When people say “wine geek,” usually they mean it metaphorically. But sometimes the parallels between the pimply, C++ quoting nerd and the red-nosed, Frenchified wine snob are all too real. Here are nine gifts that will satisfy that special person on your list whose love of wine has taken on a certain cultish, slightly weird connotation.

Periodic Table of Wine
Poster-sized Chart of Grape Varieties ($35.00)
True wine geeks can look at this poster, which can decorate perfectly her kitchen or wine cellar, and say, “Did you know that Zinfandel is really crljenak kastelanski, an obscure Croatian grape traced by Dr. Carole Meredith, a professor and geneticist at the University of California at Davis?

PDA Cellar Database
“WineMaster” for Palm OS, from Poohbah Industries ($19.95)
In the case of the really hopeless collector, this gift will allow him to answer anywhere the question: “how many bottles of 2000 Bordeaux do you have in your cellar?” The engineer behind this handy app has kindly offered Wine Girl’s readers a 20% discount (type CPN1528992426 for the coupon on the Personal Information page during checkout at the Poohbah web store. This coupon expires December 31). Plus you can get a great-loooking gift certificate by emailing him at grand@poohbah.com.

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Even with the Euro strong as it is, one of the wine world’s great values comes from the northern tip of the Burgundy wine region in France, from a little chalk and limestone plateau called Chablis. For the mouthwatering, citrusy, yet rich white that Chablis is, the wine is undervalued because of two reasons, the first being a case of mistaken identity. You see, many U.S. wine drinkers of a certain age, when they hear Chablis, think of a bestselling jug-white from Gallo, ubiquitous on American fridge top shelves in the seventies.

Chardonnay lovers and skeptics, you both need to rethink Chablis. Click here for enlightenment: More

Two days after I opened it — and stored it with a vacuum seal in my fridge — this wine changed totally, and for the better. What came off initially as an overly-alcoholic, clumsy, fruit bomb developed into a gentle giant, capable of both power and subtlety. A lovely translucent, garnet color with a touch of black (wine blogger Jerry Hall says the 2004 edition “looks unfiltered,” and so does this one) is followed by a deluxe, earthy, meaty nose with lots of black cherry and crushed violet flowers. On the palate, this wine has plenty of cherry and berry flavors, softness, spiciness, and a touch of pleasing fresh, wet, dirt note that makes you hunger for the bacon-wrapped filet that Mr. Hall recommends with it. Medium bodied, with a decent finish. But the best part of this wine is the way it evolved. I would have guessed it was French, for that alone. Here’s a hint: it’s not, but some of the grapes came from a new hillside appellation in California that many think is the new Côte d’Or.

Email me with your guess, or click here for the answer: More

Saying that some participants in their “Romantic Winery Tour” program have been gays and lesbians p.o.’d about California’s unequal marriage laws, Bart and Barb O’Brien decided to see if they help turn things around by raising money for Equality California, the state’s leading advocate for gay marriage. So their eponymous O’Brien Family Vineyards set up an “Equality Wine Store” and promised to donate 20 percent of its sales of chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet to EQCA. My first reaction to the news was to go shopping, and I’m satisfied so far with how my purchase made my heart feel; I’ll report soon on how it treats my palate.

Second response: who are the O’Briens, and why this bandwagon? More

By Heather Findlay

First it was Bond, James Bond, who by ordering a Lillet martini in one of Ian Fleming’s classics helped raise this popular French apèritif’s international profile. Then it was Bruno Borie, the self-described black sheep of a prominent Bordeaux family, who scooped up the Lillet company in the eighties and gave the formerly syrupy, slightly bitter concoction a much-needed makeover.

(Borie’s biography is very interesting Cain and Abel story, actually, with a touch of Oedipus thrown in, all set in the gracious halls of Ducru Beaucaillou, which Borie recently took over from his younger brother.) Finally, do you need a better reason than the new movie version of Casino Royale, Lillet’s literary debut, to try this drink?

Click here for the results of our taste-test: More

This varietal isn’t usually thought of as rich and powerful, but one whiff of this example and you’re surrounded by a perfume cloud of ripe grapefruit and lime. The mouthfeel is sleek, sure. But a big, delicious wave of citrus flavors (including a punch of kiwi) washes over the palate. Refreshing and satisfying at once. Clean finish, with this grape’s trademark note of gooseberry. Hint: this wine is well-known for its affinity with goat cheese and indeed I loved it, especially with some Spanish “Tres Leches,” made from goat, sheep, and cow milk. Pale in color, with shades of green and gold.

Email me with your guess, or click here for the answer: More

Since reports last month that a substance in red wine was found to prolong life in obese mice, sales of dietary supplements containing the stuff have spiked. Seems that people seeking immortality may find their fountain of life in the form of a bottle of cabernet — or rather, 700 bottles, since that’s how much you’d have to drink a day to get the amount of resveratrol, as the substance is called, that the researchers fed those mice.

Anyway, now it seems that unlike a good Bordeaux, these supplements don’t age well. Today the Wall Street Journal reported that one of the few things we know about this magic potion is that “resveratrol is prone to oxidation, or breaking down when exposed to air … [therefor] a capsule form may be preferable.”

That makes the pill bottle a great candidate for a screwcap closure, too, I guess.