For any dad who loves Italian food and drink (which is every dad, as far as we know), Appetito hereby presents our first Father’s Day gift guide. We’ve curated 12 excellent gift ideas for a range of budgets, all designed to make this Father’s Day special. The holiday is June 18, so please remember to check shipping times when ordering.
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1. Adopt an olive tree: Palazzo di Varignana, a luxury estate outside of Bologna, has embarked on an ambitious project to plant 160,000 olive trees among their swooning hills. One (or more) of these trees can be Dad’s for five years at a cost of 80 Euros. Learn more here. This environmentally-conscious endeavor is all the more relevant in the wake of the recent, devastating floods in the region.
2. Sign up Dad for one of the wine club tiers from Rimessa Roscioli restaurant in Rome, operated by two sommeliers (including Appetito contributor Lindsay Gabbard) where six select organic Italian wines are shipped to the States (via eco-friendly sailboats) twice a year (or one shipment of 12 bottles). Notes and videos are included to increase knowledge of the varietals and the winemakers; a QR code on the bottle offers instant education. And Dad gets a tasting menu with wine pairings at their renowned restaurant next time he’s in Rome!
3. One of Dad’s favorite pastimes, grilling outdoors, doesn’t need to be all hamburgers and hot dogs. Celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis has assembled a box full of Italian products that will give Dad’s grilling game a Tuscan twist. Included in the Giadzy La Grigliata Perfetta box are a mostarda (sweet pepper) grilling condiment and a Tuscan salt blend from the great Italian butcher Dario Cecchini, organic rosemary sprigs, an infused extra virgin olive oil by Massimo Bottura, and a balsamic vinegar from Modena.
4. Vino: The Essential Guide to Real Italian Wine by Joe Campanale, a highly-regarded NYC restaurateur, sommelier, and wine expert, which captures the magic of modern Italian wines in a manner that is both thorough and highly accessible. Making Dad an Italian wine expert is a win-win for the whole family.
5. Touted as the “first domestic countertop oven to hit 750°F" and cook a pizza in two minutes, the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo is a splurge at just under $1,000. But for the dad who’s constantly tinkering with his pizza dough recipes, and for the family that gets to enjoy the restaurant-quality pies at home, the Breville Pizzaiolo is well worth it.
6. Steak Knives from Hexclad will add some edge to Dad’s carnivorous endeavors. These 67-layer Japanese Damascus steel blades slice meat like butter. The ergonomic and handsome handles of forest-tinged pakkawood are built to last for generations.
7. How about a care Package from Terra di Siena? According to the dads at Appetito, nothing says “I love you!” on Father’s Day like cured Italian meats. What makes this gesture so unique is that a curated selection or existing gift box from Terra di Siena comes from a salumeria in the hills of southwestern Virginia owned and operated by Filippo Gambassi, a third-generation, Tuscan salumi maker who has brought his traditions and skills to the U.S.
8. Order some pizza! No, we’re not talking Domino’s or any other local delivery. We’re talking about filling Dad’s freezer with pies from Kesté Pizza & Vino, owned and operated in New York City by Roberto Caporuscio, an ingenious pizzaiolo and entrepreneur who has figured out how to deliver frozen pies, in an array of styles (including gluten-free), that are as good as you get from the best pizza spots in New York City.
9. Know the exact internal temperature of your meat with the ChefsTemp Pocket Pro Digital thermometer. Available in four eye-catching colors and designed with a simple yet stylish look, this device will be a game changer for Dad during the next cookout or at home making a Bistecca Fiorentina cooked to a medium rare.
10. Holy Ravioli! Any Nonna worth her sauce can tell you that every ravioli is a love letter to the recipient, so why not send dad a treasure trove of such letters via the homemade, organic four ravioli sampler packet from Nicola’s Marketplace?
11. Let Dad find the perfect amaro for him with a Don Ciccio & Figli Amaro Discovery Kit, from an Italian-born distiller who revived his family’s multi-generational recipes from his adopted home in Washington DC. Experience a line that ranges from limoncello to fernet, with 15 50-milliliter sample bottles in one box.
12. We couldn’t publish our first-ever Italian Father’s Day Gift Guide without including a pasta maker. Affordable and good-looking on the counter, the Hamilton Beach Electric Pasta Machine turns out incredible fresh pasta with very little effort. We love a good hand crank too, but sometimes dads need a break!
