Valentine's Day .... The 3 C's -- Chocolate, Champagne and Cashmere

Dawn Bryan, author of the best-selling book, “The Art and Etiquette and Gift Giving,” and the expert on living a quality life, has created an exciting, new company Qualipedia, LLC, which features a resource that provides expert advice for people who want to make quality choices in their daily decisions. Qualipedia™ can be found on Facebook: http://on.fb.me/i8hDH9

A high-end retail expert for more than 20 years, Bryan, a vivacious 75-year old, is a former spokeswoman for Neiman Marcus, Waterford, Wedgwood, Gucci, and Hammacher Schlemmer, among others. Her motto: Always remember quality!

In preparation for Valentine’s Day, Ms. Bryan provides valuable tips on how to purchase quality gifts, including:

Chocolate:
* Chocolate should be purchased from a store or distributor that keeps it at a steady, cool temperature away from sunlight, and that has a high turnover; the chocolate will be fresh.
* Indicators of Quality – appearance, aroma, touch, sound, texture, flavor and after-taste.
* Real dark chocolate must have chocolate liquor listed as an ingredient.

Champagne:
* The least expensive sparkling wines are made to "sparkle" by injecting carbon dioxide.
* True champagne has smaller bubbles that last longer and it will taste creamier.
* The quality of champagne is judged by its mousse, its perlage, the persistence of bubbles, the mouth feel.
* Light, heat and excessive dryness are enemies of champagne--so is time.
* Grand Cru is the highest ranking a French vineyard can receive.
* Chill in refrigerator the night before or for at least three hours; for last minute chilling, put it in a bucket with water and ice and a little salt for about 30 minutes. It should be chilled to around 50 degrees.

Cashmere:
* Density: does the sweater snap back into shape after you stretch it a bit? A loosely-knit sweater won’t. Manufacturers who knit loosely are trying to save money.
* Texture: should feel very smooth on your sensitive fingertips, without any prickles.
* Color: Cashmere is white, grey, and brown, with white being the most valuable. When the original cashmere is very white; the less dye the better, as it changes the feel of the finished product. A dark-colored cashmere will often be considerably less soft than a white one.