Holiday Gift Guide: 20+ Unique Gifts For Wine Travelers

For any wine lover, a bottle of her favorite vino, a sought-after or hard-to-find vintage, or a wine she hasn’t yet tasted is always a welcomed gift. If you are shopping for a wine traveler — someone who combines her wanderlust with a love of wine, I have the perfect gift guide for you. So, stop by your local winery or wine shop to pick up a special bottle and pair it with one of these gifts for wine travelers!

Disclosure: Please note many of the links in this post are affiliate links. When you click on one of these links and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Of course, this is at no extra cost to you. Plus, all of these retailers’ discounts for the holidays still apply to your order as well!

Gifts For Traveling With Wine

Wine Luggage

For the traveler who often visits wine regions, a VinGardeValise® wine suitcase would be the ultimate gift. Highly rated by Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler, and Wine Spectator, this hard-shell suitcase provides space for clothing and personal items while also protecting wine bottles with removable foam inserts.

VinGardeValise® also offers wine glass inserts, magnum bottle inserts, and a customizable insert that protect bottles of spirits and specialty olive oils and balsamic vinegar.

Top Pick: VinGardeValise® Grande (Version 05) — Measuring 17.5 x 13.5 x 27 inches, this model transports up to 12 wine bottles with removable foam inserts, 360° wheels, a TSA-compliant lock, and a lost luggage locator.

Protective Wine Sleeves

If investing in a VinGardeValise® for your wine traveler doesn’t fit your gift-giving budget, protective wine sleeves are an affordable option to protect individual wine bottles when traveling. Not only do they prevent wine bottles from breaking or leaking during travel, but they are also reusable.

Top Pick: Wine Wings (4 pack) — Their triple seal protection prevents leaks into luggage.

Wine Totes

I love my artisan-crafted Kámen Road wine tote that accompanied me while wine tasting in the Finger Lakes wine country. A wine tote is a perfect companion for an afternoon of visiting wineries, where you might purchase a couple bottles to bring home.

Insulated wine totes also work wonderfully for bringing chilled wine bottles to dinner parties, picnics, beach days, and bring-your-own-wine restaurants. Many wine totes hold two bottles, but some hold up to six!

Top Pick: OPUX insulated 2-bottle wine carrier — This tote comes with an adjustable strap and a three-layer insulation system in a variety of colors and patterns.

Wine Canteen

Ok, yes, you may think of these as water bottles or thermoses, but these canteens are also fabulous for bringing wine along on your travel adventures. Want to take a hike, go to the beach, or go on a boat ride with a bottle of wine that will stay chilled and be easy to open? Pour it into a Corkcicle Canteen!

Top Pick: 25-oz. Corkcicle Canteen — Made of triple-insulated stainless steel, this canteen keeps nearly a whole bottle of wine cool for 25 hours (or mulled wine hot for 12 hours) with a leak-proof cap and anti-slip silicone bottom. 

Best Books To Give Wine Travelers

Books About Wine Tasting

Does the wine traveler in your life fancy himself a wine connoisseur? Whether he is a wine-loving newbie or practically a sommelier, a wine reference book will help to beef up his wine knowledge.

Top Pick: Wine Folly: Magnum Edition — This ultimate guide to expanding wine knowledge features 100 grapes and wines color-coded by style, detailed maps of the world’s top and up-and-coming wine regions, food-and-wine pairing suggestions, and more.

Books About Wine Regions

Inspire wine-filled wanderlust with a book about wine regions around the world! For a recent Christmas, I received Lonely Planet’s Wine Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends in Wine Country, and it was my favorite gift. I spent a good portion of Christmas Day flipping through its pages, dreaming of future trips to top wine regions around the globe. Now, Lonely Planet also offers Wine Trails – United States & Canada, Wine Trails – Australia and New Zealand, and Wine Trails of Europe.

Top Pick: Wine Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends in Wine County — This book introduces readers to hidden gems in top wine regions — such as Napa Valley, Tuscany, and Burgundy — while also highlighting off-the-beaten-path wine regions in the countries of Greece and Georgia.

Wine Tasting Journals

A tasting journal is a place for the wine traveler to organize his thoughts on the color, aroma, taste, and other notes when doing a tasting. Some wine tasting journals even provide an outline to follow.

Top Pick:  Wine Folly Wine Tasting Journal — This wine-tasting journal helps the wine drinker develop his palate by taking tasting notes using a four-step method used by professional wine critics and sommeliers.

Wine-Themed Adult Coloring Books

When traveling on a long-haul flight to a wine region overseas, coloring helps to pass the time and may reduce anxiety in nervous fliers. So, why not give your wine lover a wine-themed coloring book? Don’t forget the markers or colored pencils!

Top Pick: Wine Country Coloring Book — This adult coloring book features 25 hand-drawn illustrations of beautiful wine-country landscapes ranging from simple to intricate designs to accommodate artists of all skill levels.

Travel Experiences To Give Wine Lovers

Are any wine lovers in your life planning to visit a wine region next year? Then a lovely and unique gift is to book them a wine-travel experience to enjoy during the trip! Here are a few ideas wine travelers will love …

Napa Valley Wine Train

One of the most unique activities in Northern California’s wine country is the Napa Valley Wine Train. Aboard the wine train, your wine lover will travel past the lush countryside of Napa Valley as she is transported back in time to train travel’s golden age in the early 1900s. One option to give is a reservation for the Vista Dome lunch car with exceptional views during a three-hour train ride.

