Choosing Wine For Chanukah

Ready for the holidays? This year, who isn’t? Unlike past years, 2020’s holiday season will be more intimate with less extended family and less celebrations with friends. But that’s no reason to skimp!

We’ll be celebrating Chanukah with flair. That means lots of hearty, comfort food; Cultivar wine; and treats! Chanukah this year is before Christmas: December 10 through December 17, 2020. (If you celebrate both holidays you have a month of non-stop celebration from Thanksgiving through to Christmas!) 

Jewish holidays start at sundown. So, the first night you light your Chanukah menorah is at sundown on the first day. For 2020, you’ll light the candle for the first night (rightmost candle from the center candle—the Shammash or helper candle in your menorah) on December 10th.

Traditional Chanukah Foods

Chanukah celebrates the reconsecration of the Temple in Jerusalem after the Macabees expelled the Greeks. When they went to light the menorah on the new altar, they found only enough oil for one day. They used the oil they found, and the menorah stayed illuminated for not one, but eight days.

To commemorate the miracle of the oil, we eat lots of fried foods. The most popular of these foods are latkes or potato pancakes and sufganiyot or jelly-filled donuts. Luckily, latkes make a great side dish for brisket.

Pairing Wines with Chanukah Brisket
Brisket, in my opinion, is one of the best Jewish holiday staples. It’s filling. It looks harder to cook than it really is. And best of all? It pairs with so many Cultivar wines.

Our favorite Cultivar reds for our Slow Cooker Chanukah Brisket, which we typically eat for the night of Chanukah that falls on Shabbat (December 11th this year) are:

2018 Cultivar Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
2016 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Leaky Lake Vineyard

If you like savoring your wine and have some left for your dessert, you can even enjoy some 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Leaky Lake Vineyard with Graham Cracker Toffee Treats. When preparing your treats be sure to use a 1:1 mix of bittersweet, dark chocolate with your chocolate chips when coating your caramel-soaked graham crackers. This gives your treats a little bite and doesn’t overwhelm your wine.

Pairing Wines with a Cheesy Repast
Because Chanukah lasts eight nights there are lots of opportunities to eat good food and drink great wine. One another night we celebrate Judith, who according to lore was either the aunt or daughter of Judah Maccabee, the hero of the Chanukah oil story.

During the siege of her town of Bethulia in Israel, Judith met with the Assyrians’ general, Holofernes. She served him food—cheese—to make him thirsty and drink more wine. After he drank a lot and passed out, Judith took his sword and cut off his head. The Israelites inspired by his severed head attacked and the Assyrians fled.

We’re not Kosher, but for holidays we like to observe some of the basic guidelines: no pork; no shellfish; and no mixing of dairy and meat. Rather than make sure we have an hour between when we nibble on cheesy goodness before diving into our brisket, we just celebrate Judith on a different night.

As Judith probably served cheeses made from either goat or sheep’s milk, we put together a cheese plate with Goat Gouda, Goat Cheese, and Goat Brie. Along with the cheese plate are fresh from the oven Pomegranate Pips, Pecan with Goat Cheese and Persimmon with Goat Brie stuffed dates. For our main, we typically enjoy Pecorino Romano, Panko Crusted Baked Eggplant.

The best part of this meal? Both white wine and red wine drinkers will be happy.
Our favorite Cultivar wines for our celebration of Judith are:
2019 Cultivar Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
2018 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County
2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands

We serve our eggplant with lemon slices, puttanesca, goat cheese crumbles, and fig balsamic vinegar on the side. Depending on which Cultivar wine our guests are enjoying they can finish the main to match.

We recommend freshly squeezed lemon with the 2019 Cultivar Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley; puttanesca with either the 2018 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County or 2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands; goat cheese crumbles with drizzled fig balsamic vinegar with the 2019 Cultivar Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands.

Eden Hensley Silverstein is a third-generation Californian, who has been feeding her family, friends, and soon-to-be friends around her kitchen table since she was in third grade. Along with her husband, 8.5 year old daughter, and Maine Coon/Ragamuffin rescue cat, she makes 849 sq ft a welcoming home in The Mission. They share recipes and misadventures on The Road to the Good Life.

