Host a Wine and Chocolate Tasting:

You can tell by my posts that I am a wine lover.  I still don’t know a lot about wine, other than I like what I like because it tastes good.  At one of our wine tastings we were getting ready to taste raspberry wine when the server gave us some dark chocolate chips and told us to take a sip and then eat the chips.  The combination was fantastic.  I have an online friend, who regularly snacks on a few chocolate chips with her wine (Andrea, you need a search for your site). Turning Leaf sent us suggestions for pairing chocolate with wine for Valentines Day.

Dark Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon

   o  The richest of all the reds, this wine boasts notes of vanilla and brown that perfectly complement the bitterness in darker chocolates.

Milk Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Merlot

    o  The fruitier character in this Merlot brings out the natural, bright flavors in classic milk chocolate.

White Chocolate, paired with Turning Leaf’s 2008 Chardonnay

    o  A twist on the common red wine & chocolate pairing, the acidity level in drier whites, such as Chardonnay, cuts through the sweetness of white chocolate making for a more balanced bite.

I’ve tried these pairings and they’re terrific.  Instead of chips, I like to do squares, arranged on a platter or a plate.  You could place a separate glass for each person by each wine.  Then fill small plates with Chocolate squares, some nuts, maybe some fruit and pour a little wine into the glasses for the tasting.  This is great for a gathering of friends.  I really liked Turning Leaf’s 2008 Chardonnay paired with some Hazelnut Milk Chocolates. That was my favorite pairing.

Fondue:

Pairing the wine with chocolate fondue is great too.  Fondue is basically heavy cream and chocolate melted over a sterno – or it can be an electric fondue.  Add a little liqueur for flavoring.  Then use strawberries, pineapple, pound cake, apple slices, pretzels, etc for dipping.  Reserve some cream to thin the fondue as it thickens. Great with wine or for your wine tasting instead of squares. 

Make your own hearts:

I have Cookie cutters from Ann Clark.  They really are sturdy and sized nicely.  I’ve used my heart shaped cookie cutter to make iced birthday cookies for my mother in law, heart shaped pancakes for my daughter, and now heart shaped chocolates for my husband and son.  I melt the chocolate in the microwave and pour it into the heart mold on a flat pan . You can top with nuts, raisins, pieces of candy, then place it into the fridge to harden. It’s difficult to wait for it to be totally cool, but you have to do it.

Play a Game:

The most appropriate adult game (kid friendly house, no nudity involved) for Valentines Day is Wine Wars. It’s a trivia game for wine experts and lovers of wine information, but if you’re new to the wine world, or not an expert, you can still attempt the questions.  You’ll definitely learn as you go.  The game gets better with glasses of wine though, so be ready to sniff, swirl and sip (no spitting- we’re not wasting any of the good stuff).

The game comes with trivia cards, small boards to place little colored wine bottles into as you get an answer correct, a colored die and a wine map, all packed in a small box.  This is a very packable game if you are going to a cabin for the weekend or to have fun with friends.

The categories are:

Vino to Vino – Growing grapes, making wine, and world production.

Grapeosphere – Grape varieties, their wines, and their geography.

Wine Cellar – Selecting, storing and tasting wine.

Cork Culture – Wine people, business, arts and sciences, and trivia. 

I’m still a learner, not a geek – this is a cool way for me to do it and I’m definitely one of those sip and learn types.  We had fun guessing at the answers, and sometimes we even got it right.

In the interest of full disclosure  – I was sent some of the items for review, ie.  Wine Wars, Turning Leaf 2008 Chardonnay and Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon, also the Ann Clark cookie cutters.  The chocolate, pancakes and cookie dough was all mine.  I was totally sober when writing this review  and the thoughts are all mine, though I did have to put down my wine glass in order to type with both hands.

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View from Strongman Mountain

 I know the postings have been sporadic lately.  We went on vacation and my partner (ahem) didn’t find the time to post.  We didn’t have any internet or even cell phone connection in our cabin – except one bar on the top floor with the phone up against the top part of the window.  It didn’t matter, we were there to unwind, hike, read, have fun and disconnect.  It was family time – well mostly. 

One evening my husband and I decided to take a little time to ourselves.  We drove up into Shenandoah National Park for a wine tasting.  They have a person from a Virginia vineyard come up and do a wine tasting with a group of about 12 people. You get to sample the different wines, plus their representative tells you about what he thinks you should know about the different wines.  They’ll tell you how they think it tastes on the palate, where you’ll get the most taste, what you should be looking for and how to pair it.  The restaurant servers also pass around some cheeses, crackers and fruit (grapes) to go along with it. The servers replenished the glasses throughout the tasting, which lasted about 45 minutes.

