Must-Have Monday: Oval Oak Wine Carafe

{image via UncommonGoods}

I had always heard that when I turned 28, I would have to partake in "wedding season" - bridal showers, engagement parties, ceremonies and receptions.  At the age of 26, I scoffed at this idea. As a New Yorker, most of my friends were still single and my mailbox remained void of invites.

Turns out, 28 IS the age that everyone gets engaged.  We have six weddings this summer and are already planning for a whirlwind 2011 wedding year (including our own).  

This means gift giving has become the norm.  And while I can usually count on a registry to save me from having to think of what to buy, sometimes I actually do need to send an engagement gift - well before the couple has used their scanner gun.

So in my search for an affordable, but relatively unique and practical present, I found the Oval Oak Wine Carafe at one of my favorite gift giving sites - Uncommon Goods.

I have always wanted a carafe, gazing enviously at my sophisticated friends that poured their wine from these wonderfully designed glass containers.  And since I always wanted one, I figured my friends did too. Which is why I have purchased this perfect product in bulk.  I'm not joking - I bought three of them at one time.  

The carafe is described as having an "organic teardrop shape" and "topped by an elegantly sparse oak sphere that protects the liquid inside from oxygen while offsetting the sleek glass carafe with rustic warmth." 

Ummm, just writing that makes me want to unwrap the box sitting in my hallway, waiting to be given to an engaged friend, and pour a bottle of wine into the carafe. And it's only 9am.

And if you feel that this one item isn't enough to impress the happy-almost-married-couple, pair it with a great wine book.  I recommend The Wine Trials 2010: The World's Bestselling Guide to Inexpensive Wines, with the 150 Winning Wines Under $15 from the Latest Vintages. 

{picture via Amazon.com}

Elegant, affordable, functional... all I can say is, Cheers to That!