DISCLAIMER: I was provided with the Cultivar wines for free by Cultivar SF for tasting and pairing. All opinions are my own. The links in this post are not affiliate links. I simply like the wines and wanted to make it easy for you to learn more about Cultivar and the wines. Some of the wines are only available through the Cultivar Wine Club. If you’re in SF, I highly recommend considering it as you can pick up your wines at Cultivar SF and enjoy tasty bites at their release parties.

The Perfect Brisket (And Wine) For A Perfect Chanukah

 

Holiday gatherings this year are going to be a little different especially depending on where you live. We’re in San Francisco, and since March 2020 we’ve been sheltering in place. With a vaccine for COVID-19 still under development, we’ll be celebrating Chanukah with just our immediate family. And we’ll be enjoying a mouthwatering brisket that’s perfectly sized for our family of 3. 

There are tons of recipes for entertaining hordes on the Internet. Few explain how one might make a brisket for themselves and their partner. This recipe is for an intimate Chanukah dinner—a couple, two roommates, a parent and a teen, a parent and two littles.

This recipe is the result of years of research, experimentation, and troubleshooting. So, rather than simply modifying another recipe - a hit or miss proposition at best - give this stress-free recipe a try.

Four Tips for a Mouthwatering Brisket

I’ve found there are four things that increase your odds of serving a mouthwatering meal your family will reminisce fondly about for years to come...and none of them involve browning your brisket before tossing it into the slow cooker. Browning your brisket won’t save your meal if you make one of the following rookie errors:

1. Don’t even proceed with this recipe if your well-meaning butcher trims the fat off your brisket. (It won’t work so don’t even try it; make a lovey beef stew instead.

2. If you can’t find brisket, don’t blindly toss a different cut of meat into your slow cooker. Brisket is the toughest of cuts, so the length of time in the slow cooker is too long for other more expensive cuts like Prime Rib.

3. Cooking on HIGH for half the time will not save you from poor time management skills or lack of planning. Wake up early if you want to eat it the same day you make it; start it the night before to rest when you rise and finish in the oven later; or just make it the day before, let it rest overnight, and finish in the morning.

4. Make sure you have the same size brisket as the recipe. Your liquid-to-meat ratio as well as cooking time won’t be the same if you’re using more or less than 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds of beef brisket. Also, you need one cut that’s 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds. If your portion is less than a pound, chop up and make beef stew.

And now...the recipe!

 

The Ultimate Brisket

This slow cooker recipe doesn’t require you to use your oven or stovetop. You’ll chop your vegetables and toss them, the brisket, and sauces into your slow cooker and basically forget it for a few hours.

Note: Because you’ll flip the brisket halfway through the cooking process, this isn’t a good recipe to start before you go to bed. If you’re planning on eating Chanukah dinner earlier in the day, you can leave it to cook overnight, just flip the brisket in the morning and cook on slow for an additional hour.

Before you start assembling ingredients, we need to chat about cooking with wine. To save money you may be tempted to select a bottle of “cooking wine” from your grocery aisle. Don’t do that. My cousin, a chef, chastised me for doing this years ago. “If you wouldn’t drink a wine, you shouldn’t cook with it.”

Now, this doesn’t mean if you’re serving an expensive bottle that you need to use it for cooking. He recommends choosing the same varietal of wine or in a pinch same color. We enjoyed our brisket with 2016 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Leaky Lake Vineyard ($98) and added Merlot to our brisket in the slow cooker.

Ingredients (Serves 2):

3 yellow gold potatoes, quartered
A bunch of baby carrots, cut in thirds
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound beef brisket, flat cut
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon soy or tamari sauce
1 1/2 cups beef or mushroom broth
1/2 cup Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon (if you don’t have wine, substitute with broth)
3 cloves garlic, minced
Pepper
Salt
1 large yellow or red onion, sliced in half moons
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

Instructions (cooking time: 8-9 hours)

