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A lovely Valentine’s Day idea is to order a hamper filled with delicious gourmet food to be enjoyed with your special someone. You can take the hamper on a picnic or enjoy it in the comfort and privacy of your home. Of course, the most important ingredients for your feasting experience are each other. Eating together is one of the many ways two people connect, but there are a few important things to keep in mind when ordering a hamper for your romantic day.

Think about what time of day you plan to indulge in the hamper. If you’re thinking of a hamper for an afternoon tea, then cheese and smoked meat are optional. You will, however, definitely need little sandwiches and some excellent biscuits or scones with jams or jellies to accompany them. Some cupcakes would probably go down well too. Also, a little champagne is never a bad idea.

Breakfast-in-bed hampers and those for the morning hours should contain excellent coffee. Because this is for Valentine’s Day and not a meeting at the office, plan to spend a relaxing morning enjoying good food with the one you love – this is a cause for some champagne or sparkling wine.

If you’re planning to enjoy your hamper for your midday or evening meal, then champagne and smoked salmon are essential items to include. And to really do it up, you can go beyond smoked salmon and also enjoy smoked tuna, potted lobster and smoked wild salmon pâté. Caviar is often considered a food only for the rich, but a small jar is usually quite affordable. And remember – this is a special occasion.

Hampers make wonderful Valentines Day gift ideas, but don’t forget to get another little something special for your Valentine as well – a hamper will most likely be a gift for the two of you to share.

The crisis that shook up the world’s financial markets in 2009 did not spare the Champagne industry. In 2010, however, the industry began to bounce back.  After 2009, which was a dramatic year for the industry, with worldwide sales figures tumbling 42%, 2010 looks to have been a much better year for sales. In the first seven months, exports of all French wines and spirits were up, with Champagne showing the strongest growth with an increase of 36%.

Dr. Stephen Charters, Reims Management School’s chair of Champagne Management, is predicting a continued  turnaround in 2011-2012.

“Champagne is a drink related to confidence,” Charters said. “It’s something you drink when you have something to celebrate. With the economy in recovery, there’s now more to celebrate.”

Champagne exports outside of the European Union have picked up significantly, most notably exports to the United States and to Asia. While exports to the European Union have also increased compared to last year, market recovery was less substantial there, particularly in the United Kingdom and in Germany, two of Europe’s most important markets.

It is predicted that between 310 and 315 million bottles of Champagne will be sold in 2010, an increase of 5.8 to 7.5 percent over 2009, when 293 million bottles were shipped.

“It seems likely that there will be a rebound in 2011-2012 and new markets, especially those in Asia, will continue to grow for Champagne. So the producers will continue to have the ability to price their product at an appropriate level to cover their costs and to meet all the margins that they require,” said Charters.