Searching for the perfect present for your Valentine? Check out these romantic gifts:

Chocolates

Retro Valentines

Sexy Shoes

Pink Ipod

Heart Pendant

Heart Shaped Fondue and an assortment of fondue cheeses

Sweet Mixed Tape

Fondue is a traditional Swiss specialty, blending the distinct flavors of three classic melting cheeses: Emmentaler, Gruyere, and Appenzeller. Careful amounts of white wine, Kirsch brandy, and special spices are then added to create a delicious hot meal. With its bold flavor and creamy texture, fondue is perfect for a main meal or as an appetizer, and is always a hit when the weather turns cold.

The production of one of Italy’s best known exports, mozzarella, is under threat from an infection spreading through herds of water buffalo.”

Chardonnay - Muravera

A fresh sheep’s milk product from Sardinia, Muravera is Sardoformaggi’s signature cheese. Soft in texture with a slightly tangy, lemony flavor, this cheese is best served with the meal, either before as an hors d’oeuvre, or after as part of a dessert course. It comes from mountainous northern Sardinia, which is an important fact because the southern part of the island gets very little rainfall, resulting in dry grasses for grazing and thus, less flavorful cheeses. The name Muravera comes from Mura - the name of Sardoformaggi’s founding family, and Vera - which means true.

Pinot Grigio - Vermont Classic Chevre

The Vermont Butter and Cheese Company story begins with this mild goat’s milk cheese. It was on a farm in Brittany where young Allison Hooper, working for room and board, learned the time-honored traditions of European artisanal cheesemaking. Working as a dairy lab technician in Vermont a few years later, she produced a chèvre for a banquet organized by Bob Reese, then marketing director of the state agriculture department. Chèvre was still largely unavailable in Vermont at the time – but not for much longer. Inspired by the response to her chèvre, Allison teamed up with Bob to found Vermont Butter & Cheese Company.Since then, Vermont Chèvre has earned an honored place among chefs and consumers alike. Distinguished by a simple, mild, fresh goat’s milk flavor, the cheese is highly versatile – an excellent ingredient in many dishes as well as on its own. While chèvre continues to grow in popularity, Vermont Chèvre maintains its reputation for quality through superlative taste, freshness, and lower salt. 

Sauvignon Blanc - Marygold

Once again, Anna Van Dijk has created a startlingly different goat’s milk cheese. The base of this new cheese is a younger version of one of our favorites, Van Dijk; a tangy aged goat cheese. Made from the milk from her herd of 500 goats in Eindhoven, Holland, Anna has added a unique ingredient – marigold to this great cheese. Like Cornelia, Anna has achieved the perfect balance of flavors in her new concoction, Marygold. Marigold, also known as calendula or pot marigold, was a popular ingredient throughout medieval and renaissance Europe. In Holland, according to Gerard’s “Herbal”, “no broths are made well without dried marigolds.” Marigold gives color and a piquant touch to cheese, soups and stews. In fact, the petals were used to color cheese until annatto was introduced from America. The presence of marigold not only gives a slightly floral hint that complements the flavor of the cheese, but also creates a distinctive presentation with the creamy white color of the cheese sprinkled with orange and yellow flecks of petals. A must try for any lover of Dorothea or Van Dijk.

Riesling - Grafton Maple Smoked Cheddar Maple Smoked Cheddar is just one of the Grafton Village Cheese Company’s excellent cheeses. It is bathed in the cool smoke from smoldering hard maple wood for four to six hours at the end of the aging period. What taste could be more typical of Vermont? The smoke is used to season, not to preserve. It adds a delicious nuance reminiscent of bacon, and is an excellent part of any breakfast menu (try it in an omelet!) and on cocktail trays. We were so impressed by its quality that we honored Maple Smoked Cheddar from Grafton Village as our July 2002 Cheese-of-the-Month.

Here are some of the events we will be attending this year. Mark your calendar!