• Add your potatoes and carrots to your 6.5 Quart Slow Cooker first.
• Next place your brisket, fat side up, on top of your potatoes and carrots.
• Pour Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, broth, and wine into your slow cooker.
• Sprinkle your garlic, pepper, and salt on top of your brisket.
• Arrange your onions to the side of your brisket.
• Add your mushrooms on top of everything and close the lid of your slow cooker.
• Cook on LOW for 8 hours, flipping halfway through cooking time. If you need to cook overnight, flip the brisket when you wake up and cook on LOW for one more hour.
• Using two turners (tongs will shred your meat), transfer the brisket and vegetables to a 9x13” baking dish, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate overnight.
• Transfer the broth to a quart container and refrigerate.
• About an hour before dinner, preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Let baking dish with brisket and vegetables come to room temperature. Pour 1/2 pint of reserved broth over the brisket and vegetables.
• Reheat for 30 to 40 minutes at 300 before serving.

Wine Pairing

Red wine lovers will rejoice when you bring out this brisket. Because of the subtle flavors in this dish, you can easily serve it with Pinot Noir, a well-balanced Cabernet Sauvignon, or even a Merlot.

What’s your favorite: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Merlot?

Which of the three reds you pair your Chanukah brisket with will come down to personal tastes (and your side dishes). For me, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy screams Pinot Noir. My husband is partial to Cabernets with beef, so I swapped the mashed potatoes with latkes and delicata squash. We chose the 2016 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Leaky Lake Vineyard over the 2018 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County to avoid having tannins overwhelm the apple sauce and squash. Don’t fret: the 2018 Cultivar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa County had its moment in the spotlight when we served our Vegetarian Harvest meal (coming to the blog soon).

Eden Hensley Silverstein is a third-generation Californian, who has been feeding her family, friends, and soon-to-be friends around her kitchen table since she was in third grade. Along with her husband, 8.5 year old daughter, and Maine Coon/Ragamuffin rescue cat, she makes 849 sq ft a welcoming home in The Mission. They share recipes and misadventures on The Road to the Good Life.

Reverb & Cultivar Wine Happy Hour

One of the events we really look forward to here at Cultivar Wine is our quarterly happy hour with Wine Club Members. We love gathering over great food to talk wine and catch up with new and old friends alike.

This month we're especially excited to be introducing our wine club members to Polk Street's newest restaurant, Reverb Kitchen & Bar. We think Reverb's innovative comfort food crafted from locally sourced, sustainable, and peak-season ingredients is the perfect complement for our wines.

Cultivar Wine Club Members will enjoy tasting our selections for our May Wine Club shipment which include 2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and two of our newest releases: 2012 Cultivar Coombsville Cabernet Sauvignon and 2014 Cultivar Rutherford Sauvignon Blanc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will you be joining us?

High Style Collection Opening Celebration at Legion of Honor

Fans of fashion flocked to the Legion of Honor Wednesday March 11th, 2015 for the opening celebration of High Style: The Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection.

“Dazzle” was the theme and fans turned out in glamorous fashion for the collection’s unveiling during a black-tie dinner for supporters hosted by the FAM Board President Dede Wilsey.

Cultivar was happy to support the museum donating wines to pair with the sophisticated three course menu. We paired our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc with the first course Celery Root, Truffle, and Leek Potage.

For the main course of Filet aux Morilles we chose our 2012 Cultivar Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. The sweet tannins and refined structure of the wine pulled out the morels in the sauce and complimented the cream sauce.

Guests finished the meal with a Black and White Duo: Chocolate Pot de Crème, Vanilla Bean Pot de Crème, and Santa Cruz Strawberries.

The collection is on view at the Legion of Honor through July 19th and shouldn’t be missed. Curated by Jan Glier Reeder, consulting curator for the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and organized by the Met, High Style captures key points in 20th-century fashion design with rare pieces from French couture houses, including examples by Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy. Get your tickets today.

Men of Style 2015 Event

On March 5th, Cultivar Wine proudly partnered with San Francisco Magazine and Saks Fifth Avenue for the Saks Fifth Avenue Men of Style event. VIP guests enjoyed our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc that we donated

while enjoying passed appetizers and waiting in suspense as to who would be the 2015 Man of Style and which charity would receive a $5,000 donation. 

