Tag Archives: chocolate wine pairings

Intrigue Full-tilt in February

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Smile for Chocolate!

We are running at full-tilt at Intrigue, and lovin’ every minute of it! Thank you’s to all of you fine chocolate lovers (and lovers of all stripes, especially during February) for keeping us so busy.

We’ve been out and about for the last few weeks, so many places, and so many new faces. Soon we want to catch you up on our travels to Woodinville for Weddings, the Sanctuary Art Center Grand Opening , and the annual Enumclaw Wine and Chocolate Festival.

Intrigue truffles have been competing in Issaquah, walking around with wine in Woodinville (hosts: Davenport Cellars), and being created in a truffle class at Woodhouse Family Cellars.

Isn’t that enough action for ya’? Not quite. This weekend we are at Davenport Cellars again for a red wine and chocolate pairing that’ll win your heart! When we catch our breath we’ll give you lots of fun details of our exploits, but in the meanwhile check out this mention from a “neighbor’s” blog (The Dessert Tray) about our debut at Portland’s ChocolateFest.

St. Nick’s Open House in Woodinville

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St. Nicholas the Patron Saint of Seafarers

December 6th marks the feast day of the original St. Nick, or Nikolaos of Myra as he was known to his family back around 300 A.D. With many works of wonder attributed to him, the folklore abounds. Fertile ground for the birth of Sinterklaas, and later Santa Claus, brought forth to tickle childrens Christmas dreams around the world. (Some adults, too! We believe, don’t you?)

Born in a Greek colony in what is now Turkey, Nikolaos has a reputation for making “secret” gifts to those in need. The epitome of modesty, and the true spirit of giving, Nik wanted no recognition. He just wanted to help. Good reminder, eh?

This year to celebrate the occasion (on Dec. 4th and 5th) we joined hundreds of Passport holders all bound for a gala tour of wine-tasting all over Woodinville. With over 25 wineries participating, and the option of purchasing a two-day pass, we tucked in at Davenport Cellars. Jeff and Sheila Jirka are nice folks, and we were happy to be their guests.  Live music and beautiful art made our time extra delightful.

Their lovely wines made for some great pairings with our Intrigue truffles.  Our 12pc Gift Boxes and Truffle Bars were as popular as ever, but the five flavors of Hot Cocoa mix were the real hit when people were thinking of stocking stuffers.

Warm, festive and jolly are all good adjectives to describe the weekend for us. And it sure seemed that the crowd that passed through felt exactly the same way. Next year consider a drive up to Woodinville (about 30 miles North of Seattle) for this annual event.

Dogs in Disguise: Halloween at the Warehouse

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Hot Dogs!

After the big success of last month’s Third Thursday Wine Walk at Woodinville Warehouse Wineries, the doggy fun continues! October was the last wine walk of the 2010 season, and we capped it off with “Halloween at the Warehouse”. Once again proceeds going to support our local wineries and Homeward Pets. Caring for dogs and cats who need homes is a costly enterprise. And Homeward Pets Adoption Center is dedicated to really giving better lives to so many animals, they even refuse to euthanize animals, believing that there is no such thing as an unwanted animal, just some lag time between finding their true homes.

“Halloween at the Warehouse” invited pets and owners to arrive in costume, with prizes for best dressed in both categories! What’s cuter than dressed up poochies?

With over 15 wineries participating, the excitement was even greater with the many raffle prizes. Attendees were awarded raffle tickets every time they bought a bottle of wine, and were in the running for cool prizes like; a Covington Cellars Winemaker’s Dinner for 2, an Edmonds Winery Magnum, 8 wine tastings at Patterson Cellars, a Barrel Wine Tour for 2 and lots of Third Thursday Wine Walk gift certificates.

Best of all (of course) was putting wine together with chocolate at Davenport Cellars while Jeff and Sheila crushed grapes in the back room. We gave away many truffle samples and shared Intrigue Chocolates techniques for pairing wine and chocolate. (Samples for Human trick-or-treaters, only!) Lots of pats for the pets, though!

Two Classics: Chocolate and Cabernet

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Vine Ripened Cabernet Grapes

At the Cabernet Classic this last Wednesday (October 20, 2010) we were pleased to be part an enjoyable evening. And even more so because it was helping to raise much needed funds to feed hungry families in our community.

Tickets admitting classical-loving patrons to the event benefited Rotary First Harvest, and organization that has distributed almost 150 million pounds of fresh produce since 1982. It’s a majorly cool program, started with the notion of backyard gardeners growing a little extra to share with their neighbors. There are even “extra” fruits and vegetables that are not good-looking enough for the market (Ever see a “two-legged” carrot in the store? Where do they go, the island of misfit veggies? Naw, usually they are left to rot.) By creating a bridge between growers and consumers, the produce is rescued from waste and given a new life feeding those who need it most.

This second annual showcasing of over 100 Cabernets featured one French, one Californian, and more than 35 Washington wineries.

Considered by some to be “The King” of wines, the Cabernet is a beauty to pair with Intrigue Truffles. And given the volume of wines present, there was plenty of variety to match the the range of truffle flavors we had at our booth. We appreciated all of the visitors, and as always, welcome your interesting questions about what makes a wine a good pair with a particular chocolate.

In a time when more people than ever need to rely on food banks, and fresh, nutritious food is the least likely to be available, we applaud the efforts of First Harvest to feed our neighbors.

Farewell to Sips and Shoes!

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Chocolate, Wine and shoes?

Visitors to Seattle’s Grand Hyatt last Sunday (Oct. 3rd, 2010) afternoon shopped for shoes to their heart’s content! Attendees brought a pair of new or gently used shoes to donate, and everyone got a shot at them during the auction.

Entrance to the event bought not only a chance to bid on great kicks, but also wine tasting from 30 wineries and pairings with luscious eats like Intrigue Chocolates.  The proceeds went to support the Ryther Child Center, an amazing facility that lends support to children and families with behavior health needs.

We thought those of you who walked our way looked absolutely fabulous in your new duds! Our only regret is that this was the last of a really neat event, Sips and Shoes is being retired. However, we’re sure we’ll see you again out there in the world where chocolate and wine (and sometimes shoes) intersect!