Gifts to make a wine lover cheer

Wine clubs
Too many wine clubs simply recycle the same obvious choices or pander to their customers, a trend that reached its pinnacle this year with the movie-themed Sideways Wine Club. 

But some great deals exist — with West Coast retailers offering some of the best. Venerable Berkeley, Calif., importer Kermit Lynch currently offers a $164 one-case "Meet KLWM" gift sampler, including wines like a 2003 Rasteau from Château du Trignon and a 2003 Dolcetto d’Alba from Guido Porro. Dan Philips of the Grateful Palate has gotten praise for his grenache-of-the-month club; for $20 to $60 per month, he sends members a different take on that grape's many worldwide variations. (He also has a Champagne-of-the-month club.)  And Bay Area retailer K&L Wines offers some great deals through its three wine clubs, starting at $17.95 per month, each a mix of domestic and foreign.

If you're keen on a domestic theme — and want unusual picks for your lucky recipient — the well-established California Wine Club mixes smaller producers into its shipments, such as Mendocino's Handley Cellars or Madroña Vineyards in El Dorado County.  Fans of Northwest wines might appreciate the New Discoveries club from Avalon Wine in Corvallis, Ore., which for $50 a month offers up two bottles of finds like Lone Canary Winery's Rosso, from Spokane, or cult Oregon pinots like Medici.

That special bottle
Every wine lover has a few bottles they dream about. Wines they lovingly gaze at in the wine shop as it sits locked inside the collectibles case, like that perfect diamond solitaire.  Wines they're always quietly hunting online, one alt-tab away from the spreadsheet they're supposed to be working on.

Why not buy it for them?

With that, here's my top 10 most coveted wines of the year. Not necessarily the very best, but the ones I would spend endless hours to track down — and occasionally have.

10) Penner-Ash 2002 Rubeo ($20): Quirky, masterful Oregon blend of syrah and pinot noir.

9) Eric et Joel Durand 2001 Cornas (Weygandt-Metzler, $33): Big, spicy, rich northern Rhone syrah at a relative bargain price.

8) Fitz-Ritter 2003 gewürztraminer spätlese Pfalz (Winesellers Ltd., $17): Gorgeous, delicate German gewürz.

7) Edmunds St. John 2004 "Bone-Jolly" Witters Vineyard gamay noir ($17): Steve Edmunds' obsession with conjuring Beaujolais on these shores is nearly as refreshing as his results.

6) Luneau-Papin 2002 "Terroir de Schistes Semper Excelsior" Clos de Poyet Muscadet (Louis/Dressner, $27): A very rare beast — Muscadet as rich as white Burgundy.

5) Betz 2003 Columbia Valley syrah "La Serenne" ($47): Washington syrah at its best, made by a Master of Wine. Literally.

4) Fabrice Gasnier 2003 Chinon Cuvée Vielles Vignes (Fleet Street, $16): Classic Cabernet franc from the Loire, with all those smoky notes.

3) Launois brut blanc de blancs Champagne Cuvée Reserve (Premier Wine Co., $26): Lush, rich all-chardonnay grand cru Champagne with amazing pedigree and an even more amazing price tag.

2) Domaine Marc Roy 2003 Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Prieur: (The Miller Portfolio, price n/a): Sublime Côte de Nuits Burgundy with amazing depth. Now if only it was more frequently found on these shores.

1) Bartolo Mascarello 2003 barbera (Robert Chadderdon Selections, $25): The now-departed (in March) maestro of Barolo and his daughter embraced all the great grapes of Piedmont. Here's a chance to taste the brilliance of a classic old-school winemaker for a fraction of the price of his even more stunning Barolos.

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