Salubrious & Sybaritic

Pamper your frazzled loved ones with sybaritic treatment and fragrance products from the good earth of wine country.

Susan Costner Kenward, the founder of Napa Valley Fragrances, has created a line of fragrances from Napa Valley flora such as daphne odora, a shrub native to northern California whose flowers are magically aromatic with touches of citrus, jasmine and honeysuckle. Kenward combined the scent of daphne with the herbaceousness of grape leaves to create Cielo, an eau du parfum introduced several years ago in 50-ml. ($52) or 100-ml. bottles ($90). This fall, she added a Cielo body lotion ($36), Cielo soap box ($18) and Cielo candle ($40). Look for the Cielo line in stores such as Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Picket Fence in Sun Valley and Aedes de Venustas in New York City. Napa Valley Fragrances, 1335 Main Street, Suite 106, St. Helena, CA 94574. Phone: (707) 963-9381; fax: (707) 963-0765.

One need not live in the Napa Valley to enjoy the salubrious qualities of its grapes. Napa Valley Grapeseed Oil Company cold-presses Napa Valley grapeseeds to produce the only non-solvent-extracted grapeseed oil in the United States. "So many people bought our oil to use on their skin...they began asking if we could make a version of body products [so] we created Napa Valley Grapeseed Oil lavender body oil," explains Christy Abreu, whose family makes the oil. An herbalist assisted with solar-infusing the oil with lavender. It is water-soluble, so it washes out of clothes and linens, and comes in two sizes, a 3.4-ounce bottle ($10) and a 6.8-ounce size ($20). Available at Rutherford Grove Winery, 1673 Highway 29, Rutherford, CA 94573. Phone: (707) 963-7319; fax: (707) 963-7641; Web site: info@rutherfordgrove.com.

Jeanette O'Gallagher directs the spa treatments at Meadowood Resort in the heart of the Napa Valley, and while she had been using Napa Valley Grapeseed Oil in her treatments, she wanted to take the concept of grape- and wine-related spa products to the next level. Thus was born Napa Valley Spa Products, a line consisting of Crush Body Scrub ($34), Harvest Body Oil ($34), Devine Body Mud ($34), Potion Body Lotion ($34) and Glycerine Soap ($7 per bar, in grape cluster or grape leaf shapes). The packaging is as stunning as the products are soothing. Napa Valley Spa Products, P.O. Box 562, Rutherford, CA 94573. Phone: (800) 963-3432; fax: (707) 963-0558.

Palate Pleasures

Food has long been a mainstay gift item, and with each passing year the choices become more bountiful and exotic. Edible gifts not only please the palate, they also relieve the gift-giver of the burden of determining someone's size or color preference.

Whether for New Year's or Mardi Gras, surprise your foodie friends with a feast straight from Creole-Cajun country via Carnival Brands Inc. The specialty purveyor will overnight frozen, ready-to-cook foods such as Seafood Gumbo (a 99 percent fat-free version also is available), Louisiana Bisques (crawfish, shrimp, crab or lobster), Étouffées (crawfish or shrimp), Shrimp Creole, Alligator Sauce Piquante and savory Crab, Shrimp, Crawfish, Lobster or "Baby" Cakes (a blend of all four). Prices vary based on quantity. Carnival Brands Inc., 5504 South Lambert Street, New Orleans, LA 70123. Phone: (800) 925-2774; fax: (504) 734-5886; Web site: www.carnivalbrands.com.

For those epicures on your list who long for the simpler things in life, consider giving them a selection of old-fashioned nut oils made by The California Press. Owner John Baritelle, who went to Europe to learn the craft of making old-fashioned nut oils and flours, produces handcrafted, first-pressed, virgin nut oils. His line includes walnut, filbert, pecan, almond and pistachio oils, which range in price from $14 to $16 for an 8-ounce bottle, and like nut flours ($16.50 for a 1-pound bag), made exclusively from whole and half nuts. The California Press, which is nestled in a vineyard near Yountville in the Napa Valley, welcomes visitors by appointment. Available in specialty gourmet shops and by mail order. The California Press, P.O. Box 408, Rutherford, CA 94573. Phone: (707) 944-0343; fax (707) 944-0350.

