Well the holiday season is once again upon us. After much procrastination, with one week to go until Christmas, it’s time to starting thinking about what to get your Washington wine loving friends.

2010 offers a few easy options with a couple excellent new books recently released. The first is Paul Gregutt’s Washington Wines & Wineries: The Essential Guide, 2^nd Edition. This is nothing short of a must-have for anyone interested in Washington wine specifically and wine more generally. As I wrote in my review, the second edition is much like a new book, with double the number of winery entries and numerous chapters significantly revised.

The second is WineTrails of Walla Walla, a new book by author Steve Roberts. This is the latest in a series of WineTrails books by Roberts, which includes WineTrails of Washington, WineTrails of Oregon, and WineTrails of Idaho.

WineTrails of Walla Walla differs from its predecessors in that it focuses in on a smaller area and is therefore able to provide greater detail. There is information about how to get there, where to stay, and things to do that will be helpful even for people who have spent much time in the area.

The book is extremely well organized with numerous summary tables and maps to give the high level view. The bulk of the book is contained in sections broken up into individual WineTrails for West, Downtown, Airport, East, South, and appointment only wineries. The book contains color pictures throughout. It’s a great book for people who are interested in traveling to Walla Walla or who travel there frequently.

After these books, there’s always old stand-bys such as wine glasses, decanters, and – of course – wine. See my list of Double Star rated wines if you’re in search of thoughts (using the Tasting Note Database on the right-hand side of the blog may be helpful as well). See ideas on stocking stuffers here.

Enjoy the holidays!