San Francisco Magazine readers and fans of Saks Fifth Avenue and Cultivar Wine had a tough job, choosing between the 2015 Men of Style nominees:

• Scott E. Miller, principal and founder at Scott Miller Executive Search;
• Geoffrey De Sousa, principal of Geoffrey De Sousa Interior Design;
• Joseph Becker, assistant curator of architecture and design at SFMOMA; and
• Yves Behar, founder and principal designer at Fuseproject.

All nominees were well deserving, but there could be just one 2015 Men of Style winner.

Congratulations Geoffrey De Sousa and Ronald McDonald House at Stanford! Not only did Ronald McDonald House receive the $5,000 award, but Geoffrey generously matched the award with a $5,000 donation of his own.

Photography Credits: The third and fifth photos were taken by Rachel Bussières for Drew Altizer Photography and used with permission. The other photos were taken by Cultivar.

Choosing a Wine for a Surf and Turf Dinner

Seafood and steak is a classic match. But when it comes to a wine that works for both you might find yourself scratching your head. Here’s the secret for ensuring wine connoisseurs as well as both beef and seafood lovers are satisfied:

Choose a wine that pairs with one of the proteins and a sauce for the other protein.

In February, Chef Jeffrey Jake of Silverado Resort and Spa paired two entrees with three of our Cabernet Sauvignons: 2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 St. Helena Cabernet Sauvignon,  and 2010 Caspar Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. 

• For those wanting beef, he offered a braised shortrib with porcini mushroom polenta and red wine reduction.
• For those wanting fish, he served a seared tuna, au povre with piperade stew.

Why the Pairings Work

With these entrees you’re not matching the wine to both of the proteins. The Braised Shortribs are a strong, classic pairing for Cabernet Sauvignon. So, the secret to the pairing for the seared tuna must lie with the sauce. Cabernet Sauvignon does pair with Tuna seasoned with black pepper, but not as strongly as the sauce: a Piperade stew.

 

Remember when pairing at home to focus on your main aromas and flavors. With the Tuna, the piperade stew, which is made with bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions, is a stronger flavor than the Tuna.

 

Want to serve Piperade in your house? Try Martha Stewart’s Piperade recipe. If using a different Piperade recipe, take care not to let the heat of the chilis dominate, as the spice accentuates the tannins. The recipe from Martha Stewart is made without chili peppers.

New Release: 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose

Nothing says Spring more than a Rose inspired by the Rivera. And we’re excited to announce our latest 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose release, perfect to enjoy by itself, as a start to your springtime gatherings, or as the star of light meals.

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Tasting Notes

For our 2014 release, we blended Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, with a splash of Sauvignon Blanc. Its pale pink, copper color catches your eye. Strawberry and cranberry aromas with hints of floral notes entice your nose. Then once you sip, tantalize your palate with cranberry and tart cherry fruit with spice and floral notes. Enjoy this bright and refreshing wine chilled.

Bottles are $17 / $14.45 Wine Club and Cases are $173 / $163 Wine Club. With only 229 cases produced, we expect to once again sell out of this popular wine. So stock up now!

Order before March 28th to have for Passover or Easter

If you’re planning on serving Cultivar Wine for your Passover or Easter gatherings, be sure to get your orders in before Sunday, March 28th, weather permitting.

Pairing the 2014 Napa Valley Rose

The secret to pairing a Rose is knowing how sweet it is. Unlike our 2013, which had a sweet finish, our 2014 release has a tart, dry, mineral finish. Here are three tips that will have your tastebuds singing.

1. Look for dishes with ingredients complimentary to the aromas you’re smelling and the notes you’re tasting in the wine. For our 2014, think of dishes with cranberry, strawberry, and cherry. Turkey with cranberry relish on ciabatta. A spinach and strawberry salad.
2. Bring out the fruit with mild goat cheeses. To extend the cranberry and strawberry aromas you inhale with our 2014 Rose, choose a creamy goat cheese that softens the dry, mineral finish and amplifies the fruit.
3. Turn up the heat. When enjoying spicy Indian or Thai dishes a wine lower in alcohol is the beverage to reach for.

Here’s how two Bay Area chefs paired our 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose.

 

From Chef Jeffrey Jake of Silverado Resort and Spa

Chef Jake of Silverado Resort and Spa showcased the flexibility of our 2014 Rose, pairing it with a cornucopia of fresh local vegetables, prosciutto, and a variety of spreads: Black Garlic, Olive Tapenade, Salmon Rillettes, Aioli, and Roasted Pepper.

