The Cheap Gourmet

The Daily Sip for Wine Lovers

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The Perfect Mother's Day Gift: Gourmet Monthly Club Subscription

Looking for the perfect Mother's Day gift? If so, today is your lucky day! There's no doubt mom's are special and they deserve much more than a bouquet of flowers and afternoon brunch. The Gourmet Monthly Club recognizes the need to reward mom all year long and are currently offering exceptional discounts on gifts that are certain to please!

The Gourmet Monthly Club offers monthly subscriptions of chocolate, cheese, flowers, wine, beer and cigars. Now, I realize most moms don't smoke cigars, but if they do the cigar subscription is a great gift! Otherwise, keep this gift idea in mind for Father's Day.

Most moms love chocolate and the Chocolate of the Month subscription will provide your mom with ooey, gooey goodness for months to come! Each month your mom will receive a box of handcrafted chocolates made by world renowned chocolatiers, along with a newsletter detailing the origins of the cocoa beans, how the chocolates are made, and how to make homemade chocolate confections.

Cheese-loving moms will go ga-ga over selections provided in the Cheese of the Month subscription. Each month, mom will receive three, half-pound blocks of extraordinary cheeses crafted by traditional cheese manufacturers, along with an informative newsletter explaining the origins and how each cheese is made.

The International Wine of the Month Club provides mom with two bottles of award-winning international wine selections each month. Three wine subscriptions are available which allow you to select two red wines, two white wines or one red and one white.

As one who has sent of the month club subscriptions to family and friends, I can tell you that people love receiving a special gift each month. If you want to give your mom an extraordinary gift, consider ordering a monthly club membership from the Gourmet Monthly Club.

Order before May 10th and receive up to $20 off any prepaid subscription.

When ordering a 6-month or longer subscription use code MD10 and receive a $10 discount.

When ordering a 12-month subscription use code MD20 to receive a $20 discount.

Offer expires May 10, 2010.

Indulge friends, family and colleagues with exquisite gifts from six Gourmet Monthly Clubs

Disclosure Policy

Second Announcement: Alouette Cheese Fall Gourmet Cheese Giveaway

Dear Readers,

I am attempting to give the amazing Alouette Cheese Fall Gourmet Cheese Giveaway to the randomly selected winner. The first winner was contacted three times via email and her name was published on the blog. Unfortunately, she never contacted The Cheap Gourmet to confirm her mailing address.

On Wednesday evening, a second winner was randomly selected by Contest Machine. The chosen winner is Jennifer Phillips of Indiana (yeah, Hoosiers! my home town!). Jennifer, if you are reading this please contact me no later than midnight tonight to claim your Alouette Cheese prize. Two emails have been sent to you using the email address provided when you entered the contest. Check your spam folder just in case the emails didn't arrive in your inbox.

If Jennifer has not claimed the Alouette Cheese giveaway prize by this 11:59pm EST on Friday, November 6th, I will select a third winner. This time, I will use a different selection method.

If you entered the Alouette Cheese contest, please submit your name, email address, phone number and mailing address (no P.O. Boxes) via the Comment box below. Please note, all comments are moderated and I will not publish your personal information.

If Jennifer does not claim her prize, I will select a person from the entrants who provide their information via the comment box below TODAY.

In order to be entered into the final drawing for the Alouette Cheese prize, you must have previously entered and you must provide your contact information as per the instructions above.

The final winner will be selected and contacted by email and phone. If I am unable to reach you, I will select the next person on the list until I find someone who confirms their mailing address. I need to submit this information to Allouette Cheese immediately so they can send the prize to the winner.

Don't delay! If you want a second chance at winning the gorgeous cheeseboard, free cheese and various other goodies, send your contact info to me TODAY!

Good Luck!

The Cheap Gourmet

P.S. Please take a moment to download The Cheap Gourmet's complementary "Gourmet Wine and Cheese Menu" by clicking on the link below. This is in PDF format and requires Adobe Reader.

Download Gourmet Wine and Cheese Party Menu

ANNOUNCEMENT: Winner of Alouette Gourmet Fall Cheese Giveaway

Drumroll please.... The winner of the Alouette Cheese: "Let's Slow Down and Savor Life Wine and Cheese Giveaway is.... Samantha Lim.

Samantha's suggestion to slow down and savor life is "When taking the bus home, get off a few stops earlier and enjoy the walk".

I couldn't agree more with Samantha's suggestion. It's amazing the wonderful things you can see, smell and hear when taking a leisurely stroll. Not to mention, walking is great exercise that increases endorphin production and makes you feel good!

Congratulations Samantha. Please check your email for instructions to confirm your mailing address. Once you have confirmed your address, I will submit to Corrinne, the marketing director of Alouette. Your prize package will be sent directly from Alouette.

May your gift help you create many slow down and savor life moments for years to come! Congratulations!

To those who entered, but did not win, don't worry. The Cheap Gourmet will continue to offer a variety of contests and prizes throughout the year.