Wine connoisseurs will recognize the name Scharffenberger as that of the Mendocino sparkling winery founded and later sold by John Scharffenberger. Scharffen Berger Chocolates is also his namesake, albeit slightly tweaked. He and partner-chocolatier Robert Steinberg teamed up to create some of the finest chocolates made in America. Steinberg apprenticed with the Lyonnaise chocolate maker Bernachon, and returned home to make artisanal chocolates with great success. The line includes Home Chef Bars (275-gram bars available in different proportions of unsweetened or bittersweet cacao, $18 and up); the Professional and Almost-Professional Chef Bar (3-kg. and 1.5-kg. sizes in assorted percentages of cacao, $33 and up); the Handmade Cigar Gift Box (1 kg. packaged in a cigar-style gift box, $38); or the Candy Bar (12 individually wrapped 3-ounce bars, $48). Scharffen Berger Chocolates, 250 South Maple Ave., Unit F, San Francisco, CA 94080. Phone: (800) 930-4528; Web site: bean2bar@scharffen-berger.com.

Fare Extraordinaire

A plethora of culinary riches is now available via catalog. Be it the printed version or the electronic, there is much to be had beyond the standard fare offered by the ubiquitous culinary catalogs that appear in our mailboxes with such regularity.

• Corti Brothers, an old-fashioned, full-service grocery store, offers truly one-of-a-kind specialties, along with Darrell Corti's erudite descriptions in his catalog of such items as Shiro Shoyu, a rare white soy sauce. Corti Brothers, 5810 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95819. Phone: (916) 736-3800; fax: (916) 736-3807.

• Splurge on Dean & DeLuca's delightful girolle ($100) for making cheese rosettes or its marvelous and whimsical Smuggler's Suitcase ($300) filled with culinary curiosities from exotic locales. Dean & DeLuca, 560 Broadway, New York, NY 10012. Phone: (800) 221-7714; Web site: www.dean-deluca.com.

• Consider the Oakville Grocery's California Milk Pail, an assortment of artisanal cheeses in a quaint tin pail ($74). Oakville Grocery, 7856 St. Helena Highway, Oakville, CA 94562. Phone: (800) 736-6602; fax: (707) 944-1844; Web site: www.oakvillegrocery.com.

• American Spoon Foods offers a celebration of the Midwest's culinary traditions, from thimbleberry jam to birch bark baskets. American Spoon Foods, P.O. Box 566, Petoskey, MI 49770-0566. Phone: (888) 735-6700; Web site: www.spoon.com.

• Restaurant LuLu's Provençal-inspired condiments and seasonings, including Fig Balsamic Vinegar ($15.95) and White Truffle Honey ($8.95), are as authentic as they are sublime. Restaurant LuLu's, 816 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA 94107. Phone: (888) 693-5800.

• For a truly unusual comestible, give Katz and Company's set of two 250-ml. bottles of organically farmed nuovo varietal California olive oils. Bottled and sent within days of being harvested, the oils come with two rustic stoneware dipping saucers ($49). Katz and Company, 101 South Coombs, Y-3, Napa, CA 94559. Phone: (800) 676-7176.

• Murray's Cheese Shop, an institution in Greenwich Village, offers the fromage lover the world on a platter with its international selection of handcrafted cheeses. After more than 50 years in business, this renowned cheesemonger has printed its first catalog. Murray's Cheese Shop, 257 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014. Phone: (888) MY-CHEEZ; fax: (212) 243-5001; Web site: murrayscheese@msn.com.

Liquid Refreshment

Six of Napa Valley's small, primarily red wine producers joined together in a friendship/marketing group known as the Rotating Reds. The name was inspired by an annual dinner that by turn is hosted by Barnett, Harrison, Judd's Hill, Livingston, Pahlmeyer and von Strasser. Each year, the group offers a six-pack that includes one wine from each of the member producers ($268). The cutoff date for ordering in time for Christmas is November 15, so shop early for next year and place an order now. Rotating Reds, Harrison Vineyards, 1527 Sage Canyon Road, St. Helena, CA 94574. Phone: (707) 963-8271; fax: (707) 963-4552.

Another group offering a mixed case is the Appellation Collection. Twelve member wineries of the Stags Leap District – Chimney Rock, Clos Du Val, Hartwell, Pine Ridge, Regusci, Robert Mondavi, Robert Sinskey, S. Anderson, Shafer, Silverado, Stags' Leap Winery and Steltzner – are packaging their Cabernet Sauvignon (or cabernet-based blend) as a collective case offering ($395). Orders for next season should be placed during the months of September and October. Appellation Collection, Stags Leap District Winegrowers, P.O. Box 3236, Yountville, CA 94599. Phone: (707) 255-1720; fax: (707) 255-1760.

Is there a grappa-loving chess player on your list? La Scacchiera may be a chess set, but each of its 32 pieces is a 50-ml. bottle of grappa; half are filled with Grappa di Barbera, while the other half are filled with a blend of grappa and Graspanera, a coffee liqueur. The bottles are handblown by Italian craftsmen from the island of Murano, and the set comes with a mirrored board that can be packed into its accompanying handmade chestnut case. "Resisting the urge to drink the captured pieces will be the key to winning," declares the set's importer, Tom Alberico. This truly unique connoisseur's gift is priced at $1,500. Laird & Company, 1 Laird Road, Soobeyville, NJ 07724. Phone: (732) 542-0312; fax: (732) 542-3244.

