Gift ideas: 'Wine for Women,' a pocket guide and more by Fred Tasker December 4, 2003 Wine lovers are easy to shop for at holiday time. Give them a $600 French Burgundy. Don't like 'em that much? Then choose a $12 to $30 wine book. Here are some that, in the flood of writing about wine, manage a few new angles: * Wine for Women: A Guide to Buying, Pairing and Sharing Wineby Leslie Sbrocco (HarperCollins, $24.95): Do women need their own wine book? Yup, says Sonoma-based wine writer Leslie Sbrocco. She cites industry stats that women buy 64 percent of all wine -- not surprising since they do a most of the grocery shopping. And she says women approach wine differently: Men value ratings, vintage charts, trophy bottles. Women want personal recommendations, food ideas, serving tips. Her nifty primer describes wines in terms of wardrobe: chardonnay is the ''basic black'' of wine, Riesling its ''spring dress,'' rosé, ''beach wear.'' It's kind of fun. I know it put me in touch with myfeminine side. * Food & Wine Magazine's Wine Guide 2004by Jamal A. Rayyis, (American Express, $11.95): Descriptions of 1,400 wines in a book skinny enough for a purse or pocket when taking the boss to dinner. * Discovering Wineby Joanna Simon (Simon & Schuster, $19.95): Wine books for beginners are a dime a dozen this British writer has some new tricks. She provides a practical list of all the major grapes and wines, descriptions and tips on buying, tasting and serving. My favorite part is her illustrated guide to tasting. It includes a page on how to spit (with photo): ''Practice when you're cleaning your teeth, spit in the bath, or practice with water and a bucket in the kitchen.'' What would Miss Manners say? * How to Pronounce French, German and Italian Wine Namesby Diana Bellucci (Luminosa, $30): Feeling incorrect? This book tells how to pronounce more than 15,000 wine names. ''Spatlese [SHPAYT-lay-zeh]'' -- a style of Riesling. Either you want it or you don't. * The Quotable Wine Lover by Kate Fiduccia (Lyons, $20): Greek proverb: ''Wine to the poet is a winged steed.'' Canadian proverb: ''Sweet's the wine; sour's the payment.'' So we see why Greeks have so much more fun than Canadians. This little tome lists hundreds of clever things said about wine since Old Testament days. If you're giving a toast, you need it. * The Cocktail Handbookby David Biggs (New Holland, $14.95): An ''El Burro'' is Kahlua, dark rum, coconut cream, a banana and a sprig of mint; named for its kick. ''Real Eggnog'' is one part brandy, one park dark rum, an egg, sweet syrup and five parts full-cream milk; even Atkins won't stand for that. With color-illustrated recipes for everything from a Harvey Wallbanger to a Salty Dog. Does anybody drink this stuff anymore? * The Wine Regions of Australia, Completely Revisedby John Beeston (Allen & Unwin, $24.95): Provides what's been lacking: an encyclopedic list of Australia's wine regions with pretty good maps and descriptions of wineries. Very helpful for the serious wine fan. * Big Shots: The Men Behind the Boozeby A.J. Baime (New American Library, $11.95): Jack Daniels brewed his first batch of whiskey at age 9. Captain Morgan drank himself to death on a precursor to rum. The original Nicolai Smirnoff was rubbed out by the Reds after 1917; Smirnoff vodka is made by an English businessman from Connecticut. Didn't know that? This book reveals all.