In case you missed the previous post, I have created a wonderful Wine and Cheese menu planner complete with recipes for finger foods, fruit and veggie trays, dips and desserts. The menu is in PDF format and requires Adobe Reader to view.

Download Gourmet Wine and Cheese Party Menu

Alouette Cheese Gourmet Fall Cheese Party Giveaway

It's not too late to enter the Alouette Cheese Gourmet Fall Cheese Party Giveaway. But, you better hurry because the winner will be selected at midnight on Halloween night, October 31st. My dear friend, Maeme, was gracious enough to open her home and host The Cheap Gourmet's wine and cheese party. It was a huge success and tons of fun. Here's Maeme enjoying one of Alouette's spreadable cheeses.

Kim, shown below, brought two bottles of Chocolate Wine, which was a big hit. After all, who doesn't love chocolate? The chocolate wine is definitely more of an after-dinner dessert wine. A small glass or two is the perfect accompaniment with a piece of dark chocolate and a slice of brie cheese. Thanks for the chocolate wine Kim. It was delightful!

We indulged in a bounty of finger foods, salads, veggie tray, fruit platter, nuts, candies, crackers, breads and cheeses. As you can see, everyone loved the luscious Alouette cheeses and were extremely impressed by the gorgeous cheeseboard that's part of the Gourmet Fall Cheese Party giveaway.

Delane loved Alouette's spreadable spinach and artichoke dip.

Bonnie's favorites included the spreadable Sundried Tomato and Basil and and Creme de Brie.

I have compiled a Wine and Cheese menu which includes several of the dishes served at The Cheap Gourmet's Wine and Cheese party. I hope you enjoy the recipes and wish you the best of luck in the drawing. 

Click here to download The Cheap Gourmet Wine and Cheese Party Menu

The winner of Alouette's Slow Down and Savor Life Gourmet Cheese giveaway will be announced on the blog on Monday, November 2nd, 2009. The winner will be notified via email to confirm the mailing address for their prize. If the winner does not respond within three days, a new winner will be selected at random. Be sure to check the blog and your email to see if you win!

Wine Bible Offers An Amazing Selection of Wines Online

WineBible.com is one of the most informative sites on wines I have ever found. What originally drew my attention to their website is the fact that they sell Virgin Wines. I have always admired Sir Richard Branson. Not only is he the founder of Virgin Records and Virgin Airlines, he also created Virgin Mobile. I've had cell phone service with Virgin Mobile for years and absolutely love their service and affordable plans. But, I digress.

I located Virgin Wines at WineBible.com and learned some fascinating information about wine. At the Wine Bible website, you can discover the history of wine, wine grape varieties, wine producing countries and anything else you could ever want to know about wines.

Unfortunately, WineBible.com wines are currently available to residents of the United Kingdom. However, their website is a wealth of knowledge for anyone interested in learning more about specific types of wine, how to pair them with food and their origins.

The good news is, by using WineBible.com, I discovered a Pinot Noir wine I was interested in and when I "Googled" it, I found a supplier in the U.S. I also discovered, "The World Atlas of Wine" by by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson which was promoted on WineBible.com and available through Amazon.com. With a click of a button, I was able to purchase this book through Amazon's U.S. division.

While I wish I could take advantage of the many delectable wines and resources offered at WineBible.com, I found their online Wine Guide to be extremely informative and helpful. Additionally, I know there are many visitors to The Cheap Gourmet Blog who reside in the U.K. who can take advantage of the deep discounts and wine resources located at this wonderful wine site.

Even if you don't live in the U.K., take a moment to stop by WineBible.com. You'll find a wealth of knowledge on French Wine, Spanish Wine, Italian Wine, Virgin Wines, how to buy wine online and much more. It's one of the best wine websites I've ever found and I hope you will enjoy it too!

Celebrate the Grape Sweepstakes

Celebrate the Grape Sweepstakes is sponsored by Center for Wine Origins and includes 5 day/4 night vacation for two to Champagne France, Porto, Portugal or Jerez, Spain.

Celebrate the Grape Sweepstakes will send Three Grand Prize winners and their guest on the trip of their dreams where they can discover the origins of fine wine.

Prize packages include round-trip, coach class transportation from New York City to the France, Portugal or Spain and hotel accommodations. Winners must be 21 years of age on or before August 29, 2007.

To enter the contest, you must answer three questions about wine. Therefore, I highly recommend visiting the Center for Wine Origins website and honing up on your wine knowledge. While you're there be sure to check out the the cool interactive pairing wheel under the "Wine Cellar" link.

Don't delay entering Celebrate the Grape Sweepstakes (this contest has expired). The website is functional and offers a wealth of information and resources.

Celebrity Wines

The first time I saw vineyards was during a trip to Napa Valley in 2000. My husband and I spent three days in Wine Country. We visited the vineyards, took a trip on the Wine Train, and ate at spectacular restaurants. Napa Valley is near and dear to my heart because that is where my husband proposed to me. It was quite romantic!

