Champagne, Wine, and Chocolate. Perfection.

The sound of a Champagne cork popping is the perfect complement to any celebration. Toast the holidays and ring in 2013 with Barefoot Bubbly – the perfect accompaniment to all your holiday festivities. Looking for a classic champagne? Try the Brut Cuvée ($10), crisp with hints of green apple and jasmine.

For a deliciously different wine experience, try ChocolatRouge ($11), a new wine that combines the perfect pairing of red wine and chocolate in one bottle. It comes in three flavors: award-winning ChocolatRouge Milk Chocolate, Sweet Red, and Dark Red.

For a festive and delicious addition to the holiday table this year try The Naked Grape's Harvest Red Blend ($9). This wine is juicy red with rich notes of raspberry and plum - the blend brings together a variety of red grapes, including Merlot and Tempranillo, to highlight the ripest fruit flavors. It’s also budget friendly, fresh, and great for the harvest season!

So, whether you prefer a wine that’s more classic or one that is more daring and has a sense of (sweet) humor, you need look no further. Enjoy—and please remember to drink and serve responsibly.

 

http://www.thenakedgrapewine.com/

 

http://www.barefootwine.com/

Wine or Chocolate? Wine AND Chocolate!

Valentine’s Day often brings about a small dilemma—present your beloved with a gift of delicious chocolates or a bottle or two of delectable wine?   Nicole Hitchcock, Turning Leaf Winemaker has a suggestion—why not couple the  chocolates with wine? Here are some of her pairing suggestions to give chocolate a new significant other.

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.

Sounds interesting and this is an idea we have been seeing more frequently—pairing chocolates with wine or fine spirits. It certainly is a way to please multiple zones of your beloved’s (and your) palate.
  
                                                http://www.turningleaf.com/

An Elegant Chocolate Martini

Here is a festive version of the sweet modern martini:

TAZA CHOCOLATE MARTINI
1 ½ oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz *Taza To Go Liquid Chocolate
2 oz Cream Liquor
Shake with ice and strain into a martini glass swirled with Taza To Go liquid chocolate.
Garnish with dark chocolate shavings.


*Taza To Go, by way of Spain, is a ready to serve thick and creamy
liquid chocolate
www.valorchocolate.com
 
http://www.tienda.com/