Perhaps you're looking for a gift for a wine lover in your life, but you don't want to purchase another bottle of wine like you do every year. Might I suggest a wine journal? This is actually one of those things that I keep telling myself to buy, but I never do. I taste a lot of wines and usually end up scribbling my notes on napkins, old receipt, and whatever scrap paper I can find in the kitchen. I bet a lot of people end up doing the same thing, and they would love having a place to keep it all together. But how to pick the right wine journal? Perhaps I can help.

For Traditionalists:
They're no-frills and quite serious about their wine. They want a no-nonsense wine journal. Just the facts, ma'am. Just the facts. I think the In Vino Veritas Leather Wine Journal would be perfect. The leather-bound book has 160 pages and space for 78 entries. There is room to tack down a wine label and note the winery, vintage, price, where you purchased it, and your tasting notes. And if the bottle hasn't been opened yet, you could use this journal as a catalog and note the bottle's location in a wine cellar or cooler.

For Travelers:
If you're purchasing for someone who has wanderlust (or perhaps someone who is in love with Italy), I would recommend the Epica Handmade Italian Leather Wine Log. This is a gorgeous book made in Italy, with both English and Italian translations. It includes 19 fields to discuss each bottle including: bouquet, tasting date, best served with, name of wine, denomination of origin, vintage, area of production, how to serve, rating, price, a section for notes, and more. In addition, you can customize the book with a name or title, making it a very personal gift.

For Creative Souls:
These people don't want to be hampered down with lined pages or feel confined by defined spaces to write their notes. A Vino Gournal would meet their needs nicely. This journal has a funky cover made from reused materials (including an old Coke can!) and has 100 white, unlined pages that can be filled out however the scribe best sees fit. Include wine labels, maybe a matchbook from the restaurant where a bottle of wine was discovered... perhaps one might even be inspired by Chateau Petrogasm and instead of written notes, include an image to describe the wine.

For Road Warriors:They're always on the go. Business travel takes them everywhere from Toledo to Tokyo and while they love trying new wines, they just can't be bogged down by a heavy journal. They need something small and portable to record their notes. Easy: The Little Black Journal Of Wine is the perfect size to stick in a pocket or briefcase, yet you can still pack in a lot of info including all the basics, plus who recommended you the wine, the place and date the wine was bought, and the place and date it was tasted. Additionally, rating the wine becomes easy - just circle the value based on stars (1 to 5) or circle the rating (70-100).

And finally, if you have a little extra time on your hands and if you want to make your own wine journal (either for yourself, or for someone who appreciates DIY), check out the "How to Make A Killer Wine Journal" instructions PinotBlogger posted back in March. It's really easy to make your own and then you can customize it to best suit the person who will be using it.