The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/28554
Like chocolate? Like wine? Try this. Candy is dandy, but chocolate wine really seems to get taste buds in an uproar. “The reaction has been amazing,” says Don Opici, whose family-run company, Opici Wines, recently introduced Cocoa di Vine. Never heard of chocolate wine? Chances are you will. More vintners are amping up the decadence decibels with blends of wine infused with chocolate flavorings. Sold as dessert wines and particularly popular around choco-centric holidays such as Valentine’s Day and Easter, the wines fit into a larger trend that has seen Americans embracing their penchant for wines that are fruity and sweet, such as moscato, the sweet and zesty white wine that took off last summer. “It is absolutely fitting into the sweet tooth wine trend, says W. R. Tish, founder of the wine site NYWineSalon.com. Chocolate wines generally fall into two camps. Some are port-style wines that are dark red and have, if done right, a rich, dark chocolate taste. Examples include Rosenblum Cellars’ Desiree dessert wine. The other style mixes cream into the wine, creating a sort of adult milk shake. Cocoa di Vine falls into the latter category, though it’s a little different in that it is based on a blend of white wines, including torrontes, moscato and Pedro Ximenez, a sherry grape. Ten years ago, “I would have laughed at the idea of a chocolate wine,” says Tish. But he’s been taking Cocoa di Vine to tasting events, where it’s proved so popular that, “I’m careful not to bring it out until the end.” At Rosenblum Cellars, the idea of mixing chocolate and wine goes back about a decade, says wine- maker John Kane. The wine is made with port-style wines, along with chocolate flavorings added with an emulsifying agent. Desiree always does well at Easter and Valentine’s, but during the last couple of years there’s been increased interest year-round, with some bartenders using it to make chocolatinis. “It’s definitely a crowd pleaser,” says Kane. In a way, chocolate and wine are natural partners. A lot of wine-lovers say they can pick up notes of chocolate in certain varieties, particularly cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel, says Jerry Burd, wine-maker owner of Black Mesa Winery in Velarde, N.M., which sells a chocolate wine under the name Black Beauty. Still, some people need a little coaxing to accept the concept. “We have a lot of people that say, ‘I don’t even want to taste a chocolate wine.’ And then they walk out with chocolate wine in their bag,” says Burd. “We work hard to keep it balanced as far as sweet- ness and wine and chocolate so it doesn’t overcome your palate with any one of those. It’s not like eating a Hershey bar or Tootsie roll or something like that. It’s a nicely flavored, balanced wine.” _ Michelle Locke, The Associated Press Early spring is prime for planting salad greens Every vegetable goes through three basic phases in the gardener's hands: starting, growing and harvesting. Early spring is all about starting for many vegetables, particularly the cool-season varieties that grow until early summer. Some of the varieties are started indoors in January and February and then set out in April as transplants. If you missed the boat, you can still buy them as young plants from garden centers, mass merchandisers and even through the mail. Look for healthy young plants that have not been allowed to wilt. As transplants, consider members of the cabbage family: cabbages, broccoli, kale and kohlrabi. Members of the onion family should be planted now for spring and summer harvest, including bunching onions, onions sold as sets and usually by color, leeks and chives. I am also putting in seed-started transplants of globe artichokes and parsley. Many seeds can be directly sown in the garden once beds are prepared. Lettuce, in all its forms, should be sown now. Keep some seed for a fall crop, when heading lettuce varieties do better in Washington. In early spring, sow salad greens, including mesclun mixes, arugula and mustard greens. Peas grow to four feet or so and do best on trellis netting. Sow garden (or English) peas, snow peas and sugar peas for harvest in late May and June. Sow chard, beet, radish and collards. I like to sow seeds in straight lines so that I can distinguish between seedlings and emerging weeds. I use a spool of string and stake to get the lines straight and correctly spaced, and then form a furrow with my finger or the sharp corner of a hoe. Seed- lings have to be thinned to allow proper development. Follow the directions for thinning, and row spacing, on the seed packet. _ Adrian Higgins, The Washington Post March 31, 2011 O-Town Scene 13