Did you know that the East Bay is a great place for making wine because it’s centrally located between vineyards in Napa, Central Valley and the South Bay, and there’s also a synergistic relationship with the vibrant restaurant scene? I didn’t realize, but it makes sense. The wineries and restaurants are inspiring each other, which is good news for all of us!
Over 20 wineries are in the East Bay Vintners Alliance and they’re all artisans who do it for the love. Steve Shaffer of Urban Legend took me through a chocolate and wine tasting the other day and he also taught me a little about the art and science of wine making. Here are some suggestions for how to create your own chocolate and wine tasting on Valentine’s Day:
photo: Christina Mitchell
Choose a couple wineries.
Take a look at the EBVA website and pick out a couple wineries that have Saturday tasting hours. I tasted wines from Dashe Cellars, Lusu Cellars, Rock Wall Wine Company and Urban Legend.
Get some chocolate.
Bring your favorite chocolate to the winery and be sure to get a combination of white, milk and dark chocolate. This way you can mix and match and come up with some interesting pairings.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Make chocolate covered strawberries.
Please don’t stress about this step. Steve made these quickly by melting chocolate in a microwave. The strawberries were surprisingly flavorful for February and they paired perfectly with some of the wines. For example, I tasted Rock Wall Wines’ 2014 Sparkling Grenache 2014 with a strawberry covered in white chocolate and the tartness in the fruit balanced sweetness in the wine, and the floral acidity echoed the strawberry notes in grenache.
Start with the sweeter wines and lighter chocolate.
We moved from left to right, starting with Lusu Cellars 2011 Zinfandel Dessert wine paired with white chocolate. The Dashe Cellars 2013 Late Harvest Zinfandel smelled kind of like raspberries and had deep plum notes, so it paired with the raspberry truffle from NK Chocolates.
photo: Christina Mitchell
Don’t be afraid to pair dry red wines with dark chocolate.
The Urban Legend 2012 Gioia Locale Zinfandel/Petitie Sirah smelled like it should be paired with a really big steak, so I was surprised when it also paired with a piece of dark chocolate. It was even more surprising when a strawberry covered in dark chocolate added acidity and took the pairing to new heights. My eyes widened, I gasped and then tried to explain to Steve that I was having a moment like Remy in the movie Ratatouille. You know what to do if you want a moment like this on Valentine’s Day…
Christina Mitchell
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Christina,
That was a fun afternoon!
A hint for those microwaving chocolate: The chocolate melts from the inside out. Use short bursts (15 to 20 seconds) stopping between to see if it can be mixed with a fork. White chocolate has a much higher sugar content than dark so it will caramelize and burn if “cooked” too long.
Kind Regards
Steve