Chocolate & Dessert Wine Tasting

On Monday of Valentine's week, my "happy place" held a Chocolate and Dessert Wine Tasting featuring Chocolates of Artisan Confections.  This is the fifth year the event has been held but my first time in attendance. I'm not a big dessert wine fan but I am a lover of chocolate so I thought it would be a great thing to check out with my friend, "Dave, the Token White Guy" ("white" in terms of white wine lover).

1.  "Tselepos "Amalia Brut" wine from Nemea, Greece, a refreshing palette-cleansing wine, paired with a ginger hazelnut chocolate

I enjoy hazelnut in chocolate and this one is layered with pralines and crushed hazelnuts. This was my favorite chocolate of the evening.   (Note: The designs on all of the chocolates are done by using a cocoa butter transfer sheet.)

 

 

 

2.  Barboursville "Phileo" from Barboursville, VA, which is made up of 40% Vidal Blanc grapes. When I first started to like wine, I enjoyed whites Vidal Blanc. It is easy to drink and on the sweet side. Now, as my palette has changed, it is way too sweet for my taste.  However, on a hot, summer day I still enjoy sipping the Bluemont Vineyard (in Loudoun County, VA) "Cow" which is primarily Vidal Blanc. This wine is served at the Inn at Little Washington!

 

The Phileo was paired with a passion fruit caramel.  As you can see it is very pleasing to the eye and while I like caramel and enjoy passion fruit, I did not care for this chocolate. Texture can be a problem for me with food and that is what happened with this chocolate. The filling was a passion fruit puree which was liquidy and just flat out gross to me.  My rule at this point in the night "no  more squirting chocolates allowed"

 

 



3.  Cocchi "Americano" from Asti, Italy paired with Orange-Clove chocolate

Before we tried this wine, we were told that most people would probably not like this wine. It is made from the Muscat grape (Moscato) and infused with herbs. Wine infused with herbs - not typical. Arthur suggested it is best diluted or used in a cocktail. Yet, we tried it in its purest form with this chocolate.

This wine had an absolutely horrible lingering aftertaste. It was definitely better with the chocolate but the chocolate had an overpowering taste of clove. Very nice design on top of the chocolate, however.

 

 

 

4.  Inniskillin Icewine Vidal from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada with Apricot-Cardamom chocolate

 



At this point in the evening, I sit back and realize that the room is primarily full of women. Rambunctious, middle-aged, loud, chatty women who probably don't get out much. Doesn't work well for me, yet why does it surprise me? What a stereotype - mostly women at a dessert wine and chocolate tasting? Surprise, surprise. It is then that I thank Dave for going with me. He could have at least worn pink.

Icewine is made from grapes that are frozen. Frozen on the vine, hence from Canada, not frozen in a freezer like some wineries in southern VA make. The wine was nice with the chocolate but I was not a fan of either on their own.

At this point in the night is also when I realized I was getting annoyed with the designs on the chocolates. This looked like something from the 80s on a wall in a San Francisco ghetto, without the curse words. (Sorry, chocolate, it's not your fault. Blame it on the middle-aged, catty, obnoxious women who obviously can't hold their liquor)

 

 

5. Alvear PX "1927" Sherry from Jerez, Spain paired with Port Wine-Fig chocolate



 

This wine smelled AMAZING! It resembled a port wine, which I LOVE and by far my favorite wine of the evening.  It has incremental drops of wine from 1927. I wanted so badly for it to be 1923 or 1920 so it would be a special year for me - the years my grandparents were born. Yet, 1927 is not a special year for me. Oh well, it's not all about me. Wait.. why isn't it?

 

Arthur nailed it when he said it was "sweet but packs a punch". I looked at Dave and said, hey, no wonder I like it. It's just like me - a tiny amount is sweet but packs a punch!

 

It paired well with the chocolate which reminded me of a fig newton cookie. I think I was the only person who as a child did not like fig newtons. Nevertheless..... this wine was FANTASTIC!

 

Another interesting thing to me is that is smelled like steamed Maryland blue crabs to me. Now how is that appealing? It was intriguing. I had to think about why that is the case and when we cook blue crabs we use salt, old bay and red pepper.   Not sure why I got this smell, but I did and it was just one more reason for me to like it.  There's always one odd ball, eh?

 

 

6. La Giaretta Recioto from Valpoliccella, Italy paired with a Raspberry chocolate

 

This wine smells like a funky red; not a dessert wine. That greatly appeals to me. We were told it is the dessert version of an Italian Amaraone wine. I usually do not care for Italian wines but have enjoyed an Amarone.  The smell of this dessert wine tells me it really wants to be a big red but just isn't. Poor dessert wine. Don't cry, it's ok.

 

The chocolate lost me. I should have known from the crack in the one I received. Yet, no chocolate is perfect and I'll try anything.  What happened with this chocolate? It was doomed from the start. What is inside? Raspberry puree. Puree. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Rule Breaker. I like raspberries. I don't like raspberry-flavored things. I also nowknow that I don't like raspberry puree in chocolate either.

 

What good did this chocolate do for me though? It was a segway into Raspberry Beret, by Prince, one of my all-time favorite musical artists.  Raspberry puree turned into Raspberry Beret which turned into Prince which turned into Purple Rain and all of a sudden this pairing wasn't so bad. Prince is one sexy, odd little man. I would. Die for. you. (insert hand movements as warranted)



 

 

 

7.  Kopke Vintage Port 2011 from Porto, Portugal paired with a 70% bittersweet chocolate

 



This is the oldest wine in Portugal. The 2011 vintage is known as the "vintage of the century" when it comes to Port and is meant to age well. 

 

Excellent pairing of wine and chocolate. Just perfect.

 

Someone mentioned that the port burns going down. What do I immediately think of? The old 70s tune Disco Inferno. This is my Disco Inferno pairing - great era of music, vintage of the century port, bittersweet chocolate. How could it not be the perfect pairing of the night?

 

 

8.  Crema Fina Crème de Vie from Pewaukke, Wisconsin paired with Bourbon Milk Chocolate

 

If you like Bailey's Irish Crème you'll like this wine. It also reminded me of a chocolate martini without the chocolate and graham cracker crust rim. Honestly, at this point, I don't even remember what the chocolate tasted like so that means it was uneventful.

The event ended earlier than we anticipated so we went next door and had a late dinner.

A delicious, light garlic prawn dish with rice and a red wine sauce - just what I needed!

Well done, once again, happy place!! What would I do without you?