Start with a pinch of saffron in a bottle of gin, move on to some devilish Tasmanian wines, and wrap up the shopping with some boozy books

Here are some early gift suggestions that are as easy as one, two, three. Four is a little taste-bud nostalgia to stir up memories.

One you have to have—if you love gin, that is. Having done three different white-spirits tastings this past summer, I vowed I wouldn’t do any more till the sun came back. But then this little number rolled in, and here it is in all its neon-sherry glory. (That’s the colour—sort of an electric tangerine.) Gabriel Boudier Saffron Gin, from the Dijon distillery of the world’s best crème de cassis, draws on an old colonial recipe from the 19th century. It was relaunched just two years ago with a tweak of the ingredient list: juniper, coriander, lemon, orange peel, iris, fennel, angelica seeds, and saffron. Not too much saffron—it can be overpowering, as you know from the time the lid came off the saffron jar over the bouillabaisse!—just a hint.

It’s spicy but subtle, with a fabulous taste, especially iced and neat. If there’s any left, bring it back out in the spring to celebrate the return of colour. To confound my old English teacher, it’s one of the most unique boozy gifts this season. Not cheap, but c’est le safran: it’s $48.99, and that’s for 50 millilitres less than a standard twenty-sixer.

Bet she doesn’t have one of these—Tasmanian wines haven’t exactly been overrunning our shores. Here come two, but check your credit-card limit before you go. The producer is Grey Sands; the vineyards are in Glengarry, Tasmania. New to the baroque wine-importing game in town is Chris Martin of Tasmanian Quality Products, and he’s got speculative listings for some of the first Tasmanian wines in B.C.: a Merlot 2005 ($60) and a Pinot Noir 2006 ($72), available at select private stores. (Mine came from Kitsilano Wine Cellar [2235 West 4th Avenue].)

These are both achingly beautiful wines. The Merlot is all plums and violets; rich, fine oak; and a gorgeous, mile-long finish. It’s quite a lot leaner than the Merlots we’re used to tasting around town these days, but no less hearty. I’ve got a Cuban dish of pasta and spareribs, green and black olives, and tomatoes and achiote lard that adores this wine. The Pinot Noir is a revelation. It has astonishing cherry-strawberry fruit that practically explodes on the tongue, and a soft and mellow texture with a hint of tangy oak. I can’t recall many Pinots that would handle a bison chili. But 72 bucks?

Three for the reading. One’s a stocking stuffer; one’s a paperweight. Julianna Hayes writes about wine for the Okanagan Sunday newspaper, and her hip-pocket collection Okanagan Wine: A Guide to Valley Wines (Okanagan Valley Newspaper Group) is handy, all-colour, all-in, 168 pages. It reviews some 80 Valley wines, lists a lot of award winners, and touches on food and history and plenty more. Best of all, it costs only $9.95, and is available at www.theokanagan.net/.

Entertaining With Booze (Whitecap Books) calls it like it is, encompassing “designer drinks, fabulous food & inspired ideas for your next party”—says so right on the cover. It’s from Ryan Jennings and David Steele, the authors of bestseller Cooking With Booze. The book offers 256 big, colour pages for $29.95, and that’s a bargain for what you get—for example, on page 81, there’s the Perfect Suck-up Supper. Here are two guys who just want to have fun and are doing it.

1001 Wines You Must Taste Before You Die (Universe) is one in a hefty series of 1,001-themed volumes (albums, books, buildings, foods, paintings, et cetera). The idea is fun but the execution flounders, at least in this one. (The general editor is Neil Beckett; my copy came from Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks and cost $36.95, which is a good price for nearly a thousand pages of stuff.) This is a night-table browser book, but the “leading international critics” who are its authors don’t seem to have very much fun when they drink. Mostly British writers, they come off, collectively, as a pedantic and Eurocentric bunch. In 1,001 wines, there are all of two Canadian entries, both—predictably, eh?—icewines: one from Inniskillin, the other from Mission Hill. It’s a fun and pretty book, but I was really hoping for a little more world-view.

Finally, four from the vaults. Don’t bother looking for these; they’re dusty treasures I found downstairs. Here’s a quick look, just for fun (and nostalgia), starting with Tohu Mugwi Sauvignon Blanc 2004. The last time I was in New Zealand, this was winning just about every medal going. So I bought two of the five cases allocated to Canada. None of your nasty/grassy/unripe gooseberries/cat’s pee here—rather, rich, soft fruit and fabulous floral aspects, and four years later it’s still intact and still lovely. Most impressive. (Another ’04, but not the top-of-the-line Mugwi, is in the system for $22.99.)

Symphony is a California variety that hasn’t really caught on. Ironstone makes a nice one that’s a B.C. specialty listing, but Château de Baun made some of the best. Its Finale Late Harvest Symphony is supple, fruity, and still lively, with lovely burnt-almond flavours. Just the thing with stewed nectarines and digestive biscuits and St. André cheese.

Villa Girardi Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico 1997 has great fruit and a lovely finish, and is very much alive and full. The challenge with older Amarones is always what to serve them with. How about nothing? Like, just all on its own, an hour before bedtime?

When this wine first appeared for sale in B.C.—I can’t recall how many years ago—I bought all I could afford, and I look at it once a year or so. Burmester Vintage Port 1963 is from a fantastic vintage, and the 45-year-old is amazingly rich and vibrant, fresh and lively. It’s got some of the most magnificent fruit and finish I’ve tasted in a port since I opened my only 1898 on my Last Significant Birthday. There are still two bottles of the Burmester left in the cellar in case any other significant birthdays overtake me.