Build the perfect, and most delicious Sonoma County Gift Basket with artisan food and craft beverage products for that special foodie, craft spirit lover, cider lover, or coffee lover in your life.
The following are some of my favorite local Sonoma County craft spirits, craft cider, artisan chocolate and cheese makers, local coffee roasters, and farms. I recommend building the most amazing artisan food and craft beverage gift basket possible by choosing one item each from a handful of the following local Sonoma County businesses.
What’s better than a cheese and charcuterie basket stuffed with locally made cheese and charcuterie? A cheese and charcuterie basket that comes with local artisan chocolate, a couple of bottles of craft cider, and a bar of decadent, organic, bean-to-bar chocolate (or an equally decadent box of local chocolates).
Looking for a gift for a vegetarian or vegan? Skip the cheese and charcuterie and curate the perfect craft spirit or cider + Extra Virgin Olive Oil + Apple-inspired treats from a local apple farm and a bag of locally roasted, fair trade espresso beans.
Build Your Own Artisan Food & Drink Gift Basket
Local Craft Spirits-Buy Direct!
Young and Yonder
Pick up one of Young and Yonder’s excellent locally-distilled and crafted spirits (gin, vodka, rye, amaro, bourbon..) or opt for one of their ‘cocktail of the month’ kits to add a bit of ‘hands on’ fun. Kits include a bottle of spirits plus mixers and garnishes. Popular kits include Y&Y’s Old Fashioned kit, Lime Vodka Mule kit, H.O.B.S Modern G&T kit, and Vodka Bloody Mary kit.
Purchase online and pick up locally in Healdsburg.
Shop Young and Yonder spirits.
Sonoma Spiritworks
This local women-lead, family-run distillery crafts their spirits batch by batch using whole organic grains (grown locally whenever possible) which they mill, mash, ferment, and distill entirely on site. While they are relatively new to the local craft spirits scene, they’ve quickly become a favorite due to both the quality of their products as well as the ethics of their company.
Try one of Sonoma Spiritwork’s cocktail kits for the aspiring bartender in your life. Or, grab a bottle of their Four Grain Straight Bourbon whiskey for the whiskey lover in your life.
Order online and pick up locally at their distillery inside the Barlow in Sebastopol.
Hanson of Sonoma Distillery
Voted 2020 Distillery of the Year by the NorthBay Business Journal and 2020 Vodka of the Year by U.S. Spirits, Hanson has been taking the local, craft vodka scene by storm. A bottle of Hanson’s Meyer lemon, cucumber, or ginger vodka would be the perfect addition to a craft spirit lover’s Christmas gift basket. They’ve also got some pretty neat pre-batched seasonal cocktail and cocktail kit options.
Local Craft Ciders-Build Your Own Cider Gift Basket
As you may or may not know (if you read my blog) I LOVE craft cider. Especially sustainably and/or organically farmed dry craft ciders made with local Sonoma County apples and an elegant touch (the kinds of ciders that make white wine drinkers happy :)). I think a bottle or two of craft cider makes the perfect addition to any artisan food and drink basket, I’ve turned non-cider drinkers into cider lovers by sneaking cider into their Christmas stockings in the past š
Ethic Cider
Ethic makes hard apple ciders using fruit sourced from their own heirloom orchard and neighboring West Sonoma County orchards.
All of the fruit they use in their ciders is 100% organic and dry farmed. You can buy Ethicās dry cider and off-dry hard ciders on their website or pick them up from them directly, in Petaluma. Ethic even offers FREE delivery to locations in Alameda, San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma Counties
Try Ethic’s Holiday Sampler pack for a nice sampling of their core ciders.
Golden State
Golden State Cider Co. opened up their (long awaited) taproom, in The Barlow complex in Sebastopol, in late 2019. They offer all of their core ciders plus a good selection of special Sonoma County apples only ciders (which they call their ‘Harvest Series’) at the taproom and you can either pick up growlers or cans from the taproom directly or purchase Golden State ciders online and have them shipped or delivered locally.
