Napa Valley Wine Chocolates

Cakebread Cellars had been around for about 15 years when Joan and I first met Dolores and Jack Cakebread and their son Dennis on the “Big Island of Hawaii for the first Cuisines of the Sun cooking event. At that time, Choclatique® was not even a glimmer of an idea. Joan and I were completely tied up with The Food Show (ABC) and our consulting company, PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, Inc.

While we were not yet making chocolate, Joan and I were certainly consuming a lot of it (and we still are, of course). During his afternoon cooking demonstration, Jack was trying to convince all that would listen that wine and chocolate was the perfect paring of nature’s finest foods. I made a comment to one of the other attendees that I had always enjoyed my wine with dinner and my chocolate dessert with a respectful interval of time in between. I was proved to be very wrong. Jack and Dolores changed my mind when I tasted their great Cabernet and Chardonnay with shards of dark, milk and white chocolate.

It was no surprise when we released Box of Bubbly—Dom Perignon Champagne Truffles—last year and they immediately became our second highest selling assortment in the Choclatique line. This popular flavor pairing of chocolate and wine opened the rest of the country’s eyes to wine chocolates.

Wine Chocolate Varieties

California’s wine country is an array of microclimates ideal for growing fine wine grapes and the source of wines used in the making of our Napa Valley Wine Chocolate assortments. We are pleased to offer:

Late Harvest Cabernet (Dark Chocolate)
A full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon ganache with the flavors of concentrated berry and plum notes layered with a hint of herbs and green peppers with sparks of smoky oak surrounded by our 64% intense Private Reserve Bitter Sweet Chocolate.

Fall Vineyard Merlot (Dark Chocolate)
A medium-body Merlot ganache with delicate hints of berry, plum, red cherry and currant, with a soft fleshiness of perfectly ripened vines, covered with our 64% Private Reserve Dark Chocolate.

Estate Chardonnay Chocolate (Milk Chocolate)
With the faint aromas of apple, lemon, peach and tropical fruits, the overall flavor is a delicately crisp, flinty flavor with overriding flavors of ripe, fleshy grapes with a buttery quality accented by the flavor of new oak. This full-bodied ganache delicacy takes on many of the qualities of sparkling California wines.

Sparkling Blanc de Chocolate (White Chocolate)
Blanc de chocolate is a dry and crisp white chocolate ganache (33%) made from California “Champagne” with barrel-fermented flavors for added complexity. The wine has aged notes and carries vibrant, fruitful and crisp natural flavors of the sparkling wine from which it is made.

Old Oak Barrel-Aged Port Chocolate (Dark Chocolate)
A big, rich Port wine flavor that is fuller, sweeter and a bit heavier than our other wine ganache. Made from fortified wine it is heavy-bodied, sweet and smoky and holds remembrance of the past and the dreams of the future.

First-Crush Fume Blanc Chocolate (Milk Chocolate)
In memory of an old friend, Robert Mondavi, we dedicate our milk chocolate ganache to the wine he made famous. The flavors of our Fume Blanc ganache are a bit tarter in natural fruit flavors such as gooseberry, honey citrus and green apple, with subtle hints of vanilla and tropical fruits like melon and pineapple and the tell-tale smoky finish.

Zinfandel Cuvée Chocolate (Dark Chocolate)
This elegant Zinfandel ganache has a good fruit concentration of mid-palate dark fruits including raspberry, black currant and subtle pomegranate flavors with white chocolate undertones. The subtle aromas of black raspberry and earthy minerals with a hint of purple violet are evident.

Pretty in Pink “Blush” Chocolate (White Chocolate)
A flirty, yet shy pink rose chocolate ganache with the fruity flavors of ripe strawberry, juicy peach and nectarine. The aroma is a delicate balance of raspberry and black cherry, plus hints of flint and slightly tart cranberry.

Choclatique Napa Valley Wine Chocolates were “un-corked” for the first time the last week in May at the Wine and Hospitality Network event at The Hess Collection Winery in Napa, California and the Wine Country Hilton, Santa Rosa, California for the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs—the world’s oldest and largest gastronomic society, founded in 1248.

No Chocolate?

What Would The World Be Without Chocolate?

As a dedicated professional foodie, I usually can’t wait to get my hands on the latest issue of Gourmet Magazine. I simply love food! I love working with it… I love talking about it… and I love eating it! But I can honestly say there is only one thing I love more than ordinary food, and that’s chocolate. After all, I am the guy who cooked chocolate pasta on KABC’s AMLA to the delight of Christina Ferrare, a chocolate and pasta fancier.

