sfmvca

I am unfortunately only an infrequent traveler, so I certainly appreciate the abundant good information provided on this forum. My wife and I are off to visit my daughter who is a French major spending a semester in Nancy, France, and living with a middle aged couple with college aged children of their own. We were hoping to take them a couple of bottles of California wine as a gift, as they are both aficionados. My local wine shop, though, has discouraged me from doing so, since it is not possible to carry liquids on board the plane, and transport of fine wine in the cargo hold is reportedly potentially very bad for fine wines.
Can anyone suggest a nice gift for this family that has so kindly taken in my daughter? (We live near San Francisco, with lots of shopping opportunities.)Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Underhill

I can only tell you what our French friends, now back home after a year as our neighbors, ask us to bring them: brownie mix, dried blueberries, jerky (both turkey and beef), big bars of Trader Joe's dark chocolate (yes, I know they live in France, but they love the TJ bars), and Native American art. Photo books of California have been big hits as well.

If you decide to take wine, make it a good Zinfandel--that grape is only now being grown in France. We've taken wine in our checked luggage, and it's been just fine. Wrap it well in bubble wrap and then seal in a zip-lock style baggie.

cigalechanta

my French friends like scotch that is vwey expensive there, so we always brought bottles in our checked lugage.
Ask yor daughter if they would like that or whatever they maay like.

PRLCH

Our daughter went on exchange to France last year (from Australia). We sent wine, but organised it through an Australian exporter who was a distributor in Europe (found them on the internet). They delivered direct on our behalf. Maybe you can find something like that? We also sent a lovely silk scarf with an aboriginal art design for the host mother which was very appreciated. Good luck - nice gifts which are not too bulky are always a challenge.

seafox

For about 25 years now I bring my friends in Germany brownie mix and red wine. Bubble wrap and ziplock bags as suggested, work well for me too. They make a feast of the two items....kind of funny to me but chocolate and red wine do go together. Your post reminds me,I need to ship some brownie mix and pop corn to them for Christmas.

cindyj

You have many great 'gourmet' shops in your area and our Belgian friends always love jars of condiments, like tapinades, jams, etc. from companies like Stonewall Kitchen. But these are also not available for carry on.

traveller1959

I am German and this are the things which I would like to get:

- brownie mix, pancake mix, muffin mix; rich dark chocololate frosting

- regional condiments and preservatives. e.g. jalapeno jelly, cactus jelly etc.

- really good salsa

- jerky, yes (although it is now available here)

- maybe a bottle of top-notch tequila

- of course a bottle of good californian wine

- a t-shirt (e.g. from a university)

- a beautiful photobook

- native American art

- hispanic art

travelgourmet

I remember visiting a girlfriend that was studying in France (Nancy, in fact). I suggested bringing wine and she advised against it. Her host family happened to express how much they would have liked to try some American wine, as the selection on offer in France is very limited. On the bright side, I didn't know much about wine in those days, so would have likely brought something really cr***y.

To that end (and considering that you live in SF), I would look into bringing a nice bottle of wine - not the supermarket stuff. Simply wrap it in buble wrap or other protection and put it into your checked luggage. Your wine shop is being a bit ridiculous, as wine (including fine wine) is shipped via air freight all the time. Indeed, I have checked wine as luggage numerous times and have shipped it (and had wineries ship it to me) via FedEx, all without issue.

As for the wine, I try to bring something that is either a smaller production run or from a smaller winery. It isn't that they are necessarily better (though they often are), as much as it is less likely to be something that someone has had before. One of my favorite mid-range CA wineries (that I have not seen in Europe) is Miner, especially the Garys Vineyard Pinot, but all of their wines are of a pretty high standard. The zinfandel suggestion is another good one - if you can get a bottle (I think you can only buy at the winery), then Rafanelli is my favorite. Otherwise, Seghesio is a good zin house.

hanl

I agree with travelgourmet - I wouldn't hesitate to put wine in my checked luggage either. I do it all the time and as far as I know, the wine hasn't suffered too much!

If really concerned about temperature changes affecting the wine then wrap the bottle in bubble wrap and then put it in a coolbag or similar in your suitcase.

Pat_in_Mich

When my daughter studied abroad in France a few years ago she took pancake mix and maple syrup as a gift for her host family.

ira

Hi SF,

I suggest something that says "Le far Ouest".

CA is a mysterious country to most Europeans (although they might have a more realistic idea than most New Yorkers), so any Native-American art or crafts would go over well, as would a good book of photos.


I think that bringing wine to France is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

cocofromdijon

Hi Ira, I agree with you for the Far West but not for the wine. My husband being a Burgundy wine lover was quite suprised when my first Australian guests (wine growers and gite owners in Barossa Valley) brought him a bottle of their own wine. He discovered that Aussie wines could be excellent too!

Passerine

I also say bring a couple of bottles of good CA wine. It is NOT a case of coals to Newcastle as the better U.S. wines are very hard to find here in Europe, esp. from smaller wineries. Bring the wine for no other reason than for them to taste something different from the mediocre CA stuff available in French supermarkets.

Wine is shipped by air all around the world every day. The only reason I would say not to bring the wine is if your travel takes place in the middle of a major heat wave.

Bubble wrap the bottles well and put them in a hard sided plastic container inside your checked suitcase. You can put any breakable souvenirs or even your dirty laundry inside the container for your trip home.

travelgourmet

<i>I think that bringing wine to France is like carrying coals to Newcastle.</i>

Any serious wine drinker will appreciate good wine (and the best US wines are certainly the equal of the best from anywhere) from all over the world and would love to try something not normally available to them. Would you say that someone who lives in Bordeaux shouldn't bring a bottle of wine to visit friends in SF? Someone from Burgundy shouldn't bring a bottle to someone who lives in Oregon? With a little bit of research and spending in the $30+ range, you will certainly find a CA wine that will be better than 95% of the plonk on offer in France and will constitute a treat for virtually any French wine drinker.

mclaurie

I love Gumps and happen to notice these Xmas ornament (pizza slice and beer stein) on sale which I thought were charming.
http://gumps.com/jump.jsp?itemID=900...ProductID=9001

Can someone please explain the brownie mix thing to me?

sfmvca

The input from the forum has been very helpful, both the specific suggestions as well as the discussion of the pluses and minuses of wine as a gift. Much appreciated.

seafox

I guess the brownie mix thing is simple - they don't have it. Sure we can all make fabulous home made brownies, Nigela's recipe kicks butt....but a pre-made mix from Duncan Hines...nothing like it...

Haras

My work often brings me to Europe and my French and Belgian collegues love famous amos cookies!

grapes

Hello, have you thought of a typical local item other than wine? i.e. Gilroy, the garlic capital.

bratsandbeer

A good idea is to take a bottle of maple flavoring so they can make their own syrup. I have used it many times when I lived out of town and would be out of syrup.

You can also take a pancake recipe and take a set of American measuring cups and spoons so they can use our pancake recipes.