Last winter, The Market began carrying Emmi Fondue, made in Switzerland & including white wine & kirsch brandy. I was definitely intrigued. Fondue inside a foil pouch, inside a cardboard box? Just heat & serve? How is the taste, the texture? Is it just as good as the real thing?
As a kid, my mom had made cheese fondue a few times, inspired by the time she lived in Montréal as a newlywed. It was definitely a treat. Fast-forward a couple decades, I had made fondue for a New Year's Eve party at my apartment in New York City circa 2001. The guests inhaled it. Now it was Super Bowl Sunday 2024, and I was leaving The Market to head home to my husband & picky-eating kids. The perfect time to test out Emmi Fondue. Could it really be like authentic cheese fondue? Could I get dinner on the coffee table within 8 minutes?
First, it was SO EASY. Like comically so. My kids were actually interested in watching me "whip" up fondue for dinner, but the whole process was so anti-climatic.
Open the box & take out the foil pouch.
Cut open the foil pouch & squeeze the contents into a sauce pan.
Heat up the fondue slowly.
Transfer to a fondue pot, if you have one. If not, use a crockpot or a hot plate.
Second, the taste & texture were great. And third, it was such fun for the family to gather around the fondue pot & chat & watch football. And no one complained! Win-win!
So many things can be dunked into cheese fondue. Here are my favorites:
French bread
Apples
Ham cubes
Lightly steamed broccoli or cauliflower
Roasted fingerling potatoes
Now for the WINE.
Cheese fondue & wine go together like chocolate chip cookies & milk. The craving is strong! And the flavors & experience are enhanced.
Fondue is popular in French, German, & Swiss culture. So a good rule of thumb (but not a hard & fast rule!) is pairing fondue with wine from that region. As a splurge, I recommend Domaine Guegen, a chardonnay from Chablis, France ($60). Chablis's limestone soil produces a special, pure type of Chardonnay with a distinctive salinity & minerality. The Domaine Guegen has aromas of lemon & chamomile which pairs nicely with the rich cheese. A more affordable interesting option is a bottle of Guntrum, a Riesling from the Rhine Valley of Germany ($24). Louis Guntrum is an 11th generation winemaker & the sole owner of the vineyard where 50% of the grapes are harvested by hand. When I tasted this wine, I was pleasantly surprised that the sweetness typical of Rieslings was light & with an apple forward taste and a touch of honey. It was lovely & familiar, but still different & refreshing in a wine. Finally, my last wine suggestion breaks from my previously mentioned "rule of
thumb" & takes us to Sicily, Italy. Saddlebred ($14), Pinot Noir, has an uplifting acidity which balances the rich fondue. It tastes of deep red fruits such as cherries, cranberries, & pomegranates.
At a time when many of us are trying to both create & savor experiences but not add too much to our "to do" lists or budgets, Ready-to-Eat fondue makes for a pretty effortless & special meal. So you can an enjoy more "me" time & "us" time.
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