Horse and Plow Cider
Horse and Plow winery makes a line of spectacular ciders which they are almost as well known for now as their wines!
One of my favorite ciders at Horse and Plow is the Hops and Honey Cider. It is not sweet, but fermented with honey and yeast at bottling which results in an in-bottle fermentation (like Champagne) and therefore a dry, sparkling cider. Itās absolutely lovely! If you’ve got a serious cider lover in your life try Horse and Plow’s Cider Lover’s Gift Pack .
Their ciders can be purchased online and picked up locally at their winery/tasting barn in Sebastopol.
Local Olive Oil
Fresh, high-quality, organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil may be one of life’s greatest pleasures. Once tasted, it’s impossible to ever go back to characterless, stale, oil sourced from unclear origins again! Give the gift of lifelong dissatisfaction with supermarket olive oil to that special foodie or home Chef in your life. They’ll thank you. Or they’ll blame you for changing their life and forcing them to buy more expensive but blissfully delicious olive oil for the rest of the time. Either way, it’s a gift they won’t easily forget.
Gold Ridge Organic Farms
Located in Sebastopol, Gold Ridge Organic Farms produces estate-grown olives, apples, and citrus on 88 acres in the coastal hills. Farmer Brooke Hazen mills and presses the farm’s Italian, Spanish, and French olives on-site within hours of harvest, locking in the health benefits with the highest quality, maximum freshness, and best flavors. The resulting certified Extra Virgin and Organic Olive oils are fresh, delicious, and high in polyphenols and antioxidants.
The farm also makes a range of amazing and unique, handcrafted farm products including apple and citrus products such as apple cider syrups, shrubs, vinegar, citrus-infused oils, and olive oil soap, and incorporates neighboring artisan and farm products (such as Volo Chocolate and mulling spices from Little Apple Treats) into their Farm Gift baskets.
A few of my favorite products from Gold Ridge are the Arbequina blend olive oil, Meyer lemon-infused olive oil, olive oil soaps infused with essential oils, and mulling spices (their addition of rose petals and dried apples is amazing!).
Two of my favorite Achadinha products are the Fromage Blanc (so addictive! and Bavarian cream cheese (a decadent, rich, sweet dessert or fruit topper that is somewhere between a creme fraiche, a cream cheese, and a decadent pudding in consistency). But I also love their firmer cheeses alongside charcuterie and wine. I also love that they are in Petaluma, so it’s convenient to do other artisan food and beverage pickups at some of my other favorite places like Ethic Cider, Thistle Meats, etc.
Local Cheese-Buy Direct!
Achadinha Cheese
Achadinha is a family-owned and operated farm and creamery in Petaluma. You can purchase their cheeses directly from them on their website and pick them up at the farm or have them delivered for a $10 delivery charge within the SF Bay Area.
Bohemian Creamery
Bohemian Creamery offers a variety of goat, cow, sheep, and bufala milk cheeses. You can purchase their cheese directly from Bohemian Creamery’s shop and creamery in Sebastopol (just down the road from Horse and Plow how convenient..!). Store hours are Friday-Sunday and Monday holidays from 10am to 6pm.
Valley Ford Creamery
Valley Ford Creamery is a farmstead operation, located in the coastal green hills of West Sonoma County. This mother-and-son team makes cheeses with wholesome milk made by beautiful Jersey cows, in an Italian style and offers them for sale at their creamery/restaurant/shop in Valley Ford (just next door to Estero Cafe).
Why not pop a block of Estero Gold into an artisan gift basket for the cheese-lover in your life?
*Valley Ford hasn’t listed any of their holiday offers on their website or made it possible to place online orders so you’ll need to call them at (707) 293-5636 or pick their cheeses up at a local Olivers’ Markets.
Locally Cured Meats
Journeyman Meat
Top off your amazing Sonoma County artisan food and drink gift basket with Journeyman’s traditional, handcrafted salumi. Shop their selection of Pantry Packs, Gift Sets and individual salumi. You can pick your order up at Journeyman’s Healdsburg shop, get it delivered locally, or have it shipped nationwide.