So imagine my complete and utter disappointment with the May issue of Gourmet. I scoured it from cover to cover and alas there wasn’t a single recipe or even a mention about chocolate. How could Ruth Reichl, my favorite Editor-in-Chief, have let me down so badly? Ruth, what were you thinking? There were articles on Fresh Foods, Drinks, Stir Frying, Wine and Travel. They covered Melbourne, Sailing and the Low Countries Rising. They even included an article on Obsessions—obviously theirs and not mine—as my obsession is with chocolate.

So, that made me start to think about a world without chocolate. After all, if Gourmet could put out an issue without one chocolate recipe, new chocolate thought or even a single chocolaty mention, what could be next? The world would certainly not be a better place, nor was this months Gourmet a better magazine for not including chocolate.

Now I am not a first class editor like Ms. Reichl, but I do know that I could have added a few chocolate ideas to the issue. I would have taken the Tortilla Chicken Drumsticks recipe on page 78 and improved it with a touch of mole—that rich, dark, reddish-brown delicious concoction usually served with poultry. It’s a great sauce made with onion, garlic, a variety of chilies, ground pumpkin seeds and a small amount of, you guessed it, Mexican chocolate. It would have been so easy.

On page 99 in Cucina Paradiso there is a wonderful recipe for Tuscan Cornmeal Cookies. This yummy recipe, too, could have been improved with, you guessed it, chocolate! If it were left up to me I would have substituted 3 tablespoons of the butter with a dark, rich chocolate ganache. I also would have considered dipping half of the cookie in a tempered chocolate bath to add a tantalizing chocolate dimension. After all, our Italian friends, both here and abroad, certainly love their chocolate, too.

What would the harm have been in brushing the Périgord Walnut Tart shell (page 123) with a little bit of melted chocolate? Besides the obvious flavor appeal, practically speaking, a little chocolate will keep a tart shell wonderfully fresh and flaky. There were strawberry-Vanilla Swirls (page 75); does Ruth not think that strawberry and chocolate blend well together? Who doesn’t love the taste of fresh summer berries that have been kissed with chocolate? What about the recipes for Dulce de Leche Torte (page 115) and Naranjilla Ice Cream (page 131)? Is there no room for a little chocolate among the citrusy flavors of the specialty fruit purées so well discussed? Chocolate and citrus-like flavors are like love and marriage. And what about a refreshing, ice-blended chocolate beverage for summer? It’s not just for winter anymore.

First the brokerage firms, then the banks and the car companies… everyday, life as we know it is changing! But NO CHOCOLATE in Gourmet?! That, we cannot stand for! Hopefully, Ms. Reichl, this was just an unfortunate oversight—one that will never be repeated in Gourmet Magazine again.

Seriously Strong “Elephant” Chocolate?

We recently introduced our newest high percentage cacao content dark chocolate—Choclatique’s Elephant…Seriously Strong Chocolate (76%).  Over the last couple of months, many have asked us about its origins… and why “Elephant?” 

When chocolate and coffee were first spreading across Europe, many of the importers were looking for ways of differentiating their products and brands in the marketplace.  The old tin-lined wooden boxes (similar to tea boxes from Asia) and burlap bags that the beans were shipped in really didn’t tell enough of the story to the consuming public. 

Animal-style logos appeared on the scene right around the turn of the 20th century.  They were designed and put in place on smaller retail containers in stores selling chocolate and coffee throughout the British Empire.  The story that they were trying to convey to the public was that their brand of chocolate (or coffee) were both strong and “full-value.”  The early logos that the importers used to portray strength were large animals—rhinoceros was a favorite.  But, how many rhinos on packages of chocolate can be on the market at the same time without creating general confusion?  Elephant and hippopotamus caricatures were next to be seen, followed by horses, eagles and even a few non-animal logos like clipper ships and tall mountains.  But the consumer kept coming back for the products portrayed by rhinoceros and elephants.   

At Choclatique the founders have a “thing” for elephants.  I have traveled to over 130 countries in search of great chocolate sources and have spent many months in Asia where elephants have been an important part of the history and culture of the region.   

Ed, Noi & Oon

I have a favorite place just outside of Bangkok which is one of the few elephant refuges in the world where you can spend hours in close contact with the very strong, but playful pachyderms.  Look closely, and you’ll see that we’re all smiling!  Yes, elephants smile and they laugh, too!  

