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Top 10 Last-Minute Gifts=20 Great Wine and Gifts=20 Wine Team Picks=20 Champagne with Popcorn, Potato Chips ... and More=20 Top 10 Last-Minute Gifts 'Tis the season of mounting panic, as time for holiday shopping grows=20 short. But chill! Because of a special Claus in our shipping=20 contract, wine.com can still deliver all manner of goods before=20 C-Day. For example:=20 1. Gift Certificates -- There is no better (or easier) gift option=20 than a wine.com gift certificate. Choose from either our electronic=20 or traditional gift certificates in a variety of denominations.=20 2. Wine Clubs -- Monthly wine selections and great educational=20 materials make a Wine Club membership a terrific gift for budding=20 wine lovers and oenophiles alike. We guarantee Christmas delivery of=20 introductory materials on all orders placed through December 18.=20 Clubs start as low as $27.50 per month.=20 3. Modular 12-Bottle Kitchen Wine Rack, $20.00 -- Perfect for smaller=20 spaces, this tasteful rack fits together in seconds without tools.=20 Moreover, it's made of a unique hardwood that resists dents,=20 yellowing, or fading and can be stained or painted to match=20 any decor.=20 4. Zyliss Blue Rocket Corkscrew, $25.00 -- You can't find a better,=20 easier-to-use corkscrew at any price. The construction is rock-solid,=20 guaranteeing years of vigorous use.=20 5. Screwpull LX Leverpull, $138.00 -- The most infallible of all=20 corkscrews. With the Screwpull, almost any cork can be extracted in=20 less than two seconds. Arrives gift wrapped, with a foil-cutter and=20 an extra worm.=20 6. Boxed Trio of Rosewood Stoppers, $50.00 -- uniquely shaped=20 rosewood stoppers protect opened wines from rapid oxidation. Comes in=20 a hinged wooden gift box.=20 7. Super-Deluxe Two-Person Insulated Backpack, $75.00 -- This sturdy,=20 picnic backpack comes with glasses, plates, cutlery, a corkscrew,=20 cutting board, cheese knife, salt and pepper shakers, a gingham=20 tablecloth, and napkins. The pack also provides thermal-insulated=20 storage for food and wine.=20 8. Riedel Crystal Riesling/Zinfandel Glass (case of six), $80.00 --=20 This Austrian-made, 24 percent lead crystal wineglass from Georg=20 Riedel's Vinum series was designed especially for Burgundy, Barbera,=20 and Pinot Noir. Sold in sets of six 13-ounce glasses.=20 9. Lunares Champagne Bucket, $68.00 -- A sensuously curved and=20 polished ice bucket, sand-cast by metal artisans. The food-safe=20 aluminum alloy doesn't chip, peel, crack, or tarnish. Size measures 9=20 by 8.25 inches.=20 10. World Atlas of Wine, $36.00 -- Hugh Johnson's perennially popular=20 reference book. Packed with information and fun to read, it begins=20 with the history of wine and makes its way through all the world's=20 regions. Arrives gift wrapped.=20 *Be sure to check out the shipping deadlines for Christmas on our=20 homepage at wine.com.=20 To learn more about each item listed below, simply click on its name. _____________________________________________________________________=20 Great Wine and Gifts Gift Certificate For some wine lovers to do a job right, they have do it themselves.=20 Hence, the wine.com gift certificate, which absolves the giver from=20 unwanted arbitration. Choose from electronic or traditional=20 certificates in a variety of denominations.=20 Club California A monthly tasting adventure through the vineyards of California,=20 featuring bottlings from some of the best producers in each region.=20 Try new and exciting wines from the Sierra Foothills to the=20 best-known coastal areas, along with detailed tasting notes on each=20 selection and recipes to pair with the wines.=20 Andrea Immer, "Great Wine Made Simple," $25.00 Immer makes it remarkably easy to master the ins and outs of wine,=20 profiling the six most common grapes and explaining what to expect=20 from climates around the world. Tasting and vocabulary exercises also=20 empower the reader to identify and purchase wines with confidence,=20 and on any budget. Click here for Andrea Immer's Wine Sampler.=20 California Perfect Pair, $25.00 This white/red duo from the Golden State is sure to wow even native=20 Californians: There's an exotically perfumed Malvasia Bianca and a=20 jammy Napa Valley Zinfandel. Comes in a handsome wine.com gift box.