Wine lovers are outdone perhaps only by cooks and golfers when it comes to attracting party and gift paraphernalia. The array of cork pullers and stoppers, racks and chillers, decanters and gizmos of every sort is virtually limitless.

Your local wine retailer or kitchen store stocks the basics: cork pullers, bottle stoppers and glassware. If you want to move beyond that, the Internet is your friend. I've pulled together a sampling of sites (see accompanying list) that specialize in wine stuff, but that don't actually sell wine. Dozens of sites sell wine, but remember, we are not looking for wine. We want something more inventive, more ridiculous. We want stuff!

How about a Silk Grapevine ("so realistic, even a winemaker will be tempted to harvest its luscious grapes")? Or maybe your wine-drinking friends would like a doormat that reads "All of our fine wines are imported by friends such as yourself."

I'd wager there are more wacky gee-gaws for wine drinkers than there are for any other hobbyists in the world, excepting, perhaps, cooks and golfers. They range from the sublime (stunning Chateau Laguiole corkscrews, handmade in France with exotic bone and hardwood handles) to the ridiculous (how about a pair of wine socks available in Vintner, Cheers, Bordeaux and Martini styles?). But let's begin with the basics:

Cork pullers
Corkscrews and pullers are to wine gadgeteering what golf balls are to the golfer. I pull several hundred corks a month, and I am convinced that the one all-around essential tool is the waiter's corkscrew (the one that looks a bit like a folded pocketknife). You want one that feels ergonomically correct in your hand. It should have a "worm" (the screw part) that is as thin as possible and Teflon-coated; and the part that grips the lip of the bottle should be double-hinged, for added leverage with longer corks.

I have tried (and cannot endorse) the corkscrews with the wings that flip up (nubby, cork-ripping worms are the main problem). The kind with the needle that inserts into the cork and forces it out with gas simply terrify me. The plastic "Screwpull" table model is a good, sturdy design, but will not extract rubber corks. The expensive but very well-made "Leverpull" models set the standard for high-end cork pullers. Since their patent expired some time ago, the market has been flooded with cheaper imitations. One that feels particularly solid is the "Swiftpull," sold locally by a company called Baron Marketing. It sells for half the price of the "Leverpull." Despite the cost, none of these corkscrews is good at extracting plastic corks or corks capped in plastic. For that, it's back to the good old waiter's model.

Bottle stoppers
One of the most successful products for storing half-consumed bottles of wine has been the "Vacu-Vin," a pump that comes with a pair of rubber stoppers. The new version makes a clicking sound to let you know all the air is out (somewhat like your spouse at the end of a rough week). Plenty of other products claim to preserve wine, but I have never found any of these to work better than simply stuffing the cork back in the bottle.

Bottle stoppers, on the other hand, are great for controlling spills, keeping sparkling wines fizzy, and staving off the attack of the fruit flies. An ingenious new design is the "Patent" wine stopper, made in Denmark, an all-purpose device that eliminates drips, controls the flow when you pour, and seals automatically if a bottle is overturned.

Truly useful
A number of wine accessories are always welcome. A longtime favorite of mine is the Rapid Ice wine chiller, which you store in your freezer and slip over a bottle of wine in order to bring it down to the correct drinking temperature.

Drip savers are also handy, and make great stocking stuffers. Essentially just collars that slip over the bottle's neck, they look great and keep tablecloths stain-free.

Likewise, you can't have too many wine charms, which snap onto the stems of wineglasses so party guests can track which wine is theirs. Virtually any kind of car, pet, monument, hobby, holiday, sport or cooking accessory is available, usually as a set of six.

Wine bags, carriers and coolers are another bright idea. Padded and insulated, they range from one-bottle totes to wheeled, six-bottle versions.

The land of kitsch
Here we quickly descend from unique to odd. Hard to miss with Canine Corks, cork stoppers topped with your choice of dog. Or how about a vineyard starter kit offering chardonnay, cabernet or merlot, complete with a 6-inch vine? You get the idea. Basically anything can be wino-fied.

Shop by Web or by phone

These sites offer many more options. Quite a few have 800 numbers and printed catalogs as well.

The Wine Enthusiast; www.wineenthusiast.com; 800-356-8466.

This is the granddaddy of all wine-gear catalogs. You'll find everything from custom-built wine cellars to the very latest gadgets.

True confession: Wine Enthusiast magazine, to which I am a contributing editor, is owned by this company.

Unique Gift Item: Champagne Pliers, contoured to fit snugly over the champagne cork, grasp it firmly and remove it safely. Just right for the handyman in your life?

International Wine Accessories; www.iwawine.com; 800-527-4072 for a catalog.

Another good wine-storage, gift and gizmo source. Here you'll find the fabulous "wax whacker," the Bordeaux sterling earrings and even the "Lord of the Rings Chess Set." A closeouts section lets you see what's definitely uncool this holiday season (bota bags, brandy pipes and the indispensable "Guide To Cigar Friendly Restaurants").

Unique Gift Item: IWA offers an astonishing line of furniture made from huge, gnarled grapevines, from the glass-top "kidney" table to a 4-by-7-foot dining table.

The Barrel Cellar; www.thebarrelcellar.com; 707-944-8057.

The Barrel Cellar offers a wide variety of openers I've not seen elsewhere. There is the Bull Pull (a massive, metallic bull-horned cork yanker), the Frog Pull, the Wine Boar and the Minnow.

Still More Unique Gift Item: Cork Pops. Part hypodermic, part Star Wars tool kit, Cork Pops lets you know just reading the instructions that you are in for an exciting adventure. "Simply insert the needle straight down through the cork, press once on the top of the low-pressure propellant cartridge, and the cork is lifted out with a celebratory POP!" (Either that, or you just stabbed yourself in the thumb.)

Wine Appeal Products; www.wineappeal.com; 831-724-7688.

These are Australian-made products, but sold from a U.S. branch.

Wacky Australian Gift Item: A wetsuit for wine. "Neoprene wetsuit material keeps your wine cold!" This thing actually makes your wine look like Lloyd Bridges in "Sea Hunt."

Bacchus — Le Cellier; www.bacchus-wine-storage.net; 800-876-8902.

This Houston-based company offers a huge selection of wine-storage options, from the massive "Millennium" model to custom-built wine cabinets. They also sell cooling systems, racks, dispensers and accessories, including a line of wine-cellar alarms.

Unique Gift Item: The "Napoleon" Saber. Are you sick and tired of corkscrews that stick, corks that crumble, wines that splash? Well then, off with their heads! The "Napoleon" Sabre is a replica of an original used by the French cavalry to celebrate victory. Now you can re-create that exciting moment, and maybe celebrate your dexterity in cutting off that aggravating driver who was clogging up the fast lanes on your way home.

Baron; www.baronweb.com; 206-287-1992 or 800-938-5008.

This Seattle-based company markets primarily to wine shops and restaurants, but operates a small walk-in retail outlet at 324 Westlake Ave. N.

Unique Gift Item: A stunning line of corkscrews, drip collars, funnels, decanters and wine racks designed by a Danish company called Rosendahl.