Archive for February, 2012
A Marriage of Food & Wine: Planning Guide for Your Wedding Wine
Media Coordinator, Linda Carroll Weaver, writes an article for nittanyweddings.com about selecting wines for your wedding. This article is available on the following link: http://www.nittanyweddings.com/wedding-planning-articles/a-marriage-of-food-wine-planning-guide-for-your-wedding-wine/
Valentine’s Day Recipes: Sparkling Cabernet Cocktail and Chocolate-Red Wine Cake
Sparkling Cabernet Cocktail:
4 oz. chilled Mt. Nittany Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp superfine sugar
2 oz. chilled soda water
Garnish with orange slices and enjoy!
Chocolate-Red Wine Cake :
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups Mt. Nittany Merlot 2010 wine
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Whipped cream, for serving
Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. In a bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 minutes longer. Working in two batches, alternately fold in the dry ingredients and the wine, until just incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack; let cool completely. Dust the cake with confectioner’s sugar and serve with whipped cream.
Live Wine Tasting on WTAJ/Central Pa Live: Wine & Chocolate Pairing
Link for this live broadcast: http://wearecentralpa.com/fulltext?nxd_id=343742
Sarah Swistak from WTAJ’s Central PA Live television show was joined once again by winery manager, Jinx Proch, to talk about the upcoming Wine & Chocolate Pairing event at the winery. Jinx brought three wines to the set, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Nittany Mountain White, and Raspberry, which he paired with three different chocolates from Chocolate Madness.
In what follows, Jinx leads Sarah through a wine and chocolate pairing.
Sarah: Mt. Nittany Winery has a great event going on this weekend that is perfect for you and your honey. Jinx, tell us what’s going on.
Jinx: This Saturday and Sunday, we’re going to be pairing wine and chocolates. We’re having reservations available
from 12 noon to 5pm on Saturday and 12:30 – 4:00 pm on Sunday. You can taste up to six wines and all of them are going to be paired with chocolates from Chocolate Madness.
Sarah: You said this is by far your most popular event. You expect as many as 900 people to make reservations for this so, if you want to go, it’s important that you get your name on the list.
Jinx: Yes, we still have some openings. So give us a call at the winery at (814) 466-6373 and you can get a reservation slot on Saturday or Sunday and enjoy some of these tastings.
Sarah: Speaking of enjoying, let’s dive right in here – where do we start?
Jinx: First of all some general wine and chocolate pairing fundamentals, you always want to have the wine sweeter than the chocolate and that’s hard to do because wines typically aren’t that sweet, but they do have fruit so you’ll have the perception of sweetness from the fruit in the wine. The classic pairing is red wines and dark chocolates – dark chocolates aren’t that sweet. We have a dry red paired with a dark chocolate and then we’ll go down the line, getting sweeter as we go.
Up first is our Cabernet Sauvignon paired with a Creme Brulee Truffle from Chocolate Madness. First what you want to do it taste the chocolate and let it coat you mouth, and then taste the wine and let them work together.
Sarah: That is very good, very good pairing. I like the sweetness of the toffee on the top.
Jinx: Up next we have our Nittany Mountain White which is our most popular white wine. We have this paired with a Key Lime Truffle. This wine has a citrus appeal to it – aromas and tastes – and the key lime obviously is citrusy and the two go together so well – my wife’s favorite combination. The wine followed after the chocolate make the tastes explode in your mouth.
Sarah: You’re right the fruitiness of both play off each other.
Jinx: The last chocolate is a White Chocolate Lion Medalion. It has some vanilla flavors and we’re pairing this with our Raspberry Wine made from pure raspberries – this is dessert! Chocolate Madness does a wonderful job – their products are great. They closed their store downtown but they have an online presence at www.chocolatemadness.etsy.com. So you can still get their chocolates, and ofcourse owner Paul will be at the event and he will have his chocolates for sale.
Sarah: That raspberry is very good and very refreshing. So once again, the Wine and Chocolate Pairing event is coming up this weekend at the Mt. Nittany Winery in Centre Hall. The cost is $4.50 and reservations are required. As an added bonus, you guys have two recipes on your website using your wine to make a Sparkling Cabernet Cocktail and a Chocolate Red Wine Cake. We will have those recipes linked on our website, so if you’re feeling adventurous, you can try your hand at making these at home.