The Ultimate Valentine's Day Food + Drink Gift Guide

Billecart-Salmon Champagne

Champagne is a must at any Valentine's Day celebration, and there's no better champagne to toast your love than Champagne Billecart-Salmon, one of the few family-owned champagne houses left standing, and created from a true love story. Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon were married in 1818 and shortly after, founded the Billecart-Salmon Champagne House in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, near Epernay. Elisabeth’s brother, Louis Salmon, was a passionate oenologist and became the chief winemaker, setting the tone for their bright, elegant champagnes known for floral freshness and crisp fruit flavors. Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé is available nationwide and the pale pink hue and smooth, creamy palate bursting with wild strawberries is perfect for Valentine's Day. Cuvée Elisabeth is their Tête de Cuvée rosé, named for the family matriarch, if you care to splurge.

Perrier-Jouët Champagne

Another romantic champagne choice is Perrier-Jouët, founded in 1811 by newlyweds Pierre Nicolas Perrier and Rose-Adélaïd Jouët. To celebrate their love story this Valentine's Day, Perrier-Jouët has partnered with New York-based florist East Olivia to create a limited edition Forever Rosé arrangement. The gift set includes a porcelain vase, dried floral bouquet and a bottle of Perrier-Jouët Blason Rosé in the new 100% eco-friendly gift box. The everlasting florals are an elegant reminder of love at home year-round and dovetail with Perrier-Jouët's ethos of sustainability and their delicate cuveé.

Lail Vineyards’ J. Daniel Cuvée

Robin Lail is one of the most inspiring and iconic vintners in Napa Valley. She grew up at the vineyards in Inglenook, where her family pioneered fine winemaking in the region and this flagship cuvée is named in honor of her father. Fewer than 1,000 cases were produced and it's among the best cabernets in all of Napa Valley, a timeless wine for a timeless love. Purchase a bottle to enjoy now and save a bottle to enjoy 10, 20 or 30 years from now. Like true love, this cabernet and its ripe plum and black cherry flavors will only get better with age, as more nuanced flavors of smoky tobacco and earthy mushrooms develop.

Olympia Provisions Salumi Bouquet

Instead of roses, get the meat lover in your life this six stem salumi bouquet from Olympia Provisions available at Williams Sonoma. The Portland-based salumeria crafts each sausage with humanely raised pork using traditional European techniques and recipes. The six kinds of salumi here include Saucisson Sec, Loukanika, Cacciatore, Saucisson d'Alsace, Nola and Chorizo Rioja, all seasoned with fresh herbs and spices then dry cured for three weeks in natural casings.

Pat LaFrieda Steaks

With most of the country's best restaurants closed for dining in at this time, surprise your sweetheart with a Michelin-star worthy home-cooked meal. Professional chefs always emphasize the importance of starting with the best ingredients, and you can get the same cuts of meat that Eleven Madison Park, Minetta Tavern and The Beatrice Inn get from Pat LaFrieda. He even created the burger blend for Shake Shack. The 36-ounce dry-aged USDA prime black angus tomahawk steak is guaranteed to impress and the perfect size for sharing. Thick-cut prime filet mignon tenderloins are lean but flavorful, and available in 8-, 10- or 12-ounce portions.

Get Maine Lobster

Plan a surf and turf dinner with Get Maine Lobster, which ships fresh, sustainably-sourced seafood directly from the dock to your doorstep within 24 hours of ordering. There's hope, even if you're procrastinated, of cooking a five-star, multi-course restaurant-quality meal at home to impress your partner. There are several Valentine's Day packages to choose from including Love At First Bite with Maine lobster ravioli, white truffle tarragon butter, New England clam chowder and a pair of juicy filet mignons. The Queen Pack is another luxurious choice, truly a meal fit for royalty including Maine lobster tails, lobster bisque, lobster mac & cheese, filet mignons and whoopie pies for dessert.

