Here's a little something for …
THE WINE ENTHUSIAST:
Palmaz Vineyards impressed locals with its balanced Cabernets produced at a super-high-tech vineyard in Napa at the 2016 Naples Winter Wine Festival. Last year, two members of the Palmaz family joined forces to write a gorgeous boxed set of large-format coffee table books that won the IBPA’s 2016 Benjamin Franklin Book Award for a cookbook: One volume is on the intricacies of their 18-story below-ground cave employing a gravity-flow wine-making technique and the other features recipes to inspire your own feasts around the various vintages.
Palmaz Vineyards 2013 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, $145; Palmaz Vineryards book set, $130 (slipcase) or $250 (limited-edition “wine crate” case); palmazvineyards.com
THE HIGHLY SKILLED HOME COOK:
A frequent visitor to Southwest Florida, celebrity chef and sustainable seafood advocate Rick Moonen just released Blades by Rick Moonen, a line of professional-grade knives and kitchen tools. The main kit comes with both a countertop block and travel sleeve, and there’s a steak knife set as well. His wife, Roni, used to live here (and, in full disclosure, was an art director at Gulfshore Life); we think her keen eye may have had a role in the user-friendly yet sleek design.
12-piece cutlery set, $199; six-piece steak knife set, $39; bladesbymoonen.com
THE GADGET HOUND:
Naples-based philanthropist Shelly Stayer is a co-owner of the multinational Johnsonville Sausage (along with the adorable Grace & Shelly's Cupcakes stores locally). Last spring, she invented a George Foreman-esque tabletop grill to easily cook brats to perfection, and just a few weeks ago she published The Sizzling Sausage Cookbook to help the creative juices flow in the kitchen.
Sizzling Sausage Grill, $99; sizzlingsausagegrill.com; cookbook, $19; amazon.com
THE CHOCOHOLIC:
Now no matter where you're from nowadays, there's a good chance you've heard of Norman Love Confections. The jewel-like chocolates and truffles have earned national recognition from Oprah and others—but what you may not know is that the man behind the brand is an incredibly giving force in our neck of the woods, donating his time and products to countless local charities. Knowing that makes gifting his holiday collection all that much sweeter. Our favorite? A candy cane with each of his 10 seasonal chocolates (including linzer cookie, mint patty, cranberry-apple and more).
2016 holiday collection gift sets, prices vary; 10-piece candy cane box, $26; normanloveconfections.com
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