If you know a serious cured meat fanatic, check out Journeyman’s one-year Salumi Club membership!
Salumeria Ovello (Sonoma)
Salumeria Ovello offers an array of spectacular salumi as well as several different types of focaccia baked fresh daily, Italian cakes and desserts, grissini (breadsticks), and lingue di suocera (house made crackers). Take a look at Ovello’s online shop for ideas for mouth-watering items to add to a gourmet gift basket perfect for the ultimate foodie in your life.
*Chef Andrea also makes other specialties from northern Italy (take-out anyone?). See Salumeria Ovello’s Menu.
Local Artisan Chocolate
Farm Chocolate
Patty Doyle of Farm Chocolate strives to create the most authentic and delectable confections, without the use of conventional techniques or machines. Her handmade artisan chocolates are renowned in Sonoma County and beyond and are known to be addictive so please note that you have been warned.
Insanely popular items from Farm Chocolate that would make great stocking stuffers include their dark chocolate covered Sea Salt Lavendar Caramels and Cardamom Brown Butter Hazelnut Bar.
*Ship your Farm Chocolate orders or pick them up locally in Sebastopol.
Volo Chocolate
Ethically sourced and farmed bean-to-bar chocolates made by the nicest people ever (who also happen to be phenomenal Chefs) in a small industrial space in Windsor. Shop for Volo Chocolate on Volo’s website and pick your order up in person or have it shipped. You can also connect with owners and chocolatiers Jeff and Susan at the Saturday Healdsburg Farmers’ Market where they often unveil special new items.
Rest assured, that if you slip something from Volo Chocolate into a stocking or gift basket for someone special, they will be happy.
Warning: Volo’s Mocha Bar (made with locally roasted Flying Goat coffee and cream) may ruin you for any other espresso and chocolate confection for life.
Fleur Sauvage
For the fanciest and most beautiful of all Sonoma County artisan chocolates, look no further than Fleur de Sauvage. These chocolates are more than candy, they are tiny pieces of art.
Owner and chocolatier Robert āButtercupā Nieto, crafts intricate custom chocolates for local wineries using seasonal ingredients. Fleur Sauvage Chocolates also sells at Sonoma County Farmers Markets, Festivals, and special events. While they don’t have an online shop set up yet, Fleur Sauvage is currently taking orders for local deliveries via email or phone.
Locally Roasted Coffee Beans
Avid Coffee
Avid Coffee, formerly known as Acre Coffee, works exclusively with coffee growers who support sustainable farming and business practices, and their expertly roasted coffee has been awarded āBest In Sonoma Countyā. As an espresso lover (and a bit of an espresso snob) I can confirm that their espresso is FANTASTIC. I’m rarely near an Avid Coffee but when I am I always stop for a macchiato and I’ve started purchasing their espresso to use at home as well.
Avid has multiple retail/cafe locations throughout Sonoma County in Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and Sebastopol where you can purchase beans from them directly. Or, you can Shop Avid Coffees online and place orders for pickup or shipping.
Bella Rosa Coffee
Bella Rosa is a locally owned coffee company that roasts 100% organic, fair trade beans for their different coffee and espresso.
Shop for their coffees on their website, catch up with them at local Farmers’ Markets (they regularly attend the Saturday Santa Rosa Farmers Lane market), or pick up a bag of their beans at any local Oliver’s Market.
Flying Goat
I may be biased because I’ve been a Flying Goat customer for fifteen years but I love Flying Goat’s espresso (don’t ask me about regular coffee I only drink espresso, macchiatos, and cappuccinos I’m soooo lame) and these guys have remained as popular as they are for so long for a reason.
You can purchase Flying Goat coffee beans and espresso from either of their local stores (Healdsburg and Santa Rosa) or from their online shop. They have also started offering ‘coffee subscriptions‘ which I think would make a great gift for the coffee nerd in anyone’s life.