Beyond Wine: Beautiful Bottles for Gifting, Hosting, and Mixing

When you know your hosts care about food, a bottle of wine isn’t the only thing worth bringing. A small-batch olive oil. A rich maple syrup. A quietly elegant ingredient that’s as useful as it is beautiful makes a wonderful gift.

While wine may have long been the default gesture for hosts and holiday tables, the culture around gifting is shifting. Non-alcoholic options are growing more refined, and so is the appreciation for pantry staples that feel considered — things people will actually use, savour, and remember.

This season, Flavourfull’s collection includes a few standout bottles — each one well suited for bringing to dinner, sharing with guests, or keeping close at hand in your own kitchen.

Deortegas Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cold-pressed in Spain from arbequina olives, this oil is bold and fragrant, with a green, grassy aroma and just the right peppery bite. It’s made for finishing — drizzle it over roasted squash, stir it into a lemony vinaigrette, or use it to enrich a bowl of warm lentils. For gifting, it’s both a delicious and practical luxury.

Escuminac Great Harvest Maple Syrup
Harvested from a single forest and bottled unblended to express the full character of its terroir, this certified organic syrup from Quebec’s Escuminac estate is anything but ordinary. Rich, dense, and deeply aromatic, it opens with warm notes of buttered brown sugar, date purée, and English toffee, followed by hints of green anise and a subtle whisper of curry. The finish is long, textured, and unmistakably refined — a far cry from everyday syrup. Use it in baking, brush it over roasted squash or carrots, or stir it into a holiday old-fashioned. It’s a gift that feels generous and special. 

Kishibori Shoyu
A small-batch Japanese soy sauce brewed on the island of Shodoshima and aged in cedar barrels. Deep and umami-rich, this shoyu brings surprising elegance to even the simplest dishes — poured over silken tofu, stirred into broths, or brushed over grilled mushrooms. A bottle lasts, and makes an excellent addition to a host’s pantry.

Fusion Verjus Rouge
New to the shop, this dry, tangy verjus is made from Alicante and Rubired grapes harvested mid-summer, when their natural acidity is high and sugar still low. The pressed juice remains unfermented, creating a delicately tart, deeply coloured ingredient prized by chefs and winemakers alike for its balance and versatility. It offers the kind of depth and complexity so often missing from non-alcoholic red wines — with bright acidity, gentle tannins, and real structure. Ideal as a base for zero-proof cocktails, it also shines in pan sauces, vinaigrettes, and reductions.

Belberry Elderflower Syrup
Floral and delicately sweet, this syrup brings a soft lift to both sparkling drinks and desserts. Add a dash to pear spritzes, drizzle it over poached fruit, brush over cake layers or stir it into whipped cream for a light, herbal note. It’s so delicious, we’d happily drink it straight from the bottle — and that’s only half a joke. It’s equally welcome in a cocktail or at brunch.

Together, these bottles offer something more interesting and intentional than alcohol — gifts that show care and linger long after the evening ends.

Need a bag to carry your giftable bottle? We’ve got those too — so you're ready to wrap and go.

To help you put them to use, we’re sharing two zero-proof cocktail recipes made with verjus rouge and elderflower syrup. Each is simple to prepare, designed to pair well with food, and a wonderful addition to your hosting repertoire.

Pear & Elderflower Spritz
Serves 1

Pear's floral notes are played up when matched with elderflower, making a special seasonal spritz with just enough citrus to brighten.

Ingredients
1 tbsp Belberry elderflower syrup
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 slices firm, ripe pear, plus more to garnish
½ cup soda water
Lemon twist

Method

1. In a highball glass, combine the elderflower syrup, lemon juice, and pear slices. Muddle gently to release the juices, then fill the glass with ice and top with soda water. Stir gently and garnish with additional pear and a lemon twist, if desired.

Crafted with Belberry Elderflower Syrup, available now in the shop.

The Red & Black
Makes approx. 6–8 servings of syrup

Structured and richly layered, this zero-proof drink offers the depth and feel of a classic stirred cocktail. Black tea and orange-zest syrup bring warmth and tannin, while verjus adds acidity and length.

Tea Syrup
2 tbsp white sugar
2 tbsp demerara or brown sugar
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 strong black tea bag (such as Yorkshire Gold)
1½ cups boiling water

To Serve
Fusion Verjus Rouge
Orange peel twist

Method

1. In a heatproof bowl or jar, combine the sugars and orange zest. Work together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Pour boiling water over the tea bag and steep for 4 minutes, then discard the tea bag. Pour the hot tea over the sugar mixture and stir to dissolve. Transfer the syrup to a container and chill until ready to use.

2. To serve, combine Fusion Verjus Rouge and tea syrup in a 2:1 ratio. Pour over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with an orange peel twist.

The tea syrup can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Once opened, Fusion Verjus Rouge should also be refrigerated to maintain its freshness.