Wine makes a fabulous gift — when it is fabulous. But take it from a wine lover who has tried almost everything: Fabulous does not necessarily mean rare, or even expensive. What a wine lover really wants for Christmas is something fun, something delicious, something unique or stimulating, and above all, given with some degree of thought. If you can't do that, then you better to stick to ties, cheese and perfumes.

With that in mind, once again I've asked my friend, Honolulu sommelier Roberto Viernes, to help me select gifts for eight of the more common (but not exactly easy) types of people who appreciate wine.

Here are our choices:

• For the smarmy, know-it-all/been-there-done-that brother-in-law — Roberto's choice is the 1994 Chateau Musar ($35-$40) from, of all places, the ancient land of Lebanon; because, as he says, "I guarantee he hasn't tried this wine!" And he says even the smarmiest brother-in-law "would have to give into Musar's wonderfully charming personality."

I've always found Chateau Musar — a powerful, aromatic red made mostly from the cabernet sauvignon grape — somewhat chewy, like shoe leather. So my choice would be an equally unusual red, the 2000 Chinon "Les Varennes du Grand Clos" by Charles Joguet ($22-$28), made from the soft and lush cabernet franc grape (as opposed to the harder, heavier cabernet sauvignon) grown in France's Loire River region. Let him eat fruit, not shoe leather!

• For the senior partner in a law firm — Clearly, what's called for is something royally rich for him or her to kick back on — "with big, fat Cuban cigars," as Roberto sees it. His choice would be a classic 2000-vintage port from either Fonseca or Taylor Fladgate (each $90 to $100). I think authentic port (that is, from Portugal) is a capital idea, but a more impressive choice might be the 2000 Quinta do Vesuvio ($60-$70) because Vesuvio, though not as famous as Fonseca or Taylor, is a single-vineyard selection (most vintage ports are multi-vineyard blends) owned by the Ferreira family (my favorite port producer), with somewhat sweeter aromatics of violets, black licorice and all the blackberries in the world. My choice also costs less than Roberto's.

• Your dentist — Roberto recommends a white wine so your dentist "can't complain about stained teeth." But dentists generally have very good tastes in wine, and Roberto's choices of either the 2000 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet from France or the 1999 Joseph Phelps "Ovation" Chardonnay from Napa Valley (each $45 to $55) are excellent. My choice also would be a clear-colored wine that is best served cool and refreshing, but one made from rice rather than grapes: the Yaegaki Mu "Nothingness" ($45-$55), an authentic daiginjo (highest quality) sake from Japan. In fact, I think this dry-style sake (my favorite in the world) is finer than most white wines, with intense fragrances of white peach, mango and icy mountain streams flowing over smooth stones. Wouldn't that blow your dentist's mind?

• Your favorite soccer mom or dad — For severely time-strapped people like these, Roberto recommends an entire case of 2000 Tormaresco Chardonnay ($120 to $135 the case) because it is "a perfect everyday wine that is versatile and exuberant." Me? I think a single bottle of one of my favorite German Rieslings: the 2001 Robert Weil Estate Riesling Kabinett ($18-$22) is perfectly appropriate, plus clean as a whistle, smooth as silk and as sweetly crisp as an apple on a Christmas day.

• A girlfriend who makes three times more than you — This is a guy's predicament, and I've known some who have been there. Roberto says "a woman who makes that much money won't be impressed with anything less than a great bottle of the finest-vintage French champagne, such as the 1990 Salon" ($155-$195).

Ye gads, I think Roberto forgot that it's the girlfriend, not the guy, who is pulling down $150 K. Still, I'd have to go along with his choice of champagne, since I've known women who practically like to bathe in the stuff. My choice would be a nonvintage champagne that I consider to be just as good as — many connoisseurs would say better than — any vintage one: the Krug "Grand Cuvee" ($105-$135). Never mind that the bubbles in the Krug are so fine that you'd swear they were put there by tweezer-twirling Keebler elves; note the price. This might leave the poor boy enough to buy some perfume from Neiman Marcus.

• If your boss is a Republican — Roberto wisely recommends the super-powered 1998 Lokoya Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon ($110-$130) because right now "the Republicans are sky-high atop the political mountain."

If you can't find the Lokoya, look for my choices of the finest mountain-grown reds: either the huge, black, explosively spicy 1999 Jade Mountain Mount Veeder "Paras Vineyard" Syrah ($50-$60), or the more suave and elegant yet equally luxurious 1999 Laurel Glen "Sonoma Mountain" ($85-$95).

• If your boss is a Democrat — Roberto suggests that the best way to cheer up a member of a losing party is a bottle of the lush, fruity, gently effevescent Michele Chiarlo "Nivole" Moscato d'Asti ($10-$12 the half-bottle). I don't think Democrats need cheering up. They just need to find their guts, and there are no better wines for that than a selection of rude, wild, rustic, thick, gnarly yet soulful red wines imported from France by the famous Kermit Lynch. I recommend a combination of the 2000 Saint-Joseph "Offerus," the 1999 Madiran Chateau de Perron, the 1998 Domaine de Trevallon, the 2001 Morgon by Marcel Lapierre, the 2000 "Vieux Telegraphe" Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and the 2000 Banyuls by Domaine La Tour Vieille. Black, bootstrap reds, each and every one of them, retailing for $25 to $55.

• For the wine lover who has everything — Roberto would choose the 1997 Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino ($40-$45) because many collectors consider the Brunellos of that year to be so good and so reasonably priced (for them) that they are drinking them up like "house wine." But for me, Brunello di Montalcino is still a traditional choice, while there are always plenty of new, fascinating, cutting-edge, high-quality wines being produced all over the world — more than the most serious wine lovers can shake a stick at.

These are six of the most unusual and notable wines I've tasted during the past year: the huge, lusciously flavorful 1999 L'Adventure "Optimus" ($45-$55) from California's Paso Robles; the intricately layered 1998 Dehesa la Granja ($25-$30) from Spain; the scintillatingly scented 2000 Blue Mountain Pinot Noir ($20-$25) from British Columbia; the sensuously textured 2000 Campion Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($35-$45) from California's central coast; the essence-of-velvet 2000 D-Cubed "Howell Mountain" Zinfandel ($28-$33) from Napa Valley; and the resoundingly rich, regal, muscle-bound 2000 Tikal "Jubilo" ($45-$55) from Argentina.