The day we were there, a gentlemen from Barboursville Vineyards was directing the wine tasting.  While we were kind of a quiet group, he kept everything interesting and we enjoyed it a lot.  I really liked that we could taste wines from a vineyard that was a little further than we would probably go for a wine tasting.  When we were done with the tasting, they did let the group finish off the bottles, plus we were able to purchase some at a special price.  We brought four bottles home with us since we won’t be back in Virginia for a while, though my daughter was a little squished on our trip home today.

We’re happy to be home, even if the house now looks like a war zone with all of our bags and paraphernalia sitting around.  The roughest part is trying to get up the energy to put everything away afterwards after driving all day.  My sister in law remarks on how lucky I am to have kids that take vacations with us.  We realize as they get older and leave the nest it will be just us after a while, so we treasure the times with our kids while balancing it out with moments alone when we can. Vacations help to bind the family together – I cherish them all.

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Merrill was from Texas, the grand daughter of German immigrants.  Paul was from New Jersey the grandson of Italian immigrants. They met in Texas, married and started a vineyard that they called Messina Hof.  This book tells of their meeting, their families, their traditions. 

It contains recipes passed down from their immigrant backgrounds, most of which pair up well with or use Messina Hof wines to create.  The story continues with their vineyard/winery building and their raising of their son.  Throughout the book are delicious sounding recipes.  There are guidelines on pairing wines with foods.  The Bonarrigos talk about building a community with their vineyard including people in picking the grapes, building a villa, hosting weddings. 

This book was more than just a recipe book it was a book about the vineyard, the family, the business all intertwined with great food.  I loved the beginning that talked about the immigrant roots.  I grew up in NYC the granddaughter of immigrants with neighbors who were Italian immigrants that grew grapes in their backyard and made wine in their basement.  So I could imagine Paul’s family doing the same thing.  This book makes a really nice gift, especially if you are into visiting wineries.  If you’ve had Messina Hof wine, or been to their Villa and want to remember a great visit, this would be a great thing to have as a reminder of that visit. Even if you have never been to Messina Hof, the recipes most made with wine sound so delicious. This book is filled with pictures from the vineyard, of the family, of the food and the grapes, really nice quality pictures. 

Here are a couple of their most popular sauces to serve over crepes pancakes and french toast.

Pinot Grigio Applesauce

• 1 cup chopped apples
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup Messina Hof Pinot Grigio

In a saucepan, saute apples in butter until tender.  Add brown sugar, cook until the sugar begins to caramelize the apples.  Add wine; reduce until liquid reaches the consistency of syrup.  Makes about a 1/2 cup.

Strawberry Port Wine Sauce

• 1/4 cup water
• 11/2 cups sugar
• 11/2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup strawberry or raspberry jelly
• 1/2 cup Messina Hof Tawny Port

In a saucepan bring water to a boil. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add strawberries; reduce until liquid reaches the consistency of syrup.  Add jelly and win; heat through. Cook until sauce reaches desired consistency.  Makes about 2 cups.

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This wine has Maple Syrup added to it, and it has a sweet Mapley taste perfect for Butter Pecan Ice Cream.  We’ve never tried the wine before.  We bought it at the local Wine store in Windham when we took off for a night alone for our anniversary last year.  We buy local wines, sometimes ones that seem a little unusual for a special treat.  Kaaterskill Reserve was a really special find.  Unfortunately, it costs 25.00 for a small bottle .  It’s worth it, but I can’t afford it every day.

Another problem with finding these wines is that it is cost prohibitive and maybe illegal for vineyards to direct ship wines to consumers out of state. We found a Strawberry wine when we were visiting Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan.  Even though it’s only a state away, we can’t get it shipped and the stores don’t stock it.  It was good wine, but it’s been years, and I forget what it is called.  

When we were in the Shenandoah’s we bought some local wine at a vineyard.  They had a petition to sign to state that they should be able to ship wines out of state directly to consumers.  We can’t get their wine either and it’s not stocked around here.  I also buy local wines in my own state.  Those I can get shipped to me and not all of the vineyards have bottles in my local stores, so it’s one way to get exactly what you like. 

Anyway, maybe you can get a bottle of Kaaterskill Reserve Dessert wine with maple syrup delivered.  It’s delicious.  Here’s the winery website.  Windham Vineyard  We also bought other wines when we were at the Liquor store in Windham that were delicious , but this one deserves to be poured over your Butter Pecan ice cream.

