FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information, Contact:
KD Reep, 501-766-1260 or kelli@flywriteinc.com

The Savory Pantry Welcomes Arkansas Companies to
Little Rock TweetUp in May

HOT SPRINGS, AR (April 22, 2012) – The Savory Pantry in Hot Springs will welcome J&M Foods and Raimondo Family Winery to the Little Rock TweetUp from 5-7 p.m. at the Bernice Garden at 1401 South Main Street in downtown Little Rock on Thursday, May 10.  The Savory Pantry features both companies’ products in its flagship gourmet food store in downtown Hot Springs and will include a variety at the Little Rock TweetUp.

The Savory Pantry will provide an extensive sampling of products and dishes it features in its store and online as well as recipes and tips for entertaining.  J&M Foods will provide a variety of its cheese straws and traditional and tea cookies for those attending, and Raimondo Family Winery will present a wine tasting of its red, white and sparkling almond wines.  The Bernice Garden also will provide water and punch.

J&M Foods proudly continues its family tradition by providing customers with the best tasting cookies and cheese straws in the market. All products are trans-fat free, made from only the finest natural ingredients and are baked with care. And, in keeping with J&M’s 100 year old family recipe that inspired its great tasting Original Cheese Straw, the company continues to introduce new products to keep customers coming back for more. Founded more than 20 years ago by Jamie Parham with the help of his daughters Janis and Melanie, the company continues to be driven by a passion for good food.

J&M’s cheese straws are what put the company on the map. Just the right amount of cheese and spice make these a delicious companion for soups, salads, fruit, wine, jams, chocolates or all by themselves. Made with only the finest natural ingredients like your favorite cheeses and baked to perfection. Available in Original Cheddar, Asiago, Bleu and Jalapeno.
J&M also offers traditional and tea cookies for those with a sweet tooth (or teeth).  Made with only the finest natural ingredients like dark and white chocolates, pecans, lime and macadamia nuts, these cookies are baked to perfection. Enjoy them with a big glass of milk, a favorite cup of coffee or all by themselves. Traditional cookies are available in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip Pecan, White Chocolate Key Lime, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Triple Chocolate.  Tea cookies are made with ingredients like creamery butter, chocolate, raspberries, real lemon and lime juices, cinnamon and nutmeg and are available in Chocolate Orange, Key Lime, Lemon, Raspberry and Holiday Spice.

Raimondo Family Winery is a family-owned winery located on Lake Norfork. Its wines are hand-crafted using artisan techniques in small lots from premium California grapes, and the company specializes in Italian and Iberian wines. In addition to exceptional wines, Raimondo offers extra virgin olive oils and premium balsamic vinegars.

The story of Raimondo Winery begins many generations ago with a family that traces its roots to Palermo, Sicily. The family made its first and second wine from locally grown red grapes, usually a blend of Nero d’Avola and Primitivo. Both of these varietals are robust and bold with blackberry, raspberry, anise and spice notes.

The Raimondo Family began its winemaking heritage in the United States three generations ago when patriarch Marty Raimondo moved to California. He made the first barrels of family wine from Zinfandel and Mission grapes from Southern California. This wine was bottled under the label Grandma and Grandpa Raymondo’s Family Wine (changed to Raimondo in 1987). For more than four decades, Marty produced the family’s Chianti from these two varietals.

In the late 1980s, one of Marty’s three sons, Tony Raimondo, took over the family tradition of winemaking. He expanded the production from two barrels to nine barrels a year and starting using other varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. During a trip to Sicily, he discovered the correct spelling of the family’s last name (Raimondo) and located the family crest. The 1988 vintage was bottled under the new spelling and with a new label boasting the family crest.

His daughter Lisa Garcia and niece Margie Roelands started training under his tutorship in the early 2000s. They expanded the brand by finding new varietals. They continued training until they made their first barrels of white and red wine in 2005 with Tony close at hand to assist the new winemakers. After purchasing Blue Lady Resort in the Arkansas’ Ozarks, Margie realized her dream of turning the family winery into a commercially-operated business. Raimondo Winery became a small farm winery manufacturer in 2008. Margie is committed to producing wines from old world Italian varietals such as Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Barbera and Vermentino as well as others.

“We are thrilled these great Arkansas food companies will join us at the Little Rock TweetUp,” said Keeley DeSalvo, owner and head Savory girl at The Savory Pantry.  “Our customers know what scrumptious goods they produce, and we want our Twitter and foodie friends to learn about all of the products and recipes we can provide them.”

Admission to the May Little Rock TweetUp is free, and parking also is free and on-site.  For more information about the May 2012 Little Rock TweetUp, contact KD Reep at 501-766-1260 or e-mail kelli@flywriteinc.com.

About The Savory Pantry
The Savory Pantry is the only source you need for exquisite gourmet gifts, gift baskets and artisanal specialty foods, shipped nationwide.  Our mission is simple: to bring you the very best of the best when it comes to specialty foods. We have scoured the world to find the finest products available and have brought them to you in one convenient store. We hope you will discover wonderful new products made by dedicated artisans who also believe that one of the great joys of life is to eat well.

For more information, visit http://savorypantry.com or contact The Savory Pantry at 877-426-4887 or e-mail atyourservice@savorypantry.com.  You also can “like” The Savory Pantry on Facebook or follow on Twitter @SavoryPantry.

About the Bernice Garden
The Bernice Garden is privately owned but intended for public use and is located at the southeast corner of South Main Street and Daisy Bates Avenue. The garden was created to celebrate the community and will host community events as well as the sculpture exhibit in an effort to foster community interaction and a sense of pride in the neighborhood. The 100 ft. x 150 ft. garden consists of landscaped areas with a crushed granite foundation for the artworks. Next to the sculpture garden is a concrete patio, benches and approximately 20 parking spaces. The sculpture exhibition is part of a multi-staged development plan of the garden.

For more information, visit http://thebernicegarden.org or contact The Bernice Garden at 501-617-2511 or e-mail bernicegarden@gmail.com. You also can “like” The Bernice Garden on Facebook or follow on Twitter @BerniceGarden.