Recipe for Romance featuring Cheese Fondue & Wine

Light the Candles and Melt the Cheese this Valentine's

How does certain food earn the label of ‘romantic’? For foods like chocolate or oysters, it might be the promised aphrodisiac qualities. Fruits like strawberries might make the list because they’re juicy and sweet.

But, for a lot of people, a meal is romantic when you can share it. And there is no better example of share-worthy food than fondue. You’ve got that big pot of melted cheese in the middle where you and your partner will slowly dip nibbles of food. See, even describing it sounds romantic.

Plus, cheese fondue just begs to be paired with wine. We can all agree that wine is the most romantic beverage, right?

So, why aren’t more couples dipping their way to romance on Valentine’s Day (or any other date night)? It might be that the idea of making a cheese fondue feels intimidating. It’s actually a lot easier than you might think.

Great Estates Okanagan Chef, Ben Overland, shares his recipe and the simple steps to a perfect fondue - the romance part is up to you.

Ingredients:

250g Gruyere (shredded)

250g Emmental (shredded)

2 Tbsp flour

1 ½ cups white wine (or chicken stock)

⅛ tsp nutmeg (grated)

pepper to taste (optional)

Method:  

Begin by preparing your accompaniments (aka your dippers!). Choose bite-sized foods you love that go well with melted cheese. For example, cooked cheese tortellini, cubed sourdough bread, sliced Granny Smith apples, cooked sausage coil (chopped), cherry tomatoes, blanched broccoli and cauliflower, and boiled baby potatoes.

Set these aside.

In a bowl, combine cheeses and flour and mix well with your hands.  

In a pot, bring wine to a boil and add cheese/flour mixture.  

Reduce heat to medium and stir until cheese is melted and smooth.  

If the fondue is too thin, make a slurry using 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and 1 cup of cold water. Whisk well so there are no lumps then slowly stir the slurry into the hot liquid. Only add a little bit at a time until desired thickness is reached. It will thicken up quickly.

Transfer your liquid cheese to your fondue pot and heat according to the instructions.

Start dipping!

Pro Tip: When you finish with the fondue, the cheese at the very bottom of the pot will have cooked and turned into a wonderful, crispy piece of swiss cheese.  Make sure you eat it. It’s amazing!

We recommend pairing this cheese fondue with a dry white wine like the Inniskillin Reserve Fume Blanc, Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve Riesling, or the Nk’Mip Cellars White Mer'r'iym.