Christmas Gifts in Lucca: The STELT Guide

This is STELT's guide to Christmas gifts in Lucca: how to choose a bottle, wine gift ideas for every budget, Champagne for the holidays, the gift voucher, panettone, and corporate gift boxes. STELT is a fine wine and Champagne shop at Via Borgo Giannotti 305, in Lucca. The bottles you find here can be purchased on the website and at the wine shop, with free pickup and free delivery within 25 km. This Christmas, our idea is simple: give the right wine, for real.

How to choose a wine gift

Before choosing, answer three questions. First: who is the gift for? A wine-loving friend, a relative, a colleague, or a client call for different choices. Second: what does that person usually drink? If they love Tuscan reds, a Chianti Classico or a Brunello di Montalcino is a safe choice. If they often open sparkling wine at the table, a Champagne is a natural choice. If they love trying wines that are a little different, you could choose a red Burgundy, a grower Champagne, or a wine from the hills around Lucca. Third: how much do you want to spend? That's why the ideas below are divided into four price ranges.

Also think about when the bottle will be opened. For Christmas dinner, you need a wine that's ready to drink; a bottle to keep, on the other hand, can spend a few years in the cellar. If you know their favorite wine, you could give them the same wine from another vintage, or a wine from the same region made by a different producer. The format matters too: a magnum holds as much as two bottles and is suited to a large gathering.

When you don't know the recipient's tastes well, the safest choice is a gift voucher, because they can choose the bottle themselves. If you come by the wine shop, you can ask us for advice: tell us who the gift is for and how much you want to spend, and we'll choose together.

Wine gift ideas by price range

The four collections below show only available bottles and update automatically. Up to €30, they mainly feature red and white wines from Piedmont and Tuscany. From €30 to €60, the first Champagne bottles appear, along with many wines from Burgundy. In the two highest price ranges, Burgundy and Champagne make up the largest part of the selection. For each range, we suggest two bottles to start with.

• Wines to give as gifts up to €30: Pruneto's Chianti Classico 2022, a red from Tuscany; and Coteaux Bourguignons 2022 from Domaine Kuheiji, a red from Burgundy.
• Wines to give as gifts from €30 to €60: Les Ports from Jérôme Blin, a non-vintage Champagne from a vigneron in Vincelles, on the south bank of the Marne, where the estate has been family-owned since 1671 and has practiced biodynamic farming since 2018; and Borgogno's Derthona 2024, a Piedmontese white made from Timorasso grapes.
• Wines to give as gifts from €60 to €150: the Tenuta di Valgiano 2014, the flagship red from an estate in the hills around Lucca; and Gilles Bouton's Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru 2021, a white wine from Burgundy.
• Wines to give as gifts over €150: the Barolo Ravera 2020 from Vietti, a winery in Castiglione Falletto, a Nebbiolo from a single vineyard, Ravera, in the municipality of Novello; and Billecart-Salmon's Cuvée Louis 2008, a vintage Champagne Blanc de Blancs.

If you want to give a wine from Lucca as a gift, start with the Tenuta di Valgiano 2014. The Tenuta di Valgiano was founded by Moreno Petrini and Laura di Collobiano, practices biodynamic farming, and is located in the hills around Lucca, at an altitude of 250 meters, between the Apennines and the coast. The wine named after the estate is based on Sangiovese, with Merlot, Syrah, and other varieties, under the DOC Colline Lucchesi. This appellation has existed since 1968 for reds and since 1985 for whites. Many wineries in the hills around Lucca practice biodynamic farming and belong to the Lucca Biodinamica network.

Champagne and spirits for the holidays

Champagne is opened for the Christmas and New Year’s toast and shared at the table. There are three collections to choose from.

• The Champagne from vignerons, meaning winegrowers who make their own Champagne. There are more than 16,000 vignerons in Champagne, and they own almost 90% of the vineyards, while the maisons account for more than two-thirds of sales.
• The Champagne under €100, useful when you need to buy several gifts.
• The Champagne vintages. A vintage Champagne is made from grapes from a single harvest, stated on the label, and by rule remains in the cellar for at least three years from bottling: it’s a way to give a specific year.

Also read the label: Blanc de Blancs indicates a Champagne made only with white grapes, usually lighter; Blanc de Noirs indicates a Champagne made only with black grapes, usually more powerful. If you bring it to dinner, remember that Champagne is served chilled, between 8 and 10 °C.

For those who prefer spirits, there’s the selection of spirits: mainly Caribbean rums and Scotch whiskies, including collectible bottles. Spirits can only be shipped within Europe.

The gift card and the wine from the year of birth

The STELT gift card comes in denominations of €50, 100, 150, 250, 500, 1,000 and 2,500. It arrives by email with a code, never expires and can be used on the website: the recipient can choose for themselves, even later, after the holidays. It’s also convenient when the recipient lives far away.

For an important birthday, such as a 40th, 50th or 60th, or for an anniversary, there’s wine from the year of birth: a bottle from the year the person you’re celebrating was born, or from the year they got married. Older vintages are collected in the Older Vintages collection.

At the wine shop in Lucca: Calciano panettone and gourmet foods

Some gifts are available only at the wine shop at Via Borgo Giannotti 305. These include 1 kg Calciano panettone, available in three flavors: classic at €29, peach and apricot at €32, pear and chocolate at €36. Each panettone comes with a complimentary gift card and bag. Panettone is sold only at the wine shop, not on the website.

There’s also a selection of gourmet foods to complete your gift: preserves, legumes and pasta. These products are also sold in-store only. A panettone and a bottle make a complete gift, to take to dinner or put under the tree.

L's wine shop is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 am to 8 pm, without a break. It is closed on Mondays and Sundays.

Gift hampers and corporate gifts

We prepare different types of gift hampers, starting at €30, and can also tailor them to your needs. For businesses, we prepare hampers with panettone and wine and a card bearing the company’s message. We deliver them to your business and issue an invoice. To request a quote, write to shop@steltwines.com or stop by the wine shop.

Pickup, delivery and shipping

• Free pickup at the wine shop: orders are usually ready within 24 hours.
• Free delivery within 25 km of Lucca, even for a single bottle: we’ll bring it to you.
• Free shipping in Italy on orders over €200 and to most of Europe on orders over €800. Insured shipping is also available for a fee. Full details are on the Shipping and Packaging page.

If the gift needs to be shipped, it's best to order in good time.

You can choose your gift at the wine shop, at Via Borgo Giannotti 305 in Lucca, or order it on the website with free pickup at the wine shop or free delivery within 25 km. All the ideas in this guide are collected on the Christmas Gifts page.