"Cheers" from Vintage Connections
Dean and Lisa Foster, Wine Educators and Consultants
This Week’s Wine Tips!
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and that has us thinking (and planning) about wine and chocolate.
In many of our wine appreciation classes and pairing seminars, we've paired dark chocolate with our final, boldest red wine.
Many wineries also bring out dark chocolate to pair with their final red, which often retains a bit of sweetness, but not always.
Many people are surprised at how wonderful dark chocolate and a deep, dark, red wine taste together.
For Valentine's Day, whether you are staying at home, going to a restaurant, getting together with friends, or just looking for something interesting and delicious to do, we suggest pairing wine and chocolate.
Lighter, slightly sweeter white wines are best paired with lighter, even white, chocolate. Darker reds, especially those with some retained sweetness, pair well with deep, dark chocolate. Try to match lighter wines with lighter chocolates and darker wines with darker chocolates. Experiment. If one combination doesn't work, try another (and another and another). What fun the mistakes can be! How fantastic the right pairings can be!
Manatawny Creek Winery's Raspberry Sparkling
This week we recommend Manatawny's Sparkling Raspberry as a Valentine's wine to match with white chocolate.
This wonderful sparkling wine is refreshingly semi-sweet and delicious and is made from fresh raspberries. Its festive pink color and tiny bubbles make celebrating Valentine’s Day a truly romantic experience. Try it with a white chocolate cheesecake or a white chocolate mousse, or both! Joanne Levengood, the winemaker, says this wine is a "pleasing pink semi-sweet bubbly made from raspberries and is a very special treat." She suggests it with Sunday Brunch, and we agree but also think it will be fantastic paired with white chocolate desserts. Although we don't usually like (or recommend) sweeter wines, this one has its place and is a wonderful treat. Manatawny's Sparkling Raspberry is available at the winery for $15.95. Their website address is http://www.manatawnycreekwinery.com/
For our Wine after Five with Chocolate tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown, on Saturday, February 13, we are pairing this wonderful Sparkling Raspberry with a White Chocolate Mousse, prepared by Chef Steve O'Donnell. For more information and tickets, go to the Gallery School's website at http://www.galleryonhigh.com/wineafter5.html
Pinnacle Ridge Winery's Veritas 2007
In good years, winemaker Brad Knapp blends several "Bordeaux" grapes to make his vintage Veritas. We have bottles from several previous vintages, and truly miss the years the grapes are not good enough for Brad to blend this premier red wine. 2007 was a fine year and Brad has produced an outstanding Veritas 2007. This classic Bordeaux blend is made with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is deep, rich red in color with aromas of “toasty oak, vanilla and black fruits”. It was aged for 16 months in American oak barrels and is extremely well balanced with flavors of blackberries and other dark fruits and has a long pleasing finish.
Initially, Veritas, like other high quality red wines, has lots of tannins, which come from the skin of the red grape and the oak barrels in which it is fermented and aged. So even though we are tempted to drink Veritas young, and we do, it is best when stored on its side in a cool, dark place for at least 5 years. This is a wine that you can drink now if you enjoy some tannin (it's not bitter, but has a "bite" which we enjoy). Over time, the tannins mellow, the different wines mature together in the blend, the wine changes, and an outstanding, well balanced, elegant wine results. Usually, you'll want to pair this hearty red with steak, lamb, or other red meats. However, as a treat for Valentine's Day, we are suggesting you give it a try with a semi-sweet or slightly dark chocolate. Let us know what you think!
Alcohol is about 12% by volume. The 2007 Veritas is $20 per bottle at the winery near Kutztown.
Pinnacle Ridge's website is http://www.pinridge.com/
For our Wine after Five with Chocolate tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown, on Saturday, February 13, we are pairing Pinnacle Ridge's 2005 Veritas with incredible chocolate chip cookies. The tannins have softened, the blend has mellowed, and although it will still benefit from more years in the bottle, it is very drinkable now. The cookies with semi-sweet chocolate chips, toasted brown cookie dough, crisp edges and soft centers, are mouth-watering all by themselves. But the pairing of these chocolate chip cookies with Pinnacle Ridge's 2005 Veritas is fun and delicious.
