We’re quite taken with Taralli. A traditional wintertime snack that dates all the way back to the 15th century, you could consider them to be the Southern Italian cousins to the mini-pretzel: they’re crunchy, bready, and splendidly savory, with a distinctive curlicue shape. Charming in their simplicity, they have a satisfying, breadstick-like texture, and mild, but habit-forming, flavor profile that’s accented by just a touch of olive oil and salt. And, like any true Italian treat, they make an excellent companion to wine — many Taralli enthusiasts like to dunk them directly in their vino before snacking, in fact. We’re so taken, in fact, that we took some organic Taralli, combined them with a number of similarly organic, crunchy, wine-friendly crackers, and placed them in our Organic Taralli and Friends assortment, just for the holidays.

Inside each bag, you’ll find the aforementioned ring-shaped Taralli, along with multigrain rustichelle, savory, onion-flavored tocchetti, and twisty, crumbly trecce. All four go great with wine, cheeses, antipasti, or anything else that can use a bit of textural pop, and all four will add some visual flare to any hors d’oeuvre spread, to boot. We particularly like to keep a bowl on hand for holiday gatherings, where they can truly shine as an accompaniment to pre-meal cocktails or post-dinner mixing and mingling.