Are you planning to give a wine gift basket to someone for a birthday, anniversary, or other occasion? Great! You've made a smart choice. Gifts of wine have mushroomed in popularity over the past few years and are appreciated by almost everyone.

Besides the wine itself, what should you include in the basket? A corkscrew is the first thing that probably comes to mind, but most wine drinkers will already have one (or several). Maybe your gift recipient would like a really fancy one, though, so it's still a possibility. The range of amazing corkscrews on the market is astounding, so you shouldn't have trouble finding one that's a bit out of the ordinary.

Here are 5 other ideas for wine basket gifts that you might not have considered:

1. A wine finer or aerator. An instrument approximately the size and shape of a writing pen, you insert it into the neck of the bottle and pour. As the wine flows through it, it filters out sediments and any pieces of cork that might have broken off into the bottle. Some are designed to prevent drips while pouring, as well.

2. A wine tasting kit. Contents of tasting kits vary, but typically they include specially tasting "checklist" notepads, bottle stoppers, bottle tags, a journal to keep permanent notes, a bottle label remover (so you can put the labels in the journal), and instructions for a tasting. Some kits are for the use of one or two persons, while others can be used for hosting a tasting party.

3. A book about wine regions and varieties, or about the history of winemaking.

4. An instructional DVD or video on home winemaking, if your recipient has been making noises that he might like to take up that hobby.

5. A champagne cork catcher, such as the Screwpull. This saves walls -- and people's faces -- from a possible hit by a flying champagne cork, while letting you and your guests still enjoy the traditional "popping" sound (something you lose if you just cover the cork with a towel, say, while removing it). With a cork catcher you place the device on the bottle, grip firmly, and then twist. The cork flies harmlessly into the catcher -- with a satisfying pop.

You can find all of these and much more by searching the Internet for a wine specialty merchant, or simply by Googling or Binging the individual items. These suggestions really just scratch the surface of creative ideas for the contents of a wine gift basket. Have fun!

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We also have lots of great wine gift ideas and articles for you to explore.

All kinds of wine gifts that you need to impress someone just getting into wines or an avid wine connoisseur.