At The Table Less Traveled, we are boutique travel experts, cooking class connoisseurs, world explorers, food enthusiasts, and patrons of local businesses. Supporting local makers is an integral part of TTLT’s values and we are grateful that so many of them share their stories, products, and knowledge with us when we visit them on our small group trips. For Small Business Saturday, we created a Shop Small Business Gift Guide for some of our favorite state-side small businesses! They have great gift options for wine lovers, foodies, and travelers for the upcoming 2021 holiday season.

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For Wine Lovers

Archipelago Wines

The very first time our founder, Annie, had Pétillant Natural was with Marti & Chris from Archipelago Wines. She instantly fell in love with their bubbly varietal and enjoyed listening to their passion for wine and personal histories on the islands, that she had to share it with the rest of the TTLT community on our San Juan Islands trip. Now we’re sharing with all of you!

Orcas Island Winery

Orcas Island Winery is the first and only destination winery on Orcas Island and is home to an always-evolving winery and shop. Wes and Tera curate the best of the island’s providers, feature wines from award-winning Washington state winemaker, Chris Lawler, and pour up to 10 locally produced & crafted wines, including reds, whites, rosé, and natural sparkling wines. We love working with Wes, who is always open to our big TTLT ideas and created an incredible experience on our San Juan Islands trip.

Crunchy Red Fruit

CRF is one of our cooking class partners! We love to invite master sommelier, Jackson, to share his expertise and love for wine in our online cooking classes. Crunchy Red Fruit works with small producers who work organically in their vineyards and don’t obscure the natural taste of their grapes with chemical intervention. They also work with wineries that are transparent in their process and are honest about what they create. They have a few different subscription membership options and they also offer themed boxes!

Madrone Cellars

Madrone Cider & Cellar wines are made with minimal intervention, working with local farms for their hard cider apples and local ingredients. Shaun and Amy Salamida are striving to bring a taste of Europe to the San Juan Islands, and they do just that! Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of working with Shaun to create one-of-a-kind experiences on the farm where they produce their ciders and wines. If you get the chance, stop into their tasting room in Friday Harbor town.

For Foodies and Travelers

Girl Meets Dirt

Girl Meets Dirt produces locally sourced, award-winning jams, shrubs, and bitters that are made in an old-school style that emphasizes structure and pure, ripe, naturally grown fruit. Their ingredient lists are short and sweet and they don’t use commercial pectin in their products. We’re talking fruit trees that have been producing for over a century and products prepared by hand. Absolutely mouthwatering. We got to meet the “Girl” of Girl Meets Dirt, Audra, who has an incredible story and background. You can purchase single products from their site but they also gift box options . Their preserves are a staple for any good charcuterie board and can be paired with a variety of sweets and savories.

San Juan Sea Salts

An incredible product and story! San Juan Sea Salts sources their seawater from a private beach on the south end of San Juan Island and solar evaporates the seawater instead of boiling (like most artisan salt producers). One of the things that make their salt so unique is that they let the seawater completely evaporate, which allows the trace minerals naturally present in the ocean to stay in the salt, adding to its briny flavor. They offer so many different salts and seasonings, and right now their gift sets are on sale! (Highly recommend, the popcorn blend.)

Forest Ceramic Co.

If you’re looking for all of the beautiful vases, cups, and bowls, this is your stop. Forest Ceramic Co. experiments with marbling, layering, and carving colored slips to create incredibly unique designs in their products. We got to visit them in their studio during our San Juan Island trip and we’re amazed at the skill and artistry that goes into every single item. Sean and Valeri are truly a treasure on Orcas Island, and we loved hearing about their inspirations, stories, trials, and errors with their art.

For Cocktail Enthusiasts

Highside Distilling

We love working with Highside Distilling in our online cooking classes and pairing the perfect dish with Matt’s cocktails. At Highside Distilling, their mission is to provide a uniquely Pacific Northwest experience to the time-honored craft of fermentation, distillation, and aging of spirits. Whether it be Single Malt Whiskey, Gin, or Amaro, all of their products are a nod to tradition. They have recipes on their website that are definitely worth trying and they offer a wide selection of spirits . Make sure they ship to your state!

San Juan Island Distilling

Suzy and Hawk were so open to sharing their distillery, spirits, and stories with us as we connected over food and Suzy’s cocktails on ourSan Juan Islands trip. San Juan Island Distillery makes wonderful small-batch ciders and spirits, including 14 different gins, several delicious liqueurs, and flavored brandies. Not to mention, their premium award-winning apple brandy, which won gold and best in class from the American Craft Spirits Association. They only ship to Washington State residents, so if you’re lucky to fall into that category, go check out their website!