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Bollinger James Bond SPECTRE Limited Edition

RSP €160 from The Corkscrew, Mitchell & Sons, and other leading independent off-licences

Bollinger has been James Bond’s Champagne of choice since the Diamonds Are Forever novel in 1956, appearing with Bond on-screen for the first time in 1973’s Live and Let Die.

The latest James Bond collaboration contains a bottle of the rare 2009 vintage - only available exclusively in this edition - in a specially-commissioned box made entirely of metal, but rendered in such a way to make it feel like the fabric of a well-made tuxedo, the 'uniform' of choice of the world's best spy.

What's more the metal, textural case doubles-up as a bottle cooler, keeping the elusive 2009 vintage chilled for up to two hours. A sleekly luxurious gift for any Man Of Mystery this Christmas.

Bollinger “Pentagon"

RSP €65 from Brown Thomas

Eye-catching from any angle, the Champagne Bollinger Pentagon is not only an incredible gift for the wine-lover in your life but also a feat of engineering in itself. The eye is drawn by the brand’s bold red-and-gold colouring but also by its innovative, magnet-free closure where the word “Bollinger” on two separate flaps meet flush to seal the box. And, of course, the bottle of Special Cuvée inside is an experience to behold.

This elaborate gift box sets it apart from any other on the market, making it a very special treat for the cognisant wine lover.

Bollinger Special Cuvée

RSP €65 from SuperValu and other independent off-licences nationwide

Classic. Timeless. Elegant. Rich. Decadent. Subtle. There are a lot of adjectives that apply to Bollinger Special Cuvée, but nothing matches actually drinking the famous Champagne.

The “Bollinger Style” is admired and lauded worldwide and is the perfect start to any celebration and can be enjoyed with many foods, and this Christmas it’s available in a classy, contemporary gift box, making a special occasion even more

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OTHER SPARKLING WINES IN GIFT BOXES

Cono Sur Sparkling Brut

RSP €18.99

Coming from Bío Bío, one of the most southerly regions in the world, Cono Sur Sparkling Brut is made up of the that world-famous Champagne pairing of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, resulting in a delicate and elegant wine with a distinctive South American character.

The bottle has long been noted for its elegantly flamboyant style, and this Christmas it will be packaged in an understated, minimalist gift box.

Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad Cava

RSP €31.99

If you haven’t seen this Cava before then you’re missing out. Perhaps the most eye-catchingly beautiful bottle of wine on Irish shelves, the Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad is garnished with real pewter embellishments, providing a regal look to a serious sparkling wine.

But it’s not just style, it has great substance too: using Segura Viudas' best wines from each vintage, it’s aged on the lees for an impressive 30 months or more, giving it amazing richness and complexity.

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WINES IN GIFT BOX

New for 2016: Wolf Blass Silver Label Twin Pack

RSP: €30 from SuperValu and other good off-licences nationwide

From the outset, Wolf Blass has always been committed to making wine contemporary and accessible. Wolf's spirit of adventure continues today with Silver Label, an exploration of distinctive regions and modern wine styles. Always offering the promise of the highest quality, Silver Label creates a memorable occasion from any meal.

The set includes the Wolf Blass Silver Label Chardonnay sourced from premium vineyard sites in Eden Valley and the Adelaide Hills, cool areas that produce elegant Chardonnay with a fine mineral structure and great persistence of flavour; and also the Wolf Blass Silver Label Shiraz-Cabernet, the classic Australian blend with dark berry fruit and great length and structure, creating a seamless wine from start to finish.

New for 2016: Antinori Santa Cristina Twin Set

RSP: €25 from off-licences nationwide

Since 1946, Santa Cristina has been renewing the tradition of wines with great character that can be consumed immediately after bottling, as well as offering a selection of refined classics and unique Tuscan specialties.

In this gift set, new for 2016, Santa Cristina are offering two of their most popular wines: the Campogrande Orvieto Classico from Umbria, a soft and lively sipper; and Santa Cristina Toscana, a quintessentially Italian wine following the “Super Tuscan” mould of Sangiovese with a little Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah for added complexity.

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NON-ALCOHOLIC WINE

Torres Natureo

RSP €7.99 and widely available from most wine retailers

Though Christmas is traditionally a time for indulgence, moderation is still a vital part to enjoying yourself fully: how else can you expect to make it through all the parties, meals and other festivities?!  Sadly, most non-alcoholic options on our shelves leave a lot to be desired - with the exception of Torres Natureo that is.

Bodegas Torres, Ireland’s #1 Spanish wine brand, has proudly driven the de-alcoholised wine sector in Ireland in recent years with its critically acclaimed Torres Natureo, the world leader in de-alcoholised wines.

