I saw Foodinista’s Marc Jacob for Waterford set (drool!), I decided I seriously need them in my life. There’s also these adorable mini etched cordial glasses. Cute! Need to make your home bar look a little bit more grown up?  How about some crystal liquor bottles. This Hollywood Regency lucite wine rack is lovely to look at and functional and I never knew I needed a wine cradle until now.

Now- get to shopping! And drinking!

ps- did you see my Wino Wish list from last year?

Guess what? I’m sharing some more of the things I’m loving right now. If you didn’t see Part One of My Favorite Things, take a look see. And the “Part Deux” subtitle action? Well- that’s a hint for where I will be jetting off to in a matter of days. More on that later! So, let’s get right into the beauty with some Laguiole.

Man, that’s good lookin’. I’ve had this “sommelier” corkscrew for a few years now and I just adore it. The handle is made of horn and no two are alike (PETA, don’t hate). I don’t use it often as it’s a bit clunky but I sure do gaze at it from time to time. And I bring it out to open wine for guests when I want to look fancy. There, I said it.

I’ve gotten an upgrade. I’ve gone from a 12 bottle mini to a slightly bigger 21 bottle cooler. This baby is a NewAir AW-211ED that I got from Air & Water, Inc. and it features two independently refrigerated chambers with separate temperature controls, so red and whites can be stored simultaneously. I can now release my whites and rosés from the milk and cheese prison of the refrigerator! Hallelujah. What I like about it? Wine is cradled on slide-out, chrome plated shelving and they also provide wood racks if the chrome isn’t your thing or some bottles are too wide to fit in the predetermined “cradle”. And it’s super quiet. What I don’t like about it? It’s not deep enough. It barely contains some of my taller bottles and it definitely won’t hold my Alsatian and Alsatian-style bottles. Je suis desolee, Alsace. PS- My favorite apron just happened to make it in the frame too!

Introducing the sexiest wine pour-er ever in history. The Spanish porrón. This little vessel, typically used in Catalonia (but also all over Spain), is an evolution of the leather bota bag and used so groups of people could share and drink from it together without having to worry about any weird cooties. Check out these fine folks workin’ the pour. If you want to impress a date, learn how to pour wine from this thing straight into your mouth from arm’s length. It’s a thing of epic wine fountain proportions. Get your pour on with a porrón!

Inspiration always strikes in the most unexpected places. Like the back of my closet. Or a cluttered shelf in my kitchen cabinet.

I stumbled upon a scarf. This scarf has been with me for many years, a purchase from a Brooklyn thrift store when I first moved to New York. It’s traveled in suitcases, boxes and bags across the country and back. And there it remains hanging silently on a wooden peg in my Los Angeles closet. Meanwhile in my kitchen- another forgotten gem. This vintage Italian mini ice bucket.

Oh darling, how could I ever forget ye? Such a beauty. I mean who doesn’t need their own personal mini ice carrier. At all times. I picked this up at at vintage shop in Echo Park and have definitely not used it enough. Those two items then lead me to this…

Throw in that bottle of prosecco in my fridge and some fresh juicy raspberries…and we’ve arrived at an Italian Kir Royale. A Cassis Spritz, perhaps?

Muddle some berries with the cassis, add some ice and a healthy dose of prosecco and we’ve created quite a nice aperitivo for ourselves. You can now find me daily on the front porch with the scarf around my neck, a glass of this in one hand and my little ice bucket in the other.

I have been eagerly awaiting this moment….without any further ado…

No- this is not a slightly embarrassing article of my clothing. It is…. the Wine Monkey.

It’s amazing, isn’t it? Well- it can be yours. Leave a comment (tell me what your favorite summer sipper is right now) and I will pick a winner on Friday. If you’re not the lucky lad or lass that gets the goods, you can buy one in Los Angeles at domaineLA!

Over the past 10 years I have moved maybe 20 times. Probably more. The point- I have lived A LOT of places. And packed more times than anyone ever should in a lifetime. Since landing in sunny Cailfornia 3 1/2 years ago, I have been in 4 apartments. Maybe I get bored easily. In any case, wine storage has always been a bit of an issue. Mainly for lack of space, lack of money to invest in any type of cooling system and lack of funds to actually buy enough wine to cellar or store. And I am always moving around and that’s just one more thing to have to move. Lately, I have been acquiring some special bottles that I actually want to keep for a little while. I would also like to protect them- like my children. That’s kind of what they are. My little wine babies.

In the past I have stored my wine in the following places: next to my shoes in a dark corner of a closet, in a dark back cabinet of a kitchen, in the fridge and under a bed. I am kind of still amazed that I waited until now to buy an actual wine cooling unit. Most wine biz people I know have way fancy versions and ones built into the kitchen counter or one that holds 100 bottles or some other such thing. Me? I have a brand new 15 bottle monster! 15! And single temp! I know- it’s not much but it was on MEGA sale at Target (score.) And it has a little light that I can turn as I sit alone in the dark…to stare at my sleeping wine babes.

the entrance into the “wine cave“

OK- so the wine is still in my closet. But it’s a step up, nonetheless.  My drink now whites are in the kitchen fridge. My drink now reds are in that there little cooler with my save for later reds. I have the temp at 57 degrees F so I can get a bottle of drink now red out and have it close to service temp. And it’s not so far above a 55 degree cellar temp that my save for later reds will suffer at all.  So, where do you keep your wine? And at what temp? Inquiring minds would like to know.

I’m a wino and I’ll drink if I want to! And I would prefer to drink out of sculpturally divine glasses, pour from super cool decanters and open bottles with a knuckle ring corkscrew. You heard me. I am making a list and checking it twice, people. I give you (some of) the Brunellos Have More Fun Xmas list…

I would also like this built into the floor of my kitchen…my landlord will thank me later.

And just for kicks….i definitely need this pimped out wine glass/cane to complete my New Year’s Eve look.  2010- watch out!

merci didier.

]]> http://www.brunelloshavemorefun.com/2009/12/wino-wish-list/feed/ 7 http://www.brunelloshavemorefun.com/2009/08/the-glass-menagerie/ http://www.brunelloshavemorefun.com/2009/08/the-glass-menagerie/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:59:47 +0000 whit http://www.brunelloshavemorefun.com/?p=162

Over the years, I’ve amassed quite a collection of wine glasses. It has proved to be very useful as my mood for wine vessels changes all the time. Some evenings, I might like to drink red wine out of a short rocks glass while eating pizza. Or prosecco out of an ornate moroccan cup. Because I spend so many evenings presenting appropriate stemware to guests for their chosen wines, it’s nice to come home and play by my own rules. Which are no rules.

BUT, as I slowly and surely approach “adulthood”, I feel as though I need to commit to a somewhat unified aesthetic. I need a great multi-purpose glass for entertaining. I love a good stemless glass for reds and lambrusco, but don’t know if I could live with stemless for EVERY wine. If I were to go with a set, I always love the elegance of Schott Zweisel. And their Classico line is timeless with a not too tall stem, which is my usual complaint with them. On the more affordable front, Riedel has a line for Target called the Vivant collection. A great starter set for anyone.

So, what style of glass is your jam?