Wine Books
Best of Wine in Ireland 1999 (A&A Farmar, £8.99).
The fourth edition of this vade mecum for Irish wine drinkers - and it's much better than the 1998 version, with a more rigorous selection of wines, an indication of the basic style of each and a new ££symbol for value. Best of all, editor Sandy O'Byrne includes food suggestions for every single bottle.
The Millennium Champagne and Sparkling Wine Guide (Dorling Kindersley, £12.99 in UK) by Tom Stevenson. Next to a bottle of bubbly (or along with one!), I can't think of a better present. A super-practical A-Z of more than 900 sparklers from the grandest to the humblest, with clear tasting notes, price range and details of ageing potential.
Cocktails (Kyle Cathie, £4.99 in UK).
A colourful miniature hardback that would make a jazzy stocking filler.
The New Spain (Mitchell Beazley, £25 in UK) by John Radford. As Spain continues to polish up its image as a source of quality and value, this large-format guide to key regions and leading producers comes at the right time. Beautifully produced, and readable too.
Confessions of a Wine Lover (Penguin, £7.99 in UK) by Jancis Robinson. Last year's loveliest wine book, now out in paperback. Jancis Robinson's account of her adventures in the wine world over the past 25 years is so warm and witty that even committed non-drinkers have been known to find it captivating.
Wine by Style (Mitchell Beazley, £12.99 in UK) by Fiona Beckett. An attractive book for beginners, in which grapes and wines are arranged according to type - so if, for instance, you like light fruity reds, you'll find all the various types described together. Also useful general information, including the wine and food section you'd expect from Decanter's gastronomist.
Beer (Dorling Kindersley, £19.99 in UK) by Michael Jackson. A big. illustrated beauty from beer's best-known ambassador. More pictures than text but they're hard to resist, showing each brew both in bottle and in the right sort of glass. Again, the food section stands out. Anyone for chocolate ale?
Spirits and Cocktails (Carlton, £25 in UK) by Dave Broom. Superb visuals, this time allied with a detailed, flavoursome text that touches on everything from spirit history to Jameson ("soft, malty but slightly boring") and Smirnoff Black ("wellrounded, elegant"). I'm happy to report pisco sours are in there, too. Mary Dowey
Food Books
The Fifth Floor CookBook (Fourth Estate, £25 in UK) by Henry Harris. An altogether beautiful book, with delicious, real food and very witty writing and design. With the self-effacing assistance of the food writer, Hugo Arnold, Harris comes across as a very down-to-earth bloke, someone far removed from the moneyed heights of the 5th floor at Harvey Nicks. His cooking is mega, and already we have made loads of failsafe, unimpeachable dishes from this peach of a book.
The Cork Cook Book (Cork Simon Community, £12.99). Beautiful photography, food styling and design combine with glorious food from the chefs of Cork city and county to make a smashing book, packed with lots of practical, sound cooking. u12.99)
The Livebait Cookbook (Hodder & Stoughton, £20 in UK) by Theodore Kyriakou and Charles Campion. The wild culinary imaginings of Theodore Kyriakou are brought vividly to life in this unpredictable and inspiring book, which threatens to take every aspect of your cooking, and not just your fish cookery, into another orbit. Refreshing.
The 125 Best Recipes Ever (Michael Joseph, £20 in UK) by Loyd Grossman. The concept may seem strange, but the recipes chosen by Grossman as his best, and his spirited introductions, make for a book which will spend endless time in the kitchen being put to use.
Blanc Vite (Headline, £30 in UK) by Raymond Blanc. As the man who years ago wrote one of the most impractical chef's books ever, it is refreshing to see Blanc further turning his back on culinary abstraction and examining the whole concept of fresh, practical food and good health. A wise book.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (Jonathan Cape, £12.99) by Mark Kurlansky. Kurlansky skips through history with abandon to tell the sad, inevitable story of the communities who rose and fell on the back of cod, but if his history is a little too fleet of foot, his book works well as a snapshot of the influence of a foodstuff on countless societies.
Herbs, Spices and Flavourings (Grub Street, £14.99 in UK) by Tom Stobart. A reprint of a classic which was undeservedly out of print for 30 years, the late Tom Stobart's work is as vital and amusing today as when he wrote it. His Cook's Encyclopaedia has also just been republished, and is no less fine than this masterpiece. John McKenna