Covetable wine accessories are of two types. There are nifty little gadgets whose natural resting-place is in a kitchen drawer, and big, bold, beautiful items designed to catch the eye even when they're not in use. This week it's the turn of these large, handsome drinking companions - decanters, ice buckets, carafes and jugs. If you want to give a decanter as a present, one shop knocks the socks off all the others. Terroirs in Donnybrook has about 30 different styles, arranged in splendour on two long shelves. Some are traditional, such the Victorian-style Three Lips decanter, a stoppered jug that can pour from the sides as well as the front (£68). Others are clean-cut and modern, like Les Deux Grandes Fillettes, tall, twin bottles for wine or water (£50). Many, like the bestselling Captain decanter (£34), are timeless classics.
Francoise Gilley, co-proprietor of Terroirs, imports most of her range from two French companies - L'Esprit et le Vin, leaders in the wine accessory field; and Hartzviller, a family-run glass company in Alsace which undertakes special engraving to order.
"We sell an awful lot of decanters - and not just at Christmas," she says. "They're very popular for 40th and 50th birthdays. As presents, they make more impact than smaller things."
She adds five or six different models to the range each year. Another current top seller is the Antoinette decanter for port or brandy (£75), with pewter shoulders and stopper fitted over a glass body. Also popular, believe it or not, is a draining stem (£73) to make the tricky process of drying the inside of a decanter that bit easier. Terroirs also has two of the most splendid champagne buckets you're likely to come across: a glass one with a pewter rim (£75) and the all-pewter Chambellan (£175) - not cheap, but then neither is decent champagne. "They're classics that last a lifetime," is Francoise Gilley's selling line. The other reassuring thought, should you decide to make a purchase in this tempting little shop, is that there's no charge for their stylish wrapping. It's silver, this year, with exquisite voile ribbon. Other ritzy receptacles for the wine-lover, generally available include:
Waterford Crystal carafe designed by John Rocha - £95 from Waterford-stockists nationwide;
Large, forward-sloping, drunken looking jug in heavy colourless glass - £14 from Habitat;
Conical flask decanter with asymmetrical glass stopper by LSA Krosno - £42.50 from Stock;
Small Alessi stainless-steel ice bucket - £35 from Brown Thomas and other Alessi stockists;
Flask-shaped water carafe in pale green glass - £4.50 from Habitat.
Terroirs is at 103 Morehampton Rd, Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Tel 01 6671311.