Impress your family and guests with your own Salmon Rillettes with this recipe from Anna Zepaltas inspired by a dish at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon bistro.

From Chef Adam Rosenblum of Causwells

Chef Rosenblum of Causwells took toast, topped it with an herbed goat cheese spread and slice of radish.

If you want to enjoy this pairing yourself, try this radish, green onion, and herbed goat cheese spread recipe from Whole Foods Coop.

Cultivar Napa Valley Rose Wins Gold Medal

Last year we released our first Cultivar Rose--a Rose inspired by those from Southern France and so popular it sold out within months of its release. With its balance and smoothness, perfect alone or paired with a variety of foods, it's easy to see why it's so loved. 

We're excited to announce that The Fifty Best awarded our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose with a Gold Medal in a blind-tasting of recent Roses from France, Spain, Portugal, and the United States.

The Fifty Best, an award-winning online guide to fine living featuring rated lists and tasting awards based on a panel of wine/spirit professionals and connoisseurs, assembled a panel of 18 pre-qualified judges. The order in which the wines were sampled was determined beforehand by lottery. Each wine was served well chilled and poured into fresh glasses from sealed bottles. Judges award scores between 1 and 5, with 5 as the best and noted their impressions of each wine on score sheets. Scores were tallied and medals awarded.

First some bad news. While we would love for you try our award-winning wine for yourself, we sold out of it in 2014. Now the good news. We just released our 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose, a blend of Pinot Noir, Syrah, Grenache, and Sauvignon Blanc. Unlike our 2013 which had a sweet finish, the 2014 release has a tart, dry, mineral finish. Grab your bottles today at $17 or stock up with a cases at $173.40 ($163.20 for Cultivar Wine Club members). You wouldn't want to miss out again!

 

New Release: 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll District Chardonnay

We are excited to announce our first Napa Valley Chardonnay: our 2013 Oak Knoll District Chardonnay. This Chardonnay is the perfect wine to drink now: on its own, with a light meal, or with your starter course at dinner.

Stock up now to be ready for the Spring weather that’s just around the corner! Bottles are $28 / $22.40 Wine Club and Cases are $285 / $268 Wine Club.

Tasting Notes

Swirl your Chardonnay to coat the glass and then bring up to your nose. Inhale aromas of baked apples, pear and melon with a hint of spice. Close your eyes and savor the wine as it hits your tongue. Enjoy baked apple, caramel, and a hint of brown butter that ends with a delicate finish. Serve chilled.

About the Oak Knoll Appellation

The Oak Knoll appellation, located south of Yountville in the heart of Napa Valley is known for a climate that is cooler and more moderate than any region in Napa Valley outside of Carneros. This cooler climate delivers restrained, delicate Chardonnays with the perfect balance of sugar and acid.

Pairing the Oak Knoll District Chardonnay

One of the most popular and traditional California Chardonnay pairings is with Dungeness Crab or crab cakes. And you won’t go wrong with this match up.

To shake things up a bit and truly delight the taste buds of your guests, pick a few goat cheeses to start your evening: Bucheron, a fresh French goat cheese; Garrotxa, an aged Spanish goat cheese; or mild American goat cheddar. Goat cheese further heightens the fruit in the 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll District Chardonnay.

Another less common match you should experiment with is sweet corn. For something off the beaten path that our guests may not have enjoyed, match our Chardonnay with either a Corn Chowder or Corn Salsa.

What will you pair your Chardonnay with?

Pairing Chocolate and Wine for Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and you’re being barraged with reminders. Reminders to buy jewelry. Get flowers. Pair chocolate with wine.

Before you rush out and grab your favorite bottle of Cultivar and box of local artisan chocolates or truffles, stop. Not all chocolate and wine is a match made in heaven. (If you’re unsure, finish your wine before sampling your chocolate.)

 

 

Basic Guidelines for Pairing Wine with Chocolates

Between the wine and the chocolate you are looking for a balance of sweetness, fruit, and acidity. To help you achieve this balance, there are a couple of general guidelines to keep in mind.

