"Pleasure Palate" Chocolate & Wine Pairing at The Nose Wine Cellar February 10, 2006

Time to tempt your palate with all the pleasurable flavors that Southern California has to offer. Join Pleasure Palate as we do some culinary exploring of restaurants (both high-end and holes in the walls), various food and beverage tastings, cooking classes, potlucks and so much more. From savory to sweet, from salty to sour, from spicy to tangy, from exotic to All-American, we'll taste it all, so come along and take your taste buds on the ride of their life. This month's' event is all about the tasty chocolate and wine pairings that we will be experiencing at The Nose Wine Cellar in Pasadena!

Some say it can't be done, pairing wine with chocolate, but if you have the right wine to complement the right chocolate it can be a match made in heaven!

What's the number #1 rule when pairing wines with chocolate? In short, the wine should be at least as sweet, if sweeter, than the chocolate you are serving it with. Otherwise, the taste may quickly veer towards sour. When pairing wines with chocolate, your best bet is to match lighter, more elegant flavored chocolates with lighter-bodied wines; likewise, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. For example, a bittersweet chocolate tends to pair well with an intense, in-your-face California Zinfandel and there's still much more to learn at tonight's event.

The evening will start with a short talk about chocolate, wine and how well they go together. Following that talk and since the best way to learn is by doing, you will be experiencing your own chocolate and wine pairings as well. For $36, you will get pours of wines, ranging from reds to dessert wines and they will be paired with different kinds of chocolate, which could include chocolates from Europe to local artisanal chocolate makers.

Giving us the scoop about chocolate as well as being the one to pair the chocolates and wines together will be EstaJoy Peters. Ms. Peters is a caterer & personal chef with an extensive background in food & wine. She's worked with the owners of Silverlake Wine at Campanile & she created the food & catering department at the Cheese Store of Silverlake. She also has catered full scale events as well as intimate gatherings. The other interesting thing about her is that she has performed with The Second City in Chicago & still performs on occasion at the ImprovOlympic Chicago/LA Theatre.

Speaking for the wine will be Stef, owner of The Nose Wine Cellar as well as a respected sommelier. Stef is currently studying to be a Master Sommelier, so he will definitely have a lot of wine knowledge to share with us all.

An evening of chocolate, wine and mixing and mingling with other food lovers is definitely the way to start the weekend, so please come and join us!

RSVP and Pre-Pay here for the "Pleasure Palate" Chocolate & Wine Pairing at The Nose Wine Cellar @ Pasadena