Web-wise consumers may shop among a cornucopia of wine-oriented sites, but perhaps none is more dynamic and refined than Virtual Vineyards. Designed by Master Sommelier Peter Granoff and electronic whiz Robert Olson, Virtual Vineyards just may be the amazon.com of the wine world. Virtual Vineyards, 3803 East Bayshore Road, Suite 175, Palo Alto, CA 94303. Phone: (800) 289-1275; fax: (650) 919-1977; Web site: www.virtualvin.com.

Lavish Accouterments

You've found the perfect bottle; now you need to transform it into a lavish gift. In Golden Holidays' catalog you may choose from a rainbow of festive drawstring wine bags intended for 750-ml. wine bottles ($8 to $12 each). Most dramatic are the varied-color sleeves of sheer organdy, gathered at the top with silk tassels. Golden Holidays; Phone: (877) WINEBAGS; Web site: www.winebag.com.

To make a timeless gift of tableware call for Biordi Art Imports' catalog. This earthenware specialist offers every pattern of Deruta majolica imaginable. Situated in San Francisco's North Beach district, the charming shop welcomes customers seven days per week during the holidays. Biordi Art Imports, 412 Columbus Avenue, North Beach, CA 94133. Phone: (415) 392-8096; fax: (415) 392-2608.

If you'd like to wow the martini lover on your list, consider giving the heroic and dazzling martini glass that appears in the Bombay Gin advertisements. Designed by restaurant-interior designer Adam Tihany, it's available for $550 (per glass). A unique interplay of Christofle silver and crystal, this awesome stemware was produced in a limited, numbered series. Christofle also offers its own breathtakingly beautiful Venetian stemware, including Casanova in crackled red and gold glass; Orseolo, in red and white with crackled gold accents; and Doge, conical-form glasses in festive colors. Prices range from $255 to $350 per stem. Christofle; Phone: (800) 799-6886.

For wine lovers who appreciate something more rustic, allow Mother Ocean to fill their stocking with all manner of nifty, driftwood-fashioned wine and table accouterments designed by an artist who combs the beaches of southern Oregon. Wine re-corkers are $7 ($6 each for three or more), while a set of four napkin rings is priced at $14. NW Best, 598 Mason Way, Medford, OR 97501. Phone: (541) 734-5514.

One Size Fits All

Why not share the insight of an opinionated insider?

• Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences: A Weekly Wine Commentary; published 48 times yearly, Berger shares his acumen with consumers for $48 and with the trade for $75. 1155 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite 174, Topanga, CA 90290. Phone: (310) 455-9463; fax: (310) 455-2294.

• The Curmudgeon's Home Companion: Dan Goldberg's Monthly Guide to Reality and Good Food; $18 for an annual subscription. P.O. Box 3312, Yountville, CA 94599. Phone: (707) 258-5235; Web site: www.curmudgeon.com.

• Steven Dworman's First Sip: An Insider's Guide to Securing the Highest Rated Wines and Extraordinary Opportunities; $189 for an annual subscription to this monthly publication. According to the publisher, First Sip is intended "for people who appreciate the best of everything in life." The guide offers "The Most Wanted List" – information on the most coveted wines in the country (according to 400 retailers) and where to find them. First Sip, 11533 Thurston Circle, Los Angeles, CA 90049. Phone: (310) 472-5253.

• Norm Roby's Guide to Winery Direct Wines, published eight times yearly by Wine News Contributing Editor Norm Roby; $45 by U.S. mail, $24 via e-mail. Roby's guide is chock-full of insider advice on California, Oregon and Washington boutique wines that will never make it to the retail shelf. P.O. Box 87, Healdsburg, CA 95448. Phone: (707) 937-4103; fax: (707) 937-4154; Web site: www.robywine.com.

• The Vine, published by Wine News Contributing Editor Clive Coates, M.W.; $96/surface mail or $140 airmail for an annual subscription to this monthly publication. The Europhiles among your friends will revel in Coates' inimitable critiques of the latest vintages. The Vine, 76 Woodstock Road, London W4 1EQ, UK. Phone: 44.181.995.8962; fax: 44.181.995.8943.

May the gifts that you bestow bring great joy and pleasure – both in the giving and the receiving.

Guest Contributor Julie Ann Kodmur is the editor of the Napa Valley Wine Library Report.