It's amazing to me how many celebrities own vineyards. While in Napa, we visited Hollywood producer, Francis Ford Coppola's winery. It was one of the most stunning places I have ever seen. I believe the name was recently changed to Rubicon Estate. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, by all means go.

Sopranos' star, Lorraine Bracco, offers a nice selection of wines through Bracco Wines. Lorraine got involved in the wine business in 2004 and currently offers eight varietals including a Pinot Grigio and Primitivo. Bracco's wines have been featured on Top Chef.

Other celebrities who own vineyards include Sting, Bob Dylan, Olivia Newton John, Mick Fleetwood, Mario Andretti and Emeril Lagasse.

For those of you who invest in wine take note. Celebrity Cellars offers a unique line of wines and a one-of-a-kind wine club. For $100 a month, you can build a matched and numbered Collection set for either the Rolling Stones or Madonna. Labels for the Stones depicts the infamous "tongue", while Madonna's depicts (no, it's not the infamous cone bra!) her "Confessions" tour.

Individual bottles of wine are available and each is wrapped with a gorgeous art label. Selections include Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and KISS's "KISS This," a commemoration of over 30 years of the world's greatest rock 'n roll band.  To learn more about Celebrity Cellars visit their website at www.CelebrityCellars.com.

Pairing Wine with Chocolate - Part II

When I was introduced to pairing wine with chocolate, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Not only do you get the dopamine "feel-good" rush from the chocolate, but also the soothing affect from the wine. Talk about a nice mellow buzz ;-)

When it comes to pairing wine with chocolate, there are no absolutes. However, you might want to start experimenting by seeking out wines that have the same flavor notes as the chocolate. For the adventurous soul, seek out wines that have contrasting flavor notes.

Below are some suggestions to help you get started pairing wine with chocolate.

Bittersweet Chocolate ~ Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel
Milk Chocolate ~ Muscat, Tawny Port
Semisweet Chocolate ~ Bordeaux, Merlot, Tawny Port, Ruby Port
White Chocolate ~ Champagne, Muscat, Riesling
Chocolate with Fruit-creme centers ~ Marsala, Pinot Noir, Rose Champagne
Fruit-Flavored Chocolates (Chocolate Covered Cherries, Strawberries or Truffles with fruit centers) ~ Merlot, Ruby Port
Chocolate with Mint centers ~ Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel
Chocolate with Nuts ~ Cabernet Sauvignon, Sherry, Tawny Port

Chocolate and wine pairing parties are becoming quite popular and are a great way to experiment with new flavors. There are two ways to host a wine pairing with chocolate party. Either you can provide the wine and chocolate OR invited guests can bring a bottle of wine and their favorite chocolate. I don't know about you, but as The Cheap Gourmet, I like the second option.

Wine and chocolate pairing parties can be a lot of fun. However, please, please, please do not let guests drink and drive. One solution to this concern is to hire a limo service for the evening. Imagine having guests delivered to your door in a stretch limo. That will get your neighbors talking!

While you might be thinking limo service is too expensive, if everyone pitches in, it can be more cost effective than a round-trip taxicab. If you host your party during the week, limo rates are typically lower.

Another option is to have a sleepover. Seriously, when was the last time you had one? Invite guests to bring their sleeping bag and jammies along with their favorite bottle of wine and box of chocolates.

Whether you host a party for 2 or 102, have fun experimenting with the various wines and chocolates. Don't be afraid to venture into unknown territory. Once you discover your favorite pairing, feel free to share it with us by posting in the Comments section.

Pairing Wine with Food - Part I

The purpose of pairing wine with food is to compliment and enhance the aroma and flavor of both the food and wine. In the past, the general rule of thumb was to pair red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat. Today, wine pairing is based on the components and flavors of the food being served.

There are a few basic guidelines to follow when pairing wine with food. First, pair the flavor of the wine with the flavor of the food being served. Pair delicate wines with delicate flavors, medium-bodied wines with medium to slightly intense flavors, and heavy-bodied wines with strongly flavored foods.

To make wine more compatible with foods, pair wines that imitate the flavor of the sauce. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Zinfandel pair well with tomato-based sauces. Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon pair well with herb and mint sauces. Pinot Noir pairs well with mushroom sauces and Chardonnay pairs well with butter and cream sauces.

When serving wine with food, look for wines which are low in acidity as this will prevent the wine from overpowering the taste of the food. One way to mask the acidity is to serve red wine at a slightly cooler temperature and white wine at a slightly warmer temperature.

Sparkling wines are not typically served with food and reserved for consumption prior to or after the meal. Sweet wines are generally served with desserts.

The most common white and rose wine varietals include: White Zinfandel, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Fumé Blanc, Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay.

The most common red wine varietals include: Gamay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.

Perhaps the best method for pairing wine and food is to use your own palate. Experiment with different combinations to discover what makes a perfect pairing for you.