Wine Video - Go to the link below for a 3-minute video of our Wine after Five with Art on the Side wine tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxdudt7SSI
Up-coming Valentines Events
Wine after Five with Chocolate! Wine and food pairing seminar. Five wines paired with five chocolate desserts prepared by Chef Steve O'Donnell.
At the Gallery School of Pottstown
Saturday, February 13, beginning promptly at 6:30 PM (snow date, Saturday February 20)
Begin with a Sparkling Raspberry and White Chocolate Mousse.
End with a Wonderful Rich Red Blend and Decadent dark chocolate dessert.
$120 per couple, $65 single, $55 per person for Gallery members.
For more information and to register, go to the Gallery's website at
The Pottstown Mercury has started publishing our weekly wine recommendations on-line in The Grapevine, a blog you can access through the Mercury's on-line edition at http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/grapevine/blog.html
The Grapevine is a short version of our Vintage Connections Wine Info blog and includes information on one or two wines each week. We are having some difficulties linking our blog to these Comcast emails and Comcast, so far, has not been able to resolve the problem. So, to access our wine blog, go the the Pottstown Mercury's site, enter our blog there and then click the link to our own Vintage Connections Wine Info blog.
Please take a look and post some comments on our wine blogs. We'd really like to get some wine discussion going on these two blogs.
Additional Upcoming Wine Events in the Pottstown Tri-County Area
Note change of date and cost:
Thursday, April 22, Wines of the USA, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.
Note change of date and cost:
Thursday, April 29, Wines of the World, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.
NEW - Wednesday, May 5, Cinqo de Mayo, wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.
Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. Cost TBD.
Tentative - Saturday, October 23, Mom's House Benefit Wine Tasting Dinner. Location, Time and Cost TBD.
Many other events are TBD. Contact us to schedule an event in your home, at your business, or for your organization.
Vintage Connections
Lisa and Dean Foster
Dean and Lisa Foster, Wine Educators and Consultants
This Week’s Wine Tips!
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and that has us thinking (and planning) about wine and chocolate.
In many of our wine appreciation classes and pairing seminars, we've paired dark chocolate with our final, boldest red wine.
Many wineries also bring out dark chocolate to pair with their final red, which often retains a bit of sweetness, but not always.
Many people are surprised at how wonderful dark chocolate and a deep, dark, red wine taste together.
For Valentine's Day, whether you are staying at home, going to a restaurant, getting together with friends, or just looking for something interesting and delicious to do, we suggest pairing wine and chocolate.
Lighter, slightly sweeter white wines are best paired with lighter, even white, chocolate. Darker reds, especially those with some retained sweetness, pair well with deep, dark chocolate. Try to match lighter wines with lighter chocolates and darker wines with darker chocolates. Experiment. If one combination doesn't work, try another (and another and another). What fun the mistakes can be! How fantastic the right pairings can be!
Manatawny Creek Winery's Raspberry Sparkling
This week we recommend Manatawny's Sparkling Raspberry as a Valentine's wine to match with white chocolate.
This wonderful sparkling wine is refreshingly semi-sweet and delicious and is made from fresh raspberries. Its festive pink color and tiny bubbles make celebrating Valentine’s Day a truly romantic experience. Try it with a white chocolate cheesecake or a white chocolate mousse, or both! Joanne Levengood, the winemaker, says this wine is a "pleasing pink semi-sweet bubbly made from raspberries and is a very special treat." She suggests it with Sunday Brunch, and we agree but also think it will be fantastic paired with white chocolate desserts. Although we don't usually like (or recommend) sweeter wines, this one has its place and is a wonderful treat. Manatawny's Sparkling Raspberry is available at the winery for $15.95. Their website address is http://www.manatawnycreekwinery.com/
For our Wine after Five with Chocolate tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown, on Saturday, February 13, we are pairing this wonderful Sparkling Raspberry with a White Chocolate Mousse, prepared by Chef Steve O'Donnell. For more information and tickets, go to the Gallery School's website at http://www.galleryonhigh.com/wineafter5.html
Pinnacle Ridge Winery's Veritas 2007
In good years, winemaker Brad Knapp blends several "Bordeaux" grapes to make his vintage Veritas. We have bottles from several previous vintages, and truly miss the years the grapes are not good enough for Brad to blend this premier red wine. 2007 was a fine year and Brad has produced an outstanding Veritas 2007. This classic Bordeaux blend is made with Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It is deep, rich red in color with aromas of “toasty oak, vanilla and black fruits”. It was aged for 16 months in American oak barrels and is extremely well balanced with flavors of blackberries and other dark fruits and has a long pleasing finish.
