THE FIRST COURSE:
I like to start a wine and chocolate tasting with bubbly.

Jeff’s Lemon Coconut is divine! It’s has a tart Meyer lemon buttercream that is hand rolled in white chocolate and toasted coconut.

Karel was the perfect choice for many reasons. Her brilliance is in her style; a dark chocolate violet ganache enrobed in dark chocolate and covered with candied violets.

THE SECOND COURSE:
Pinot Noirs are ideal for the second course when having a four course tasting. It’s a nice transition from sparkling and they usually have a lot of character to them.

I love chocolate with Pinot. Fritz’s Keiko has classic style with a twist. A raspberry ganache enrobed in dark chocolates and sprinkled with ground pink peppercorn on top. I have had many great raspberry chocolates. But there will always been something special about Keiko. The pink peppercorn is brilliant. It adds a dynamic twist without overpowering the raspberry.

Jeff’s Smokey Blue has to be one of the most unique chocolates we carry at Chatham’s. Organic blue cheese and milk chocolate ganache mixed together and rolled in toasted almonds. Yes, blue cheese and chocolate - not too overpowering – a true award winning piece. It pairs nicely with the Pinot. And, it will become a favorite.

THE THIRD COURSE
For our third course we chose a Syrah.

For a vibrant wine we went with another two big pieces. Knipschildt’s Stacy is a further example of Fritz’s bold use of flavor. She has white chocolate and Scandinavian cardamom in a dark chocolate shell and dusted with copper. The molds used for these pieces are all from a deck of cards; elegant and classy.

Jeff’s Strawberry Balsamic Pate de Fruit is proof that the sum is greater than the parts. I don’t know what inspired Jeff to create this masterpiece, but I’m glad he did. It has a layer of strawberry pate de fruit with balsamic vinegar that sits on a layer of milk chocolate with black pepper and all of this is enrobed in dark chocolate. Double wow! And, paired with a Syrah – unbelievable.

THE FOURTH COURSE
The fourth (and final) course is a Merlot.

I love Merlot wine and these two chocolates are perfect with it. Dark Star and Patricia. Again, two very different pieces from each other, and each is splendid with Merlot. Dark Star is a blend of two different single origin cocoas to make the ganache and then a third single origin cacao powder is used to dust the piece. The classic truffle with Jeff’s flare!

Patricia, I would love to meet the woman who inspired this chocolate. The cone mold points to something intriguing – the tangerine and red chili buttercream. Starts out smooth and tantalizing and then hits you with the chili. What a phenomenal finish to a superb event.

We hope you can join us at the event. It will surely be a memory to last forever!