OSHĒN Sustainable Salmon

Pescatarians can enjoy sustainably farmed salmon from the cold-water fjords of southern Chile with OSHĒN – another one of my favorite pairings for rosé champagne. The salmon ships either fresh or frozen, and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. Opt for 8-ounce portions of beautifully marbled skin-on fillets for a romantic dinner for two. Sear your salmon skin-side down for a deliciously crisp finish. After all, the skin contains the highest concentration of coveted omega-3 fatty acids. OSHĒN is certified by the Global Salmon Initiative and Best Aquaculture Practices and guaranteed to be free of hormones, micro-plastics and heavy metals.

Alma Kitchen Botanical Shortbread

What's better than a bouquet of flowers? A box of buttery shortbread strewn with edible flowers that's at once beautiful and scrumptious. Alexandra Griffin founded Alma Kitchen in August 2020 while struggling to find the perfect baby shower gift for her sister-in-law, inspired to found her own company after working in culinary innovation and international brand development for more than eight years. Griffin's signature fleur collectionincludes lemon thyme, lavender, pistachio and orange blossom cookies and the limited edition Valentine's Day collection features dark chocolate rose shortbread and truffles. Alma uses all organic ingredients including flowers from small farms in Ohio and San Diego, and donates a portion of proceeds from each box purchased to the Nature Conservancy, which funds the planting of one tree.

Bougie Bakes Cookies

This Los Angeles bakery specializes in gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free baked goods for your health-conscious Valentine. Bougie Bakes' new protein cookies, made with 6 grams of hi! cricket protein, prove that dessert can be good for you. "The fact that cricket protein is so nutrient dense and easy on the gut makes incorporating it into our baked goods a piece of cake," says co-founder Meghan Quinn. She substitutes a 1/2 cup of cricket protein for a cup of flour in her recipes and uses a combination of flour and flavorless cricket powder to keep her baked goods cake-like and moist. "The sustainability angle was also really appealing to us," Quinn says. "We're always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint."

DIY Macarons from Gallery Pastry

Macarons are notoriously delicate and difficult to perfect. You can order macarons shipped nationally from Gallery Pastry in Indianapolis, or you can try to make your own macarons at home with their bake at home kit, which makes 40-48 macaron shells. Just add egg whites to the mix and fill your shells with buttercream, jam or chocolate ganache. It's not easy, and you'll probably break a few shells, but you'll have access to a virtual class to walk you through the steps at home. Macarons are best eaten a day or two after they are baked for the perfect pillowy texture, and you'll want to store them in the refrigerator. Don't be nervous, broken shells still taste good too.

Sweets From Minny & Paul

Minny & Paul curate beautiful gifts from local artisans in and around Minneapolis. For Valentine's Day, they are thinking outside the heart-shaped box of chocolates with a gift that's equal parts sweet and self-care. Their Love gift box includes burnt sugar berry nougat candies, a lemon fluer de sel chocolate bar and a crushed salt + mist candle that will whisk you away to the seashore.

Lick Honest Ice Cream Citrus Flavors

This Austin-based ice cream shop uses Texas dairy in all of their pints and they're bringing a taste of sunshine to winter with their seasonal citrus flavors, available for nationwide delivery on Goldbelly. There's Orange Chiffon Cake, Golden Milk & Honey, Yaupon Matcha Chip, Orange Chocolate, Tequila Lime Pie and Grandma's Lemon Cake Roll. Lick Honest Ice Cream eschews high fructose corn syrup and preservatives in favor of fresh milk, cream and sugar, using farm-fresh ingredients. For Yaupon Matcha Chip, Lick works with two local Austin food artisans, sourcing foraged Central Texas yaupon (the only native North American plant that contains caffeine) from Local Leaf and bean-to-bar dark chocolate from SRSLY Chocolate. Grandma's Lemon Cake Roll is inspired by co-founder Anthony Sobotik's late grandma Hilda's lemon cake, replicating the flavors of sponge cake lathered in lemony cream.