Champagne House Tours

For many sparkling wine lovers, visiting the Champagne houses in northeast France would be a bucket-list trip. If the wine traveler in your life is headed to the Champagne wine region, consider booking her a tour to visit Moët et Chandon or Veuve Cliquot.

Tuscany Wine Tours

Another region many wine lovers visit is Tuscany for its Chianti, Brunello, Rosso, and Super Tuscan wines. Many tours depart from Florence or Siena, so you’ll want to know where your wine traveler is staying before giving this gift. Top-rated tours include this full-day, private tour of the Brunello di Montalcino region and this private Tuscan-wine-lover’s tour for up to three people to see firsthand where Brunello di Montalcino and Nobile di Montepulciano are made.

Best Wine Clubs For Wine Travelers

When wine travelers aren’t visiting wine regions around the world, a wine club membership is a gift that keeps on giving. As you shop for a wine club membership for the wine lover in your life, be sure to look into the different subscriptions and gift card options. You’ll want to find the best fit for your wine drinker’s lifestyle as well as your budget. Below are some of my favorite wine club options for globetrotting wine lovers!

International Wine Club

Gold Medal Wine Club’s International Wine Club delivers rare, imported, and ultra-premium wines from family-owned estates around the world to your wine lover’s door. Each shipment includes three bottles — two reds and one white or rosé. I love that you can select the number of shipments you’d like to gift.

90+ Point Wine Club

Cellars Wine Club’s 90+ Point Wine Club ships two bottles of wines that have received 90 or more points from trusted wine scales such as Wine Spectator or Robert Parker. Selections come from the Old World and New, bringing exceptional wines from around the globe to your wine lover’s home.

What I love about this wine club — in addition to the quality of wines — are your options for customization. Ongoing shipments are an option, but, as a gift, you may prefer to set the number of shipments. Cellars Wine Club offers two to 12 shipments, which can be set to monthly, every other month, or quarterly deliveries. You can also select your starting month and a preference for red, white, or a combination of bottles.

California Wine Club’s Premier Series

A more budget-friendly option, California Wine Club’s Premier Series is the perfect gift for wine lovers who enjoy discovering handcrafted wines from small California wineries.

Each shipment includes two bottles, and you’ll also be able to select a preference for one red and one white, reds (two of the same), two reds (different), whites (two of the same), or two whites (different). You can also give a California Wine Club e-gift card in the amount of $60, $180, $350, or $650.

Stocking Stuffers For Wine Travelers

Wine-Themed Luggage Tags

Having unique luggage tags helps to spot your suitcases at the airport’s baggage claim. So, why not give your wine-loving traveler a set of these luggage tags that list wine varietals from around the world?

Red Wine Aerator

If your wine traveler likes to drink wine at home too, an aerator is a great gift. I use my Vinturi red wine aerator whenever I open a red wine that I want to pour right away.

Gift Cards To Fund Wine Travel

Gift cards are always easy to slide inside a thoughtful card — or even for virtually sending a gift. For wine travelers, you can help fund their future wine-fueled adventures with gift cards for airlines or booking services.

TSA-Compliant Wine Opener

In general, corkscrews are ideally-sized small gifts for wine drinkers. However, most wine keys won’t make it past airport security because of the foil cutter. However, this TSA-compliant wine opener might. Reviewers have noted that this wine opener still gets flagged for further inspection by TSA agents, and some commented that it was prohibited from international flights. It’s worth trying this wine opener for domestic wine travel within the United States!

Travel Guidebooks

Does the wine traveler in your life have a trip to a wine region planned for next year? A travel guidebook for that destination is a practical gift they will definitely put to use while planning and traveling.

Some popular wine destinations for which you’ll find guidebooks include Northern California (Napa and Sonoma), Portland & the Willamette Valley, Tuscany, Bordeaux, and Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Wine Bottle Stoppers

As someone who often opens a bottle to have a glass of wine with dinner, I’ve come to love my wine bottle stoppers. For wine travelers, give a wine stopper with a travel theme, such as this jet bottle stopper.

InBooze Sangria Or Mulling Spice Infusion Kit

If the wine traveler in your life has enjoyed Sangria in Spain, stock up on InBooze Cocktail Infusion Kits. For wine drinkers, I recommend the red wine sangria kit that can be infused with a bottle of wine. The Mulling Spice Cocktail Kit also makes a wonderful hostess gift during the holiday season.

However, InBooze also offers an array of cocktail infusion kits using dehydrated herbs, fruits, and veggies that you simply add to your favorite booze for easy-to-make cocktails at home. InBooze kits retail for $18 per kit, but they occasionally go on sale.

Which of these gifts for wine travelers would you like to give or receive this holiday season?

With any of these unique gift ideas for wine travelers paired with a bottle of wine, you are sure to please the wine lover in your life. I’d love to know which of these gifts you’ll be giving the traveler who loves wine in your life. Please feel free to share (if it won’t spoil any surprises, of course) in the comment section below, or drop hints for your loved ones by emailing or texting them this gift guide! 😉

For more gift ideas, check out my coffee lover’s gift guide.

Save the image below to your Christmas, holiday, or gift ideas board on Pinterest!

Photo Credits: Lead photo (© magdal3na/Adobe Stock), Pinterest graphic (© Sandra Cunningham/Adobe Stock)