=20 1999 Francis Coppola Presents Sofia Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine,=20 California, $19.95 This refreshing sparkler -- an unusual blend of Sauvignon Blanc,=20 Pinot Blanc, and Muscat -- has the style and elegance to grace a=20 fancy table setting, but is light and casual enough to go along on a=20 picnic. Sofia Coppola and her father, Francis, designed the striking=20 package, which features an octagonal label and pink=20 cellophane wrapper.=20 Australian Summer, $25.00 Even if it's chilly in the Northern Hemisphere, you can generate some=20 warmth with these two beauties from Down Under. This lovely red-white=20 Aussie combination -- d'Arenberg's light, refreshing White Ochre and=20 Boynton's ripe, peppery Shiraz -- comes in a handsome wine.com=20 gift box.=20 _____________________________________________________________________=20 Wine Team Picks: Peter Marks on Rising Italian Whites Many Americans view Italian white wines the way they view Italian=20 cars: They made a splash, only to falter in later years. The problem=20 was reliability. Friends who owned one of these gems (we're talking=20 about the cars here) came to believe that Fiat stood for "fix it=20 again, Tony." As for the wines, the good news is that they're now=20 easy-to-drink and better than ever. Here are a few of my=20 current favorites.=20 =01=07?1998 Barberani Orvieto Classico Castagnolo, Umbria, Italy, $13.00 =01=07?1998 La Rampa di Fugnano Vernaccia di San Gimignano Alata, Tuscany, ??Italy, $14.00 =01=07?1997 La Viarte Sauvignon, Colli Orientali del Friuli, Italy, $15.00 =01=07?1998 Zamo & Zamo Pinot Grigio, Friuli, Italy, $19.95 =01=07?1999 Del Tufo Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy, $15.00 _____________________________________________________________________=20 Champagne with Popcorn, Potato Chips ... and More How did Champagne become the beverage of choice for special events?=20 Does it have to be so? Wine.com Senior Wine Merchant Tim Gaiser=20 tackles the tough holiday questions.=20 "Champagne became a wine of celebration for one very logical reason,"=20 Gaiser says. "The Champagne region played a central role in European=20 history, with many coronations in the cathedral at Rheims from the=20 eighth century on. Naturally, the local wine (though not the bubbly=20 version at first) was served at these momentous occasions, and by the=20 end of the 16th century, Champagne had become the wine of choice for=20 the French court, with the rest of Europe soon following suit.=20 Champagne's preeminence as a luxury beverage -- the wine of=20 celebration -- has been secure ever since."=20 Dom Perignon, a French Benedictine monk, was the first to preserve=20 the tiny bubbles in Champagne. Now that it's moved beyond European=20 aristocracy, says Gaiser, "Sparkling wines don't have to be limited=20 to special events. Their combination of light body, crisp acidity,=20 and delightful bubbles makes them wonderful aperitifs for any=20 occasion -- something like Billecart Salmon Champagne Ros,, for=20 example, is just right to rev up the palate for a good meal."=20 Once the food arrives, Gaiser recommends a bubbly such as the 1990=20 A.R. Lenoble Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru Champagne as the perfect foil=20 for fresh shellfish and caviar. This is also an appropriate role for=20 nonvintage sparkling wines like the Maison Guinot Cremant de Limoux=20 Brut Cuvee Imperial. Such sparklers are surprisingly good with two=20 decidedly unroyal foods: potato chips and freshly popped (not=20 microwaved) popcorn. Sound ridiculous? Try it.=20 "Weightier vintage Champagnes such as 1993 Charles Ellner Brut=20 Champagne Seduction work well with lightly sauced fish, chicken, and=20 veal," Gaiser recommends. "One of the all-time great food-wine=20 pairings is a good ros, Champagne such as Billecart Salmon Champagne=20 Ros, with poached salmon. The color match alone is worth the price of=20 admission, but the taste combination is utter heaven."=20 _____________________________________________________________________=20 TO UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THIS NEWSLETTER, go to:=20 http://wine1.m0.net/m/u/vin/vv.asp?e=3Djdasovic%40enron.com
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