Holiday Gift Giving Guide

Do you have a favorite wine you like to curl up with in front of a winter's fire with a good book? It's getting cold outside across most of the US and that turns our attentions to new year celebrations and gift giving (and receiving!).                 
   
I love the holidays! My family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah and that makes it doubly special for me with so many blended traditions, extended family to celebrate with, and delicious food and wines. It's a magical time!
 
This is my first year putting together a gift giving guide for you. I've curated all my very favorite wine and food products: some you'll notice I love so much I offer on my site. I hope you'll enjoy looking through this guide as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you. If you have other products you'd like to recommend or share with me, please put it in the comments below!
  
Read on, there is something for every price range, from $3 to $300, sorted in descending cost. 
  
elissa with billecarte salmon champagne

WINESKIPPING PRIVATE WINE CLASSES 

All of my educational and fun wine tasting events are great for novices and wine professionals alike. Sessions are fun and interactive, I poll the audience, interject light quizzes and try to make the experience personal and interesting for everyone. I offer sessions both virtually and in person. Learn about wine 101, how to pair wine, bubbles, so much more! Private group sessions start at $300. Discounts for club members. Click for more information. For only $25 you can join me in December for my next class on all things bubbles -  Bubbles & Brie!  

 

coravin with aerator pouring wine
CORAVIN WINE PRESERVATION  SYSTEMS
Enjoy your favorite wine without ever opening the bottle. You can sip and keep it for years. Coravin is my single most favorite wine product. I offer it on my site at 15% discount to email subscribers through the end of 2022. Buy it at this great price now! Click here to browse, use code CORAVIN15 to save 15%. Starting at $100. For more details on what makes Coravin worth the expense, check out my blog post. Photo cred: Coravin

 

wineskipping club wines for winter

WINESKIPPING CLUB MEMBERSHIP

Each quarterly shipment includes 3 wines from small producers with a focus on sustainable and low intervention production practices. I strive to find interesting varietals and wine making techniques to introduce you to. Club members get access to wine tech sheets, complimentary meet the maker and educational virtual events, in person events and special discounts. Each shipment only $119, click here, you can even gift a 1-month trial of the club!

 

ullo wine purifier

ULLO WINE PURIFIER

The Ullo removes sulfites from wine and can help those with wine sensitivities of all sorts enjoy wine again. It leaves no unpleasant flavors, and even acts as an aerator! Not sure if it will work for you? The company has a very liberal return policy - I'm even quoting the owner! See my review of this and other products for wine sensitivities in my blog. Ullo is available at UlloWine.com for $80. 

 

convino board image

CHARCUTERIE BOARD & CLASSES

ConVino Board is a small one-woman-run business that meets all your charcuterie needs! Nicolle offers classes on how to make your own amazing spread, will provide the ingredients for your team event, and even sells the high-quality and engraved boards needed to make the most beautiful spread! This is the best experience to pair with your favorite wine! Starting at $25. 

 

sugarcinns homespuns

SUGAR CINNS HOME SPUNS 

Another one-woman-show this Bay Area based business makes the most delicious and unique sweets I've ever eaten. Are they a cinnamon bun? Breakfast? Dessert? You'll have to try for yourself! They are scary good! One dozen for $40 and worth every dollar! Click for shop. Or say "hi" to Teresa and buy an individual HomeSpun at Devils Canyon Holiday Fair Dec 2.

 

best champagne ever

CHAMPAGNE & OTHER BUBBLES!

If you know me, then you know I love my bubbles! While Champagne is of course the grande dame, there are wonderful alternatives at easier prices points. Shop my amazing bubbles collection and enjoy a 20% savings off selected bubbles with WINE20. To save some money this season, consider a PetNat - the OG Sparkling Wine or some California Sparkling from small producer Carboniste. Also join me in December for a class on all things bubbles!  

    More gifts! Here are some great gadgets for under $20 

    Ah-so wine cork extractor (on Amazon) to help open older bottles of wine without breaking the cork. Have you ever had a cork break when you were trying to open it with a cork screw? As wine ages, the natural cork also begins to dry, making it brittle and more susceptible to breakage. To add insult to injury, this tends to afflict expensive and aged special wines, that you'd prefer not to litter with little bits of cork. Ah-So is a cork puller with two very thin prongs of different lengths that is intended to pull the cork from a bottle without piercing it or causing any sort of cork breakage. It's super easy to use, see my instagram post with the details. 


    Waiters corkscrew (on Amazon) to get the best leverage on that cork. The waiters corkscrew goes by a few names: the pull tab corkscrew, the wine key corkscrew, and the double sided corkscrew. What's handy about this guy is the 2-step hinge which allows you to pull a cork our more evenly and straight, with less chance for breakage. See my instagram post for how to use it.

    The best champagne stopper (on WineFolly). I've tested this stopper against several others and it can preserve your bubbles up to 5 days!

    TenTen Labs Wine Aerator (on Amazon) for the best wine aeration for the money. 

    RePour wine preserver (at RePour.com use code WINESKIPPING to save 10% and shipping). Click here for my description of wine preservation tools.

    Private Preserve wine preserving gas (on Amazon). This is the best value wine preservation product. Click here for my description of wine preservation tools.

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