He Said: Chocolate and Wine Experience was an evening of indulgence
Feb 4, 2016, 11:02 AM
(Facebook Photo/XocolatlJWconfections)
On Jan. 22, a crowd gathered in north Phoenix at the Musical Instrument Museum to indulge in a night of two of life’s greatest things: chocolate and wine.
Hosted by the Scottsdale League for the Arts, local wineries and local chocolatiers were brought together and put on display. A few restaurants, breweries and even a local artisan cheese maker also made an appearance.
As we weaved our way through the event, we could smell the delicious sweet aromas as the band — Sassy and the Sneak Attack — sang crowd favorites in the background.
Arizona wineries — such as Su Vino, Cellar 433 and known favorite Pillsbury — were represented and being poured amid talk of grape history and other vast vino information.
Unique chocolate beers were also offered as well as intensely good Russian vodka martinis!
Filling our stomachs with a little savory before the sweets, we ventured to Capital Grille’s table, where beef tenderloin with smashed potatoes topped with caramelized shallot butter was being served. This was the perfect base before we went choco-crazy.
A few highlights included:
- Xocolatl Confection, whose table was a work of art with their beautiful assortment of chocolates.
- Pomegranate Cafe (sticking with the theme of their name) served up decadent chocolate pomegranate truffles.
- Talking Stick had the most inventive dish: A warm cherry chocolate almond risotto.
Small seminars were held throughout the night. We were fascinated by the information we learned about cacao beans from Brazil from Zak’s Chocolate.
By the end of the night, we were on a sugar high and were happily full of both chocolate and wine!
We are already looking forward to next year’s Chocolate and Wine Experience as it was a perfect night full of indulgence, fun and education!