Tasting Chocolate

When seriously tasting chocolate, you should allow the chocolate to slowly melt in your mouth to savor the flavor.  With Elephant you’ll get big, rich chocolate flavor with the essence of ripe cherry, berry, wine and then more deep chocolate over complex layers of tart citrus, tropical red and yellow fruit and roasted nutty notes.  This is all held up by the solid, rich and intense deep chocolate base. This high cacao content, medium-bodied, very intense chocolate is smooth on the tongue and palate with a long, pleasant chocolate finish.    

Chocolatique's Elephant Chocolate

 

We have found these tastes to be right in sync with the flavors that Americans love when eating chocolate.  Oh, and by the way, people really love the look of the beautiful, detailed custom mold we had designed just for our Elephant Chocolate. 

 

Choclatique’s dark chocolates—Private Reserve (64%), Ebony (72%), Elephant (76%) and Q-91 (91%) are never bitter or brittle, and they have a naturally intense dark chocolate flavor which requires the use of less sugar.  When you tastes our Elephant Chocolate you will see (and taste) the “fruits” of our labor.    

If you love elephants, too, and want more information about how to help save these big, gentle creatures, check out Windy Borman and “The Eyes of Thailand” at : http://www.dvaproductions.com

Do You Inhale?

Tuesday morning Megyn Kelly on Fox’s America’s Newsroom ran a segment on a guy who “invented” a chocolate inhaler. His claim—it is a great chocolate replacer. Megyn was fast to declare it “a lot of hooey.” And, I’m here to tell you that chocolate is much more than just aroma. So, Megyn, thanks for playing the “Hooey Card,” especially when it comes to chocolate.

 

Chocolate! There are few foods about which people feel as passionate. One of the most pleasant effects of eating chocolate is the “euphoric feeling” that many people experience after eating it. Chocolate contains more than 300 known beneficial compounds.  The small amount of caffeine found in chocolate (1.4 oz of chocolate = 1 cup of decaf coffee) combined with Theobromine, a weak stimulant also present in chocolate, provides the “lift” that chocolate eaters experience. Phenyethylamine is reputed to be a mood elevator and an anti-depressant. Say good-bye to your Prozac.  Chocolate is also thought to be an aphrodisiac. Set aside your Levitra. Chocolate has even been proven healthful for the well being of expectant moms. 

 

Medical research has linked the antioxidants found in cacao—the fruit from which chocolate is made—to decreases in blood pressure and reductions of “bad” cholesterol levels. Good high cacao content dark chocolate is low in sugar and rich in flavanols which many physicians and nutritionists say are beneficial to your health.

Scientists are still developing their opinions on the health benefits of dark chocolate, but the research has certainly reduced the stigma of a moderate daily chocolate habit.

Elephant Collection

We sent Megyn a box of our new Elephant Chocolate (76% cacao). This is seriously strong chocolate made for American tastes. On her first bite she will get the hit of big, rich chocolate and then the essence of ripe cherry, berry and wine over complex layers of tart citrus, red fruit and roasted nutty notes all held together by the solid, deep chocolate base. This high cacao content, medium-bodied, very intense chocolate is smooth on the palate with a long and pleasant finish to allow one to savor the flavor. So, you should check it out by tasting.  Trust me, you can’t get all that from an inhaler! 

Hello, World…

Choclatique has joined the blog world!  We hope you check in on us often for a dose of flavor, humor, passion and debauchery about our favorite subject… chocolate!

We absolutely love it all… from white to dark, bean to bar and tree to truffle, and every luscious step in between.  We are enthralled by the aroma and snap, the rich color and reflective sheen of fine chocolate.  Mostly, though, we just love the intesity of flavor and the marvelous sensation on our tongues every time we take a bite.

We welcome chocolate lovers of all sizes, shapes and attitudes, especially those who can appreciate the fun of chocolate!  Yes, chocolate is serious, complex and at times very temperamental, but it can also be colorful, flavorful, fanciful and just plain frivolous! 

Jelly Doughnut

With flavors like Hot Fudge Sundae, Root Beer Float, Jelly Doughnut and Cotton Candy… Choclatique is definitely not your mother’s Belgian chocolate!  We’re Authentically American and proud of it!  So stay tuned for our next update and until then we wish you Sweet Dreams & Chocolate Kisses!