Initially, Veritas, like other high quality red wines, has lots of tannins, which come from the skin of the red grape and the oak barrels in which it is fermented and aged. So even though we are tempted to drink Veritas young, and we do, it is best when stored on its side in a cool, dark place for at least 5 years. This is a wine that you can drink now if you enjoy some tannin (it's not bitter, but has a "bite" which we enjoy). Over time, the tannins mellow, the different wines mature together in the blend, the wine changes, and an outstanding, well balanced, elegant wine results. Usually, you'll want to pair this hearty red with steak, lamb, or other red meats. However, as a treat for Valentine's Day, we are suggesting you give it a try with a semi-sweet or slightly dark chocolate. Let us know what you think!
Alcohol is about 12% by volume. The 2007 Veritas is $20 per bottle at the winery near Kutztown.
Pinnacle Ridge's website is http://www.pinridge.com/
For our Wine after Five with Chocolate tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown, on Saturday, February 13, we are pairing Pinnacle Ridge's 2005 Veritas with incredible chocolate chip cookies. The tannins have softened, the blend has mellowed, and although it will still benefit from more years in the bottle, it is very drinkable now. The cookies with semi-sweet chocolate chips, toasted brown cookie dough, crisp edges and soft centers, are mouth-watering all by themselves. But the pairing of these chocolate chip cookies with Pinnacle Ridge's 2005 Veritas is fun and delicious.
Wine Video - Go to the link below for a 3-minute video of our Wine after Five with Art on the Side wine tasting seminar at the Gallery School of Pottstown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNxdudt7SSI
Up-coming Valentines Events
Wine after Five with Chocolate! Wine and food pairing seminar. Five wines paired with five chocolate desserts prepared by Chef Steve O'Donnell.
At the Gallery School of Pottstown
Saturday, February 13, beginning promptly at 6:30 PM (snow date, Saturday February 20)
Begin with a Sparkling Raspberry and White Chocolate Mousse.
End with a Wonderful Rich Red Blend and Decadent dark chocolate dessert.
$120 per couple, $65 single, $55 per person for Gallery members.
For more information and to register, go to the Gallery's website at
http://www.galleryonhigh.com/wineafter5.html
NEW BLOG SITEBerks County Wine Trail, Wine and Chocolate Weekend
Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14
For more information, go to the Berks County Wine Trail website at
http://www.berkscountywinetrail.com/
Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14
For more information, go to the Berks County Wine Trail website at
http://www.berkscountywinetrail.com/
The Pottstown Mercury has started publishing our weekly wine recommendations on-line in The Grapevine, a blog you can access through the Mercury's on-line edition at http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/grapevine/blog.html
The Grapevine is a short version of our Vintage Connections Wine Info blog and includes information on one or two wines each week. We are having some difficulties linking our blog to these Comcast emails and Comcast, so far, has not been able to resolve the problem. So, to access our wine blog, go the the Pottstown Mercury's site, enter our blog there and then click the link to our own Vintage Connections Wine Info blog.
Please take a look and post some comments on our wine blogs. We'd really like to get some wine discussion going on these two blogs.
Additional Upcoming Wine Events in the Pottstown Tri-County Area
Note change of date and cost:
Thursday, April 22, Wines of the USA, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.
Note change of date and cost:
Thursday, April 29, Wines of the World, one night wine seminar at Montgomery County Community College's West Campus in Pottstown, 6:30 - 9:30 PM, $52.
NEW - Wednesday, May 5, Cinqo de Mayo, wines from Spain, Chile, and Argentina at the Gallery School of Pottstown.
Begins promptly at 6:30 PM. Cost TBD.
Tentative - Saturday, October 23, Mom's House Benefit Wine Tasting Dinner. Location, Time and Cost TBD.
Many other events are TBD. Contact us to schedule an event in your home, at your business, or for your organization.
Vintage Connections provide
* Wine Appreciation Classes and Seminars
* Customized Educational Wine Tastings in your home or at your business
* Wine Consulting
* Benefit Educational Wine Tastings for non-profit organizations
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Vintage Connections
Lisa and Dean Foster
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