With its acclaimed great taste, Natureo has been credited with raising the standard of the category in general and accurately satisfying the consumer need for a flavoursome low/non-alcoholic drink with character that is neither water nor a standard soft drink.

Today, Torres are honoured to introduce the next phase of the project: Natureo has now moved from 0.5% ABV to an alcohol-free 0.0% ABV, meaning that the leading de-alcoholised wine in Ireland can now boast as being fully non-alcoholic.

Of course it still maintains the same great aromatic, floral, fruit-forward taste that has marked it out from the competition, and it still contains less than half the calories of regular wine, meaning that it’s a great choice for those watching their weight.

But now Natureo is fully compatible with the wishes of those wanting a fully non-alcoholic beverage due to religious or health reasons, for example, as well as continuing to appeal to regular Natureo consumers such as designated drivers, pregnant women and those generally watching their alcohol intake.

And, of course, it’s sure to be a hit with those wishing to get the most out of the Christmas season, as well as a head start in the January detox!

PORT IN GIFT BOX

Graham’s Tawny Ports

10 Year Old: RSP €35.99

20 Year Old: RSP €52.99

30 Year Old: RSP €88.99

40 Year Old: RSP €126.99

All available from Mitchell & Sons

Port is another very traditional Christmas wine, but consumers are starting to explore outside of the usual Ruby, LBV and Vintage categories. Tawny is one such increasingly popular alternative, and Graham’s have an excellent collection of aged Tawnies available here in Ireland - 10, 20, 30 & 40 year olds - each providing rich, nutty, dried fruit flavours in varying degrees of complexity depending on the age.

This Christmas each of their Tawny Ports - which are already available in beautiful glass bottles - will also come in elegant gifting tubes.

Graham’s Finest Selection Port

5 x 200ml: RSP €58.00

Can’t decide which Port to buy?

Or perhaps you’d like to extend your Port experience to all eventualities this Christmas, from White Port & Tonic aperitifs to sipping LBV by the fire and more?

The Graham’s Port Selection of Finest Ports is a convenient presentation box containing 5 bottles of 200ml samples of Graham’s range of Ports: Fine White, Late Bottled Vintage, Six Grapes, 10 Year Tawny and  20 Year Tawny.

The set offers the ideal Port experience either for you or as a gift to the wine buff in your life.

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CORAVIN: THE ULTIMATE WINE ACCESSORY

€299 from O’Brien’s nationwide plus other premium independent off-licences

Replacement capsules cost €19.95 for two

The Coravin Wine Access System is the biggest revolution the wine trade has seen in recent memory, with the now-famous device allowing users to pour and enjoy wine from their favorite bottles without pulling the cork, changing the way wine is enjoyed, served and sold in Ireland.

Coravin was created by Greg Lambrecht, a medical devices engineer, who used his knowledge of medical-grade needles to discover a way of extracting wine from a bottle without removing the cork.

The space left by the extracted is then replaced by argon - a flavourless, inert gas - meaning that no oxygen touches the wine in the bottle.

This means the possibility of sampling the same bottle of wine on a number of occasions over the course of weeks, months or years - allowing you to enjoy that special bottle again and again, experiencing its development over time.

As for the device itself, Bloomberg famously likened it to “a medical device designed by Darth Vader for Prada"!!

Critically Acclaimed

World-renowned wine expert Robert Parker has called Coravin “the most transformational and exciting new product for wine lovers that has been developed or invented in the last 30+ years”, and joins Jancis Robinson as one of the many famous wine personalities to lend their backing to the device.

Irish wine experts have been similarly impressed, with Tomás Clancy of the Sunday Business Post saying that “for fine wine lovers, and especially for restaurateurs, I can see it being a huge boon … this is one of the most exciting developments in wine for a decade”.

Similarly Martin Moran MW expressed his admiration for the device in the Sunday Times: “I concur with Robert M Parker, who called the Coravin a “game-changer” … It’s hard not to be seduced by the logic of it — and I, for one, have a few fine bottles at home that I’m dying to sample at last by the glass.”

Perfect For the Wine Lover

The market is saturated with gimmicky wine gifts that, in reality, true wine lovers loath.

Coravin is different however, as it presents a truly revolutionary way of enjoying wine: those with cellars or special bottles can now enjoy them on numerous occasions over any length of time; expensive bottles can be tested so that they can be enjoyed at exactly their peak; wine buffs can experiment with ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ tastings; fine wines can be paired individually with each course of a meal without committing to opening several bottles; and much much more.

Truly, Coravin is the best wine accessory bar none for the wine lover this Christmas.