Give the gift that makes every foodie happy: gourmet food and wine! Whether as a hostess gift or as a holiday present, these gifts will delight every discerning palate.
Clos Du Val
Classic Clos Du Val – Set up a Clos Du Val bar in your own home. Gift set includes a bottle of 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, branded bar towel and waiter’s corkscrew.
Holiday-themed Cab – Commemorate the season with an etched bottle of 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Choose from three holiday designs.
Sippin’ with Searle – Cartoonist Ronald Searle has adorned Clos Du Val merchandise and wine labels for years. Entertain at home with some of their favorite designs/ Gift set includes a bottle of 2002 Syrah, set of four cocktail plates, Cheerful Bunch bar towel and WineSpeak, one of Seale’s classic books.
Connoisseur’s Collection – A signature 1997 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from co-founder Bernard porter. Decant this wine with a Venetian crystal Orbital Decanter. Perfect gift idea for enthusiasts who have it all!
Three "Wine" Men – Clos Du Val’s equivalent to the Three Wise Men gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Enjoy current releases of each of their Cabs: 2003 Napa Valley Cab, 2002 Stags leap District Cab and 2002 Reserve Cab.
For a single bottle, try the 2002 Syrah, Sierra Foothills. Clos Du Val’s winemakers swoon over this hearty Syrah. Aged nine months in French oak and packed with ripe, red fruit flavors, this unusual Clos Dy Val treat will pair very nicely with roasted meats or game. You’ll feel special drinking it, too, because only 500 cases were produced.
www.ClosDuVal.com
10 Cane Luxury Rum
It’s that time of year again for hosting and attending an endless string of holiday parties! This year, wow your guests with delicious and innovative 10 Cane cocktails. From Moet Hennessy, 10 Cane is the first-ever luxury rum. Made from the fresh pressing of virgin Trinidadian sugar cane and aged like a fine wine, this is no ordinary rum. 10 Cane is the perfect gift for those seeking a taste of luxury. Its distinctive, sleek bottle is a must have bar accessory. Elevating the classic cocktail experience, 10 Cane is rum’s redemption. Suggested retail price is $34.99 for 750ml bottle, $42.99 for 1L bottle. 10 Cane is available in liquor stores nationwide. For more information visit
Here are a few holiday cocktail suggestions:
2 oz. of 10 Cane
1 shot of espresso
Garnish optional: 1 teaspoon fresh whipped cream
In small shot or juice glass add 10 Cane and espresso. Add fresh whipped cream if desired
10 Cane Cranberry Cocktail
1 ½ oz. 10 Cane
1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
½ oz. Simple syrup
½ Cranberry juice
Optional: a tablespoon of egg white
Add 10 Cane, lemon Juice, simple syrup and cranberry juice. And egg white if you like this frosty effect. Shake vigorously and strain into a superfine sugar rimmed frosted cocktail glass.
Garnish with freshly sliced lemon wheel.
Estancia Pinot Grigio
Estancia’s proprietary attitude toward all its fruit and insistence on controlling farming from planting to picking keeps bottles prices affordable and obeys the founder’s beliefs: that wine should be part of daily life, accessible to everyone. “Uncork and unwind” this season with a great bottle of Estancia.
Cameron Hughes
Similar to college-staple Charles Shaw ("Two Buck Chuck") Cameron Hughes sells direct to a major retailer and cuts out the middlemen. However, unlike Chuck, he works only with high-end wines, buying small lots from some of the best wineries on the planet. They use their own palates as guides to deliver delicious, super premium wine that is easily accessible price and style-wise.
In Los Angeles, Cameron Hughes can be found at Costco in Culver City , San Juan Capistrano, Torrance , Burbank and Westlake Village.
Dubonnet
Made from the fruity wines of Roussillon in France and Napa Valley, Dubonnet has a long and storied history that is enjoying renewed popularity with the return to classic cocktails. Dubonnet was once the preferred beverage of the French Foreign Legion. Give Dubonnet as a great hostess gift and be sure to bring the recipes for these great cocktails, courtesy of Dubonnet
Dubonnet Mistletoe Kiss
1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
½ oz. Sour Apple Schnapps
1 oz. Apple Cider
½ oz. Sour Mix
Shake with cracked ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of Red Delicious Apple
Blushing Snow Angel
1 1/2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
Mix gently with:
5 oz. Champagne or Sparkling Asti
Splash of cranberry juice
Garnish with a twist of lemon rim on glass.
Square One
Give an eco-chic hostess gift this year with Square One Organic Vodka. Square One raises the bar on holiday cocktails, making entertaining a festive blend of the elegant and the environmental. It is the first certified organic vodka to be made from 100% certified organic American rye.
This ultra-premium spirit begins with rye grown in North Dakota, considered by connoisseurs to be the "Napa Valley of rye." The only other ingredient is pristine water from the Teton Mountains. Furthermore, Square One is certified organic by Oregon Tilth which holds the industry’s most stringent requirements, far exceeding those of the USDA.
A sampling of Allison’s cocktail recipes includes:
• Honey I’m Home for the Holidays
• Pear Noel
• Ice on the Square
• Persimmon-tini
• Ginger Square
• Hearts of Pom
For more info on these recipes, go to
Folonari
Mix the holidays up this year with Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio. The Italian off-dry rose has a beautiful light rose color and fragrant nose of flowers and fresh fruit. It’s soft and ripe on the palate, with a nice pop of sweetness. Folonari makes the perfect gift for your favorite girlfriends.
Throw a holiday girls-only party and shake up your favorite cocktails with Folonari. This fall, wine cocktails are posed to be the next big thing. Wine adds a unique complexity to a cocktail, creating flavors that one wouldn’t think of as stemming from wine. Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio has captured this trend and created some fabulous cocktails.
Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio- 3oz
Sour Mix- 1oz
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass
Garnish: small bunch of champagne grapes
Glass: Martini
Pink Poodle Martini
Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio- 2 oz
Smirnoff Raspberry Twist- 1 oz
Chambord- 1/2 oz
Splash of Lime Juice
Shake over ice and strain into martini glass.
Garnish: Floating Strawberry
Glass: Martini
Glamour Girl Martini
Folonari Pink Pinot Grigio- 3 oz
Peach Schnapps- 1 oz
Splash Cranberry Juice
Shake on ice and strain into martini glass
Garnish: Drop in a cherry
Glass: Martini
https://www.frederickwildman.com/
Red Bicyclette
For delicious French recipes, click here.
airforce Nutrisoda
How do you satisfy your desire for health and your love of indulgence this holiday? With Nutrisoda, of course! It’s nutrient-enhanced intelligent refreshment for people who are thirsty for more than empty calories. Combining natural fruit flavors and natural colors, four times-filtered water and meaningful levels of leading-edge, active nutrients, airforce Nutrisodas are the healthiest way to refresh. In flavors like Focus, Flex, Energize, and Slender, each 8.4 fl. oz. can of airforce® Nutrisodas® combines meaningful performance levels of leading edge active nutrients like L-Arginine and other amino acids, CoQ10, vitamins, minerals and herbs to help your mind and body achieve balance & optimal performance. They also make great mixers to energize you favorite holiday cocktails. Try the recipe below for you next gathering. Not only will it taste great, but your body will thank you.
2 shots gin
1 shot lime juice
½ shot Sugar Syrup
Splash of green Crème de Menthe
Shake first four ingredients with ice and strain into a martini or an ice-filled highball
Top up with cold Immune Nutrisoda and stir
For more recipes like this, go to www.nutrisoda.com