 —2008 Event Calendar—

1/28/08  Yang Ming - Bryn Mawr, PA

2/9-10/08  Boston Wine Expo - Boston, MA

2/9/08  Make A Wish Foundation - Wilkes Barre, PA

2/16/08  Atlanta Fine Wine - Atlanta, GA

3/1-2/08  DC Wine Expo - Washington, DC

4/4-5/08 NYC Pinot Days - New York , NY

5/14-18/08 Nantucket Wine Festival - Nantucket, MA

6/11/08 Jackson Hole Wine Auction - Jackson Hole, WY

6/13-14-15/08  Aspen Food & Wine Classic - Aspen, CO

6/21-22/08 Splitrcok Wine Festival - Lake Harmony, PA

6/27-28/08 San Francisco Pinot Days - San Francisco, CA

7/18/08  Zoobilee - Philadelphia, PA

7/7-8-9/08 Tanglewood- Lenox, MA

9/6-7/08 Saratoga Springs Wine & Food Festival Saratoga Springs, NY

9/9/08  Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival - Rhinebeck, NY

9/27-28/08 Hunter Mountain Micro Brew & Wine Festival - Hunter Mountain, NY

9/27-28/08 Hudson Valley Garlic Fest - Saugerties, NY

10/25-26-27/08 Miami Wine Expo - Miami, FL

11/11-12/08 Chicago Pinot Days - Chicago, IL

What to serve on game day.

igourmet’s New Years Resolutions

1. Spend more time with family and friends.

2. Lose weight.

3. Enjoy life more.

4. Help others.

5. Try new things.

igourmet.com is a proud sponsor of Bonneville starring Jessica Lange, Joan Allen and Kathy Bates.

ABOUT THE FILM

Jessica Lange, Joan Allen and Kathy Bates hit the road in BONNEVILLE, a story about three friends who ”come of age” for a second time on a trip across the great American West.  Faced with the decision of a lifetime, Arvilla Holden (Lange) loads up her 1966 Bonneville convertible and, with her friends (Allen, Bates) in tow, sets out from Pocatello, Idaho en route to Santa Barbara.

As they detour to spots like Bryce Canyon and Las Vegas, it doesn’t take long for the women to realize Arvilla has something unexpected in store.  But what none of them realize is that what began as a simple trip will end up becoming a chance to rediscover themselves, their friendship, the importance of promises - and of letting go.  Also starring Tom Skerritt and Christine Baranski, BONNEVILLE unites three of the most acclaimed actresses of our time in a story that celebrates fun, adventure and living life to the fullest.

Trugole

This very special semi-soft cheese comes from the Asiago region of the Italian Alps. A cheese that is easy to fall in love with, Trugole’s fruity character is the result of rich milk from Alpine cows that graze on wild foliage and grasses in mountain meadows. Trugole cheese, named for the rich pasture that produces it, is an artisan cheese, worked by hand from milk carefully selected from cows that eat only the forage from the grasses of this particular area. Each day the wheels are turned and treated with water and salt to preserve the soft texture of the paste (interior). After 60 days, the cheese reaches an ideal state for consumption.

Wine Pairing: Dolceto or Trebbiano, served alongside fruit and hazelnuts.

Mountain Gorgonzola

From Italy’s Lombardy region, we present Mountain Gorgonzola, a sharp and tangy cheese. With its white interior laced with streaks of blue, Mountain Gorgonzola is an attractive table cheese and a savory ingredient in your favorite salad. Or- try it the Italian way - on a plate drizzled with honey.

Wine Pairing: Goes great with Bramaterra, Ghemme, Marsala (Vergine), and Picolit varieties. Perfect with Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 1994

Grana Padano - Stravecchio Oro del Tempo

Stravecchio Oro del Tempo is a superior, 22-month aged Grana Padano produced by Agriform near Venice. This masterpiece compares beautifully with its better-known cousin Parmigiano Reggiano. The flavor of Stravecchio is intense and complex, with fruity overtones that evoke pineapple or strawberry, depending on the season. Like all precious things, every Stravecchio cheese is one of a kind, and each wheel is branded with a unique serial number. The end result of this rigorous testing process is that only the cheeses that deserve to become prime Grana Padano Stravecchio are stamped with the certificate of origin and guarantee.

Wine Pairing: Depends at which point in the meal you are serving but fairly versatile. We’ve enjoyed our Grana with everything from young Barbera to aged Port.