With Easter fast approaching, here are some "sweet" gift ideas for that special sweetheart in your life. How about leaving those ganache eggs in a Sunday morning Easter basket? Or ordering some out-of-this-world artisanal chocolate from one of these chocolatiers extraordinaire?

And what would be more “Easter heavenly” than cleaning the palate with a cool, bubbly sip of champagne in between bites of hazelnut praline and espresso caramel? Here are some top picks which not only deliver world-class taste, but also delight the eye with beautifully designed bottles and wrappers…

CHOCOLATES

In New York City:

Richart Design et Chocolat on 7 East 55^th Street
Uses only criollo chocolate. Offers seasonal items and house-made chocolate spread.
($15.00 for 12.3 ounces)

Kee’s Chocolates on 80 Thompson Street
All wares are handmade and fresh every day.
($11.00 for a box of six)

Debauve & Gallais on 20 East 69^th Street
This chocolatier can count Marie Antoinette and Proust amongst former devotees.
($40.00 for a quarter pound)

MarieBelle on 484 Broome Street
Sells hand-painted chocolates and spicy hot chocolate mix which can be enjoyed in the store’s own tea room.
($17.00 for a one-ounce tin)

La Maison du Chocolat on 1018 Madison Avenue
Makes delicious bonbons with names such as Traviata, Bresilien, Cannelle, and Romeo.
($70.00 for 50 pieces)

Online:

Chocolate Deities at www.chocolatedeities.com
Choose between the Buddha and Celtic bad girl Sheela Na Gig, amongst others, and order them in milk, dark, or gold-painted chocolate.
($28.00 minimum order)

Garrison Confections at www.garrisonconfections.com
Offers seasonal collections, such as the Autumn Equinox box featuring chocolates made with cranberries, oranges, figs, and anise.
($20.00 for a 12-piece box)

Recchiuti Confections at www.recchiuticonfections.com
Big, bold, and truly decadent chocolates made by a self-taught master.
($75.00 for the 32-piece Burgundy box)

Christopher Elbow at www.christopherelbowchocolates.com
Creates artisanal chocolate which combines harmoniously such ingredients as espresso with lemon and caramel with fleur de sel.
($38.00 for 21 pieces)

L.A. Burdick at www.burdickchocolate.com
Handmade treasures like chocolate mice with long tails, mousse-stuffed penguins, and pate de fruit: chocolate-dipped orange peel.
($29.00–$32.00 for a 9-piece animal box, $8.50 for a quarter pound of fruit)

CHAMPAGNE

Dom Perignon 1998: “A Bottle Named Desire”
A great vintage presented in a limited edition gold-studded bottle and a semi-opaque jewel case designed and signed by Karl Lagerfeld - truly desirable.
($2,500.00)

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rose 2000
Taittinger’s prestige offering, the newly released Comtes Rose 2000, is surely an aristocrat among champagnes.
($205.00)

Nicolas Feuillatte 1997 Cuvee Palmes d’Or Brut
A delicious bubbly enhanced by its unique rotund-shaped and textured glass bottle, and its stylish gold-hued case complete with a black velvet bag.
($125.00)

Bollinger 1997 La Grande Année
The impressive vintage tête de cuvée is made in Bollinger’s typical style of ripe, developed fruit flavors and toasty notes from oak barrel fermentation.
($120.00)

Krug Rosé
For the first time, this classic multi-vintage blend is made available in half bottles, the only prestige rosé to be released in this format.
($120.00 for 375ml)

Veuve Clicquot Rare Vintage 1988 Brut
The Rare Vintage 1988 is from a year noted for its supreme delicacy. It is packaged in a stackable high-tech box designed by Pablo Reinoso, consulting creative director at Kenzo, Loewe, and Givenchy. And it ages remarkably well!
($85.00)

Salon Le Mesnil 1996 Blanc de Blancs
An exquisite champagne and the only one currently released by the high-reputation but low-profile House of Salon. Its superbly rich, complex yet balanced flavors are best enjoyed from a tulip-shaped glass which gives the bouquet room to blossom.
($300.00)

Charles Heidsieck “Champagne Charlie” Brut Vintage 1985
This creamy, intense library reserve is named after the founder of the House of Heidsieck whose successful marketing tours through the United States earned him the nick-name “Champagne Charlie”. It acquires its extra fine bubbles while aging in 2000-year-old chalk caves once used by the Romans.
($125.00)

Perrier Jouet 2002 Fleur de Champagne Rose
When a hand-crafted anemone bottle created in the early 20^th century by art-nouveau glass artist Emile Galle was rediscovered in 1964 in the cellars of the Perrier Jouet estate, it inspired the conception of a new champagne, Cuvee Belle Époque. Released in the United States as Fleur de Champagne, the bottle and its lovely content epitomize the elegance of days gone by.
($170.00)

Deutz 1999 Amour de Deutz

A wonderful blanc de blancs indulging the connoisseur with intense fruit flavors and stunning complexity. The 1999 Amour de Deutz is offered in a special gift box, along with two champagne flutes and sealed with a gold embossed angel.
($206)