Don’t you love a late gift? Like the birthday card that came two days late or the Valentine’s Day gift you got two days after the fact?
I know I do. And I hope you do too, because here is your late post.
For Valentine’s Day, I wanted to do a special post dedicated to loving the Earth. Not because the Earth is a good thing. Not because I love the environment. Although both those things are true, I did it because the “Earth friendly” wine was pretty affordable. And that is how most themes on this blog are born!
Despite the fact my boyfriend and I have been dating for almost 4 years, this is the first Valentine’s Day we have spent together. At first, I thought I would make it super romantic by creating an enormous dinner. But since I work and get tired, this did not come to pass. I did make a kicking chili and we watched 21 Jumpstreet for two hours. So basically super romantic.
All that romantic chemistry is super interesting for you, but that is not why we are here. We are here because of candy-wine pairing. And boy, do I have a bad romance for you all (and I mean vernacular bad, so you know, good romance).
The Wine: Fetzer, The Earth Friendly Winery. California Merlot, 2009.
Landfill Waste Reduced 95% Since 1990
The Candy:
Divine, 70% Dark Chocolate with Raspberries
Divine, Fruit and Nut Dark Chocolate
Fair Trade Certified "Chocolate with a heart"
The Dream:
Like I said, price was pretty important to me. Because I don’t make that much money, and keeping this affordable is pretty important (I will have a Budget Themed one too guys!) The wine was about $10 and the chocolates were two for five dollars. Since this is a learning experience, I picked a wine I don’t try often. That was the Merlot. I have heard a lot of smack talk about environmentally friendly wines, so I wanted to find out for myself. Since it was Valentine’s, chocolate was a must. I decided, to keep with the theme, to try the raspberries (they are red, duh) but I threw in the fruit and nut to up my chances of success. Or failure. How ever you choose to look at it.
The Reality:
The wine is very good. It’s sharp and challenging. The label said there were flavors of all sorts of fruits, but the blackberry really stood out for me. At first, I panicked. Is fruit going to wrestle with fruit?
Merlot Only Pairs with One
The raspberry dark chocolate was a perfect fit. The raspberry was tangy and it jutted out at the bottom of the chocolate. But the solid dark chocolate on top balanced the tang. It vacillated from a mild sweet flavor to sweet and sour, in the best way. It felt balanced and addicting. And like love, it felt so right.
But the fruit and nut…just didn’t work. The chocolate was fine, but the fruit was too chewy and the nuts just left the mouth too dry. There was too much competition. There will be no second date here.
But please, try these two specific brands of Merlot and wine together. It’s best for you and hey, probably ok for the environment too.
I’ll be out of town for the weekend with the star of the Kitchen Whisk. Will we start trouble? Most likely. Will we blog? Not very likely. So enjoy your President’s Day if you are from the East Coast. If you are in the MidWest and don’t know what President’s Day is, then good for you.
Uncorked, Unwrapped 