 

1. Your wine should be sweeter than the chocolate. When the chocolate is sweeter, you run the risk of an astringent finish where your mouth ends in a pucker.
2. The wine you’re pouring determines the type of chocolate you want to consider first. I tend to prefer white or milk chocolates with Roses and Chardonnays and darker chocolates with higher Cacao percentages with more full-bodied wines higher in alcohol content.

 

Truly successful matches go beyond these guidelines.

What are the exact characteristics of a successful match? It depends; it’s a matter of personal taste. Some feel chocolate never pairs with wine. I believe it’s not that straightforward, and matches can only be found through experimentation. When pairing wine with chocolates, I look first to the aromas I’m inhaling when I first raise my glass. Then I think about the nuanced flavors I’m tasting.

Interested in learning more about the art of chocolate and wine pairing? Check out the three-part series on The Nibble: Part 1 – Introduction; Part II – Pairing Chart; and Hosting a Chocolate Tasting Party.

A Trio of Cultivar Wine Paired with Chocolate

If you want a memorable bite, try one or all of these three pairings.

 

2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose with Peanut Butter and Strawberry Chocolate

Rose is the perfect Spring wine. For Valentine’s Day, our 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose is a great way to start your evening, light and crisp with just the right balance of tart cranberry and hint of strawberry.

 

Why this pairing works: The interplay between cranberry and strawberry notes is why our 2014 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose pairs with a Peanut Butter and Strawberry chocolate. The fresh strawberry jam in the chocolate brings the strawberry notes of the wine to center stage while the creamy peanut butter softens the sweetness of the milk chocolate with its saltiness for a soft finish.

 

Our 2013 Cultivar Napa Valley Rose (currently only available in keg), on the other hand, which is sweeter than our 2014 vintage, paired with a Candy Cane chocolate. This unusual pairing worked because organic candy canes were crushed into Strauss cream, organic butter, and white chocolate. The peppermint accented the strawberry notes while the cream coated the mouth and balanced the wine’s crisp finish.

 

2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll District Chardonnay with Old Fashioned Chocolate

A wine for scotch drinkers is how our 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll District Chardonnay has been described. This characteristic is why when chilled you can enjoy with an Old Fashioned Chocolate which is a combination of single barrel bourbon, Fee Brothers bitters, a twist of orange all blended into Solstice Madagascar chocolate.

 

Why this pairing works: Our 2013 Cultivar Oak Knoll District Chardonnay, fermented in neutral oak barrels, delivers fruit on the nose and hints of baking spices that finishes with caramel and brown butter. These apple, pear, and melon notes in the wine balance the bitters and hint of orange in the chocolate for a richer experience. Where alone the wine has a delicate finish, the single barrel bourbon in the chocolate intensifies the wine’s caramel finish and adds a touch of oakiness.

 

2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon with Passion Fruit Caramel

At first glance, our last pairing looks as if the caramel might be sweeter than the wine. It’s not. Passion fruit is a tad bit sweet and yet also slightly sour. It is this contradiction that makes this match complementing the structure of our 2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon.

Why this pairing works: On your inhale, nutmeg and cinnamon tantalize with a hint of mocha and cedar. These aromas scream for caramel and passion fruit.  The Passion Fruit caramel combines these flavors into a creamy decadent bite that’s slightly bittersweet. Because the chocolate isn’t overly sweet and the flavors are those present in the 2011 Cultivar Leaky Lake Cabernet Sauvignon you have a match made in heaven.

 

Which ever way you enjoy your chocolate and your wine--together or separately, have fun this Valentine’s! Jot down notes about what you like as well as what you dislike. Then, the next time you’re standing in front of a chocolate counter pick up a few more to try.

 

Want to be daring while reducing the likelihood of a mismatch? Check out The Flavor Bible by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg. Simply find the wine you’re trying to match, for example Cabernet Sauvignon, and see what fruit flavors or dessert ingredients work with it, for example strawberries. (If there’s no fruit or dessert ingredient such as butter or cream, start with one of the aromas or one of the flavors on your palette that you experience with the wine.) Then look up strawberries (or the other fruit).

 

What chocolates do you enjoy with your Cultivar Wine?