The Food & Wine Holiday Gift Guide 2019

Match Scratcher

Each strike on this golden match holder leaves a small mark, building a unique patina over time. We first came across it at Scout, L.A.’s extremely lovable wine shop and café. ($130,canoe.design)

Pasta Tools

On his first-ever trip to Italy, chef Michael Tusk fell in love with these simple yet effective pasta tools and stamps. Now, he carries them at Verjus, his new wine bar in San Francisco. ($36–$60, in-store at Verjus, San Francisco)

Brass Pedestal Bowl

Handmade in Morocco, this bowl from Miami’s Mrs. Mandolin is our idea of centerpiece perfection. ($130,mrsmandolin.com)

Eventide Oyster Co. Bottle Opener

这些从黄昏Oyst bar-ready牡蛎er Co. in Portland, Maine, are hand-carved in wax and set in metal. ($65,bigtreehospitality.com)

Gabriel-Glas Wine Glass

Femi Oyediran, co-owner of Graft Wine Shop in Charleston, reminds us of the importance of great stemware. He recommends these lightweight glasses, the same ones they use at Graft, for their durability and versatile shape. ($31,gabriel-glasinternational.com/)

Mazama Decanter and Carafe

Mazama’s glasswares first caught our eye at Portland, Oregon, cocktail hot spot The Solo Club. Since then, we’ve reached for their handblown soda-lime glass carafes and decanters for all our drink-serving needs, from water to wine. ($165,tannergoods.com)

Pienza Tumblers

The brother-sister team at Pienza, in Tuscany, whose family has run a traditional glassblowing studio for generations, also make Il Buco’s colorful signature drinkware collection. ($32,ilbuco.com)

Collepino Twisted Candles

Called duplero, from the Latin duplex, meaning double, these twisted beeswax candles spread a subtle scent of honey. Used in Italy for centuries, they’re almost too beautiful to burn. ($28,ilbuco.com)

Perforated Bowl

At Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant Masa, these lava-rock bowls were handpicked by the chef himself and can be heated prior to mealtime to keep dishes piping hot for serving. ($132,infavorof.com)

Wolf Ceramics

At 2017 Restaurant of the Year Tusk (and other Portland, Oregon, favorites like Bullard), chefs prefer Sarah Wolf’s strikingly glazed red stoneware to show off their creations. ($48–$180,wolfceramics.com)

Leaf Long Plate

The charcoal paint on this dish from New York sushi chef Masayoshi Takayama’s collaboration with home decor brand Favor makes for a dramatic backdrop for cheese, fruit, and desserts. ($225,infavorof.com)

Meadow Tumblers

The iconic pendant lights at Kismet in L.A. are larger versions of Helen Levi’s beach tumblers, and these dreamy marbled offshoots are used at Louie Louie in Philadelphia. ($44,helenlevi.com)

Town Cutler Knives

These knives’ unique handles are made from California buckeye burl wood; the sturdy, stainless steel blades are heat-treated to stay sharp after many nights of dicing and slicing. ($500 for a set of 4 or $900 for a set of 6, in-store at Verjus, San Francisco)

Truffle Slicer

This inexpensive truffle slicer from Italian maker Sanelli Ambrogio is easy to hold and clean, and the adjustable screw lets you choose how thick your slices should be. ($38, in-store at Verjus, San Francisco)

Japanese Cutting Board

Lindsay Tusk sourced these cutting boards from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo, and they’re the perfect size for making quick work of chopping herbs. ($80, in-store at Verjus, San Francisco)

Pebble Cutting Boards

在布鲁克林Forthave精神的实验室,丹尼尔de laNuez relies on Fort Makers’ maple pebble cutting boards (inspired by the smoothness of water-worn rocks) to chop up ingredients for amaro and gin. ($75–$140,fortmakers.com)

D’Oliveira Madeira

With so many vintages, finding a bottle of this Madeira from someone’s birth or wedding year is easy, says Elizabeth Sammuri of Flagstaff House in Boulder, Colorado. ($115,rarewineco.com)

Bottled Cocktails

With vintage-inspired single-serving bottles, The Grey Market’s Old Fashioned and Negroni are stocking-ready. ($12, in-store at The Grey Market, Savannah, Georgia)

Billecart-Salmon Rosé

When Sarah Clarke of Mozza Restaurant Group gifts Champagne, a favorite is Billecart-Salmon’s rosé. “And let’s face the facts, it’s an amazing regift,” she says. ($90,wine.com)

Bertoux Brandy

Sommelier Jordan Salcito loves giving this nuanced, bartender-created brandy. “It’s perfect for holiday fireside sipping,” she says. ($44,bertouxbrandy.com)

Neversink Apple Aperitif

This apple-based aperitif is ideal for holiday entertaining, says Claire Sprouse, owner of Brooklyn’s Hunky Dory, who swaps it for vermouth in a classic cocktail. ($50,neversinkspirits.com)

Shacksbury Cider Club

A tip from Piper Kristensen of Oxalis in NYC: For really special small-batch ciders, sign up for this Vermont producer’s cider club. ($55 per shipment,shacksbury.com)

Vecchio Amaro del Capo

For F&W 2019 Sommelier of the Year Liz Martinez, this licorice-and-gingerbread amaro liqueur from Calabria in southern Italy is a personal favorite. ($25,vecchioamarodelcapo.com)

Sizzler Bottle Cap

“There’s nothing worse that a flat gin and tonic,” says Sean Hoard of Carpenters Hall in Austin. Use this Japanese stainless steel bottle cap to lock in fizz. ($10,umamimart.com)