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Cookerati is happy to participate in the Bloggy Giveaways this week. We hope to have a couple of cool products for you, and here’s the first:

My husband and I enjoy both wine and new gadgets so we were kind of tickled when we received The Wine Holder to review. The Wine Holder is such a simple design, yet it’s so cool everyone will ask where you got it.

In essence The Wine Holder is a piece of wood with a hole on top and a 45 degree angle on either end. These angles allow The Wine Holder to sit on your bar or countertop or dining room table without taking up a lot of room. They’re sturdy enough to hold a full bottle of wine, yet small and lightweight enough to store in your utensil drawer.

The Wine Holder gets two big fat thumbs up from Cookerati. Let the brain behind the product tell you a little about it:

How would you like to win a set of three Wine Holders?

As with all contests, I make you work for it. I learned my lesson with the Magic Bullet and Hansen’s giveaways however. No more one word hit and run comments from people who never plan on visiting  us or our sponsors again. We’re building a community, people. So, if you want to win a set of Wine Holders, you have to do a little better than a one word answer. It’s all about interaction. To win, recommend your favorite wine. Tell us why you like it. Is there a particular food that goes best with it? Is there a story behind the wine? Amusing anecdote? Post your recommendations in the comments and the best one wins the trio.

The contest ends Saturday, April 26, 2008. Good luck!

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Ingredients

• 1 pound red beans
• 4 28 ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes
• 1 pound mushrooms – chopped
• 1 Vidalia onion – chopped
• 1 large green pepper – chopped
• 1 jalapeno – finely chopped
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 2 TBLSP ground chipotle
• 4-5 stalks of fresh cilantro
• 1-2 TBLSP of salt – depending on your own taste.  If you want to reduce the amount of salt, use vegetable broth instead of water.  Or add vegetable bouillon.
• Water

Method

1. Put the beans in a large pot and cover with water.  Over low heat, simmer beans for about an hour, make sure the pot is covered. 
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and 2 cans full of water
3. Bring to a boil, stir occasionally.
4. Lower heat to bring it to a simmer
5. Cook until the broth is thick, stir often.

I like to serve this with a nice hearty bread and an ice cold beer or a glass of wine!  Taking some tips from the book, He Said Beer, She Said Wine, I would recommend a double IPA such as Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA and a South African Pinotage Rose.

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I’m not a wine connoisseur. I understand about wine pairings and I know what flavors I like. But when it comes to bouquets and oak flavors and sniffing corks, I’m lost. There. I said it. I like wine, but I’m clueless. When I taste wine all I taste is wine. I can’t find the hint of apple or barrel flavors other wine drinkers pick out.

On the weekends my husband and I enjoy finding new wines and enjoying a glass or two in the evening after our son is in bed. We’re on a budget (renovating) so we’re not shopping for $50 bottles. Instead, we ask our wine distributor for recommendation for wines under $10 or $20.

I’m learning about all different kinds of wines, but I’m especially enjoying merlots. In fact, my husband found a merlot the two us enjoy – Redwood Creek Merlot. It’s not too strong and not too sweet and it fits our budget.  See the way I figure it, the wine snobs can sniff corks and talk about bouquets. I just know what I like, and that’s good enough for me.

Incidentally, we like Redwood Creeks chardonnay and pinot noir. If you decide to try it, tell me what you think. I don’t think you’ll be too disappointed.

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Last year before visiting my mother in Southern New Jersey for the holidays, my family had a discussion about cranberry wine. My older sister suggest we try some at our next gathering. My mother purchased several bottles of Velenzano Red Cranberry Wine for us to try. The vineyard isn’t far from where my mother lives and she wanted to support someone local. We loved the wine!

This past holiday, my sister and I were at Mom’s once again and stopped into a local liquor store to purchase spirits for dinner. We came upon a display featuring Valenzano Red and White Cranberry Wines. We purchased a couple of bottles each.

My family enjoyed the wine at dinner, the Whit Cranberry Wine was our favorite. I was afraid it would be tart but it was just the opposite. It was sweet, but not sickeningly sweet like the Wild Vines wine cooler type wines.

Now, I’m no wine connoisseur, but I do know what I like. Mom does too because the next day she went back down to the liquor store and bought them out of all their cranberry wine. Besides having some in the house, we each received one as a holiday gift.

Learn more about Valenzano Wines by visiting the winery’s website.

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