Cents and Sentiments

Cupids and hearts. Doilies and teddy bears. Soft pink and romantic red everywhere. It could lead the truly uninitiated to believe that Valentine’s Day is all fun and frolic and romance.

But other folks know better. It’s simply not that simple.

Sure, when all is said and done, if the gift was just right, and presented in the right manner, and the sentiment of the gift giver shared by the recipient, then all the sweat and worry was more than worth it.

If not, well, there’s always next year, assuming the lovebirds are still speaking to each other.

As everyone who has ever shopped for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift knows, there are many categories and levels of gifts from which to chose. It can be enough to put a little strain on the heart.

There are cards (nice and to the point, the time-proven “I remember you on this day” approach). There is the drugstore chocolate in a heart-shaped box (again minimal expenditure, but it’s the thought that counts--just remove the calorie and fat information before delivery).

There are the old, somewhat more expensive standards such as perfume or cologne, flowers and lingerie, including underpants with embarrassing patterns (proven winners, but they come with a built-in redundancy, “same old, same old” risk).

There’s the romantic dinner for two (it can be wonderful going down, but a post-dinner upset stomach can ruin everything.) There’s the romantic walk in the park (let’s not even mention the possibility of mugging).

And then there’s the four-day, three-night stay in one of the two 1,750-square-foot penthouse suites at the Ojai Valley Inn & Spa. Each has its own meditation loft, Moorish furniture, a whirlpool on a private terrace looking out at the Topatopa Mountains, and two bedrooms, each with its own fireplace, terrace and bath.

Guests have their own limo, a private elevator, personal butler and chef around the clock, and unlimited spa treatments, massages and use of the golf and tennis courts.

At $14,500 per couple--a mere $14,495 or so more than a box of Whitman’s Sampler chocolates, it could be just the thing to tell your loved one, “Yep, I care.”

“Basically it’s got everything you could possibly want--if you think about it,” said Thad Hyland, general manager of the resort. “You could get up at 8 a.m., be massaged, have facials, scalp massages . . . there’s enough treatments where you could get treated from 8 a.m. until you’re tucked into bed.”

But who could afford to spend so much for love?

“I think maybe the guy who forgot to get something last year, maybe for a special time that they want to make unique,” Hyland said. “I’d certainly remember six massages in a day and a butler serving me a three-minute egg in bed.”

As of Tuesday, the penthouse package had yet to be reserved, so there may still be time to put yourself and your loved one in that picture (unless you’ve already purchased your partner a $14,000 Valentine’s Day car, in which case the luxury resort stay might be overkill).

If the penthouse is a bit out of your price range but you’re still intent on standing out from your sweetheart’s many other suitors, there are other Valentine’s ideas worth checking out.

A box of fine chocolate truffles could say a mouthful.

“For Valentine’s Day, all you need is a little bit of quality chocolate and a glass of champagne, and you’re set,” said Carmela Herron, a Santa Barbara chocolate maker trained at the Richemont School in Lucerne, Switzerland.

“It is a special day to show friends, or your lover, that they are special,” she said. “It doesn’t take a lot of money; it takes quality and time. As a gift, chocolates are a tradition for Valentine’s Day, but a fine chocolate is much more special.”

Herron, a 34-year-old Cal Poly San Luis Obispo journalism graduate, said she always had a sweet tooth. It reached epic proportions after numerous visits to the Chocolate Bar chocolate shop, which she passed each day to and from work at a San Luis Obispo law firm.

“If I wanted to get stimulation on my taste buds, it had to be chocolate,” she said. “One day I was there and I just couldn’t leave.”

Herron was soon working at the Chocolate Bar, making truffles day and night. With chocolate in her blood, it was just a matter of time before she was off to Switzerland for world-class training.

Herron recently began putting her knowledge to the test with the introduction of her own line, Carmela’s Chocolate Truffles.

The truffles, which sell for $1.50 to $1.69 a piece or $25 to $32 for a 16-piece box, come in a variety of flavors, including hazelnut, fig-walnut, Earl Grey tea and bittersweet. For Valentine’s Day, Herron has added passion-fruit and champagne versions.

“The milk-chocolate champagne is very rich, but light and delicate--I use real champagne and reduce it,” she said. “The passion fruit is tart. I take the fruit and reduce the juice.”

Carmela’s chocolates are available at Lazy Acres Market and Aficionado European Bakery in Santa Barbara and, by phone at (805) 966-1690.

By itself, a quality chocolate is elegant, romantic and indulgent enough. But with a high-quality champagne or wine accompaniment, the experience is intensified.

Bruce Boring, vice president of the Ventura-based California Wine Club, suggests a Cabernet Sauvignon.

“A good Cab tastes a little like chocolate--there are so many nuances with wine, and chocolate is one of them,” said Boring, who suggested pairing the Cabernet with a serious truffle.

“You need a strong chocolate, with some intensity. With the Cab’s heavy-duty taste, you’re going to need something that will hold up to it, usually milk chocolate, caramels and creams.”

This month Boring’s wine club is featuring a 1994 Signorello Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($55 per bottle), a 1994 Chapallet Napa Valley Signature Series Cabernet Sauvignon ($22) and a 1995 Bonverre Cabernet Sauvignon ($9).

As for champagnes, he recommended the 1989 Culbertson Brut Rose.

Certainly, edible can be incredible, but there are also nonfattening options for expressing your love. Like music.

You know those words you’ve had jumping around in your head, the ones that tell your sweetheart how much you love him or her? (For example, “You mean so much to me, oh honey, yes you do. If you don’t love me back, I’ll hold my breath ‘til I turn blue.”)

Well, musician Tim Frantz, owner of Mountain Dog Musicworks of Ventura, can create a musical arrangement and record the song, instrumentals included, on tape. Clients may also play their own instruments for the recording.

“Often what happens is I get someone who is not a musician but has a lyrical ability. They put down the lyrics or poems, maybe put it on tape,” Frantz said. “And they provide me with the rough copy tape of the song.”

The cost is $35 per hour; call (805) 652-1471. It might arrive a little late for Valentine’s Day, but you can always stall with a good penthouse weekend.

Though already booked this Valentine’s Day, Ventura County’s Channelaire Chorus women’s barbershop-style ensemble also can belt out a romantic tune or two. Quartets from the ensemble are booked throughout Friday and Saturday to deliver singing valentines to the unsuspecting love-struck.

“We sing them for young people who are dating, older people--one couple this year where Valentine’s Day happens to fall on their 55th anniversary,” said the chorus’ Bev Springer. “We sing in rest homes, we go to schools, we’ve gone into offices, we’ve delivered in executive directors’ offices, to mechanics on the job.”

The quartets, which can be hired out year-round for romantic serenades (call (805) 495-6952), will sing “As Time Goes By” and “You Made Me Love You” and certain requests for Valentine’s Day. Springer said the popularity of the singing valentines has grown as romantic folks have become less inclined to stick to the ordinary.

“I think, probably, people have tired of things in many respects,” she said. “I think the notion that you can give someone a memory that can last forever--nothing can come close to that.”