Pipette Magazine

Haley Fortier, owner of Haley.Henry and Nathálie in Boston and a F&W 2019 Sommelier of the Year, recommends a subscription toPipettemagazine, which goes deep into natural wine. ($75,pipettemagazine.com)

Red Clay Hot Sauce Gift Set

Chef Geoff Rhyne crafts Red Clay hot sauces with a blend of Southern peppers and high-quality vinegar aged in Charleston bourbon barrels. This festive pair of verde and original sauces makes a perfect color combo for the holidays, but it’s sure to be a year-round hit. ($18,redclayhotsauce.com)

Willa Jean’s Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

It takes a lot for us to call any one chef’s chocolate chip cookies The Very Best, but at Willa Jean in New Orleans, Kelly Fields spent two whole years perfecting a recipe that uses three types of Valrhona chocolate, plus a sprinkling of sea salt to balance everything out. ($59 for one dozen,goldbelly.com)

Sqirl Bi-Monthly Jam Club

No one makes jam like Sqirl, and a membership to their jam club (think sought-after flavors like Blenheim apricot and Persian mulberry) is the ultimate way to ensure that the recipient won’t be tempted to skip breakfast in the new year. ($90 for a six-month membership,sqirl.myshopify.com)

Ana’s Spice Kit

Even outspoken dried-spice skeptics won’t be able to resist chef Ana Sortun’s jars of Aleppo, Urfa pepper, sumac, and mint, which are so fragrant you’ll be tempted to sprinkle them on everything. ($15, in-store at Sofra, Cambridge, Massachusetts; by phone at 617-661-3161; by email at catering@sofrabakery.com)

Momofuku Salts

After ten years of research and innovation, the Momofuku Culinary Lab has churned out a special set of three seasoned salts: Savory, Spicy, and Tingly. We like Savory sprinkled across a buttery bowl of popcorn, and absolutely love the Sichuan peppercorns and subtle, lingering heat of Tingly. ($28,shoppeachykeen.momofuku.com)

Togarashi Chex Mix

For your friend who can’t just have a bowl of almonds to go with their charcuterie set-up, west~bourne’s Togarashi Chex Mix has a distinctly seaweed-forward taste and a pleasant ratio of Chex to corn nuts. ($12,westbourne.com)

Vida Cantina’s Boom Spice

There’s something incredibly comforting about a spice blend that requires zero tweaking––Boom Spice is one of those blends. Chef David Vargas’ perfect blend of freshly toasted and ground mild and hot chiles blended with a touch of cumin and coriander is our go-to for fajita night. ($3,squareup.com)

TVH+ by The Violet Hour

These non-alcoholic cocktail mixers from Chicago’s James Beard Award-winning cocktail lounge The Violet Hour are a great choice for those abstaining from alcohol around the holidays. Batch No. 1 is what we like to call “grown-up Coca Cola,” thanks to scorched Demerara sugar and caramelized vanilla and wormwood. ($16,binnys.com)

Boon Sauce #4

Our team immediately fell in love with this little bottle of funky, spicy, anchovy-heavy hot sauce from chef Max Boonthanakit. We want to put it on pizza, cheese, chips, and pretty much everything else. It could become a habit. ($10,boonsauce.com)

Craft Beer Malt Vinegar

We love that you can really taste the beer in this complex yet balanced malt vinegar from Somerville, Massachusetts’ Tasting Counter. It’s perfect to drizzle over something fried and enjoy with, well… a beer. ($10,tastingcounter.com)

2019 Holiday Farmstead Box

It’s no secret that we’re obsessed with Blackberry Farm, and this gorgeous hamper is pretty much the second best thing to a trip to Walland, Tennessee. Our favorites include a rich, buttery blackberry jam made on-site, Benton’s bacon for the absolute best breakfast spread, and a beautiful ceramic stackable cream and sugar set made using ashes from The Barn's hearth in the glaze. ($195,blackberryfarmshop.com)

Firetower Hot Sauce

Not for the faint of heart, this hot sauce was created by chef Joel Werner of Blackberry Mountain’s Firetower restaurant. As one staffer put it: “First it’s flavorful, and then it hurts.” ($12,blackberryfarmshop.com)

Blue Hill Market Savory Granola

Far too many granolas are loaded up with sugar, but this offering from Blue Hill at Stone Barns is, true to its name, a balanced, savory blend of spelt flakes and golden flax seeds. We’d especially recommend sprinkling some on yogurt for an afternoon snack. ($14,bluehillmarket.com)

The Two by Two

We’re long-time fans of Belcampo, and this bundle of ribeye steaks is our go-to gift for carnivores who want to cook up a high-quality, responsibly farmed dinner on a snowy night in. ($144,belcampo.com)

Missy x Tilit Jumpsuit

You don’t need to work in a restaurant to appreciate Tilit. The twill jumpsuit is part of a collaboration with pasta queen Missy Robbins and is ideal for flights, casual Fridays in the office, nights out, and, of course, the kitchen. It comes in green, navy, and black. ($185,tilitnyc.com)

Devocion’s Culinary Collaborations

NYC’s cult-favorite coffee brand is releasing limited edition beans that channel the flavors of restaurants like Crown Shy, Denver’s Wolf’s Tailor, andFelix饮食店. We think these are ideal for the caffeine connoisseur who likes dining out almost as much as a cozy morning in. ($26,devocion.com)