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"A jug of wine, a loaf of bread and thou" may have been enough for Omar Khayyam, but Finger Lakes wineries add another necessity to the list: chocolate.
Three wine trails and a few individual wineries are planning events pairing chocolate and wine for this weekend or Valentine's Day weekend. Another wine trail will be celebrating both Valentine's Day and Mardi Gras.
Feb. 6-7
Cobblestone Farm Winery's Sweet Sensation Weekend will feature free treats such as brownies, cheesecake, apple crisp and chocolate paired with its wines. The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 6 and 7 at 5102 Route 89, Romulus. For more information, call (315) 549-8797.
Goose Watch Winery's "Be Mine with Red Wine" and Swedish Hill Winery's "Sweetheart of a Red Wine Sale" will feature desserts along with wine samples. Some red wines will be discounted at the winery and online. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. Feb. 6 and 7 at both wineries. Goose Watch is at 5480 Route 89, Romulus, while Swedish Hill is at 4565 Route 414, Romulus. For more information on the event at either winery, call (888)-549-WINE.
Eighteen wineries on the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail will celebrate "Wine & Chocolate Weekend" on Feb. 6 and 7. Each winery will feature a different treat sample, such as hand-dipped green grapes paired with Lakeview Wine Cellars' Reserve Chardonnay. Cheesecake with Raspberry Truffle Sauce, Chocolate Cherry Scones, Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake and Black Forest Trifle are among the other delicacies, and three wineries will offer samples of port, a fortified wine often paired with chocolate. The trail has posted a Gourmet Guide so you can make sure to visit the wineries offering the treats you want to try.
Single tickets cost $35 for both days or $30 for Sunday only, and include an event wineglass, a wine trail gift and a $5 voucher for wine at any winery or food at participating restaurants. Couples tickets cost $60 for both days and include a single Wine Trail gift, two event wine glasses and a $5 voucher for wine at any winery or food at participating restaurants.
Feb. 13-14
The following weekend, wineries along the Seneca Lake Wine Trail also are featuring chocolate, while those along the Keuka Wine Trail are focusing on truffles.
Hours for the Seneca Lake Wine Trail's Chocolate and Wine Weekend event are 1 to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14.
A wine tasting ticket costs $30 per person. Nonalcoholic beverages are offered to people holding designated driver tickets, which cost $18. Tickets are limited, and participants start at different wineries.
Attendees will receive a custom tin of candy from Bridge Brands, makers of Wine Lover's Chocolate. In addition, more than 30 participating wineries will be offering dishes, most of which will include Bridge Brands chocolate. Not all of them are sweet. For example, Zugibe Vineyards' newsletter says, "We are perfecting our chocolate bbq sauce to be served over succulent pulled pork (or sweet potato fries for vegetarians)."
"Truffles and Tastes" on Feb. 13-14 will pair Keuka Lake wines with food ranging from savory to sweet. Participants will receive a gift box at their starting winery and will receive a different chocolate truffle. Tickets, which will be sold only in advance, cost $25, or $18.75 for a designated driver. Attendees will be asked to show proof that they are 21 or older.
Deer Run Winery on Conesus Lake is offering a Wine and Chocolate Tasting from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13. There will be no fee for wine tastings, and chocolatier JoAnne Marowski will be offering samples of her "Simply Irresistible Confections." The winery is at 3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo. For more information, call (585) 346-0850.
Later that day, Deer Run staffers will attend the ninth annual Scottsville Winterfest,a fundraiser for the Scottsville Ice Arena. The event will include beer and wine tastings, a pig roast, live music, wing and chili contests, open skating and raffles. The event will be held from 5 to 11 p.m. Feb. 13 at the arena, 1800 Scottsville-Chili Road. Deer Run Winery staffers will be present from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults; $5 for kids 12 and younger; $30 maximum per family, which includes two adults per family.
Casa Larga Vineyards in Perinton will celebrate "Italian Kisses and Poetry Readings" from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13. Admission is free to taste ice wine and sparkling wine and to listen to Rochester poets.
From 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Valentine's Day, Sunday, Feb. 14, visitors can taste ice wine and receive two champagne flutes, two double-dipped chocolate-covered Oreos, a tasting of five wines, plus a copy of Casa Larga’s favorite wine toasts about love. Tickets are $14 per couple.
Wineries located "Off the Beaten Path" from Cayuga Lake's east shore to Owasco and Skaneateles lakes are offering their second Romantic Adventure on Valentine's Day weekend, Feb. 13 and 14.
People can pick up a passport at one of eight wineries: Chateau Dusseau Winery in Locke, Cayuga County; Anyela's Vineyards in Skaneateles, Onondaga County; CJS Vineyards and Aurelius Winery and Izzo's White Barn Winery, both in Auburn, Cayuga County; Heart & Hands Wine Co. in Union Springs, Cayuga County; Dill's Run Vineyard, Bet the Farm Winery and Long Point Winery, all in Aurora, Cayuga County.
At each of the wineries, travelers will taste wines and receive a token of love. Completing a passport makes the couple eligible for the grand prize raffle of a $100 gift certificate to the Springside Inn in Auburn, along the shores of Owasco Lake. Second and third prizes will also be awarded.
This is a non-ticketed event and no reservations are required. For more information contact Nancy Tisch at Bet the Farm Winery, (315) 294-5643 or nancy@betthefarmny.com.
The Cayuga Lake Wine Trail will celebrate its eighth annual Mardi Gras event with a Valentine's Day twist Feb. 13 and 14. Visitors will receive special Valentine strings of beads plus a string of Mardi Gras beads at each winery, a wine glass, prizes, plus a wine and food pairing at each of the wineries.
Each participant also will be eligible to win grand prizes from Barrister’s Bed and Breakfast in Seneca Falls, Finger Lakes Winery Tours, Taverna Banfi at the Statler Hotel in Ithaca and a wine refrigerator stocked with a sampler case of wine.
Costumed guests who visit the wineries on Saturday, Feb. 13, will be eligible to be chosen as King and Queen of Mardi Gras. At 5:30 p.m. that day at Americana Vineyards, a panel of judges will pick the 2009 Royal Mardi Gras Couple. They will receive free tickets to other Cayuga Wine Trail events, tickets to the Finger Lakes Wine Festival in Watkins Glen and an overnight stay in a King Suite at the La Tourelle Resort & Spa in Ithaca.
Tickets cost $25 per person plus handling fee and sales tax in advance, $30 plus sales tax at the door. Designated driver tickets cost $20 per person in advance plus handling fee and sales tax, $25 plus sales tax at the door. Tickets may be purchased at any area Wegmans, by calling (800) 684-5217 or at the wine trail's Web site.
In addition to the Mardi Gras event, Americana Vineyards will continue its Sunday Afternoon Concert Series with Cool Club of Hector performing from 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 7 and Zydeco Trailriders from 4 to 6 p.m. Feb. 14. The winery is at 4367 East Covert Road, Interlaken.
Another Cayuga Lake winery, Six Mile Creek Vineyard, is offering free wine tastings paired with sweet treats at the Ithaca Flower Shop, 225 S. Fulton St., from Feb. 12 to 14.
On Feb. 18, Six Mile Creek and nine other vineyards will participate in Wine & Chocolate for Claws & Paws, a fundraiser for the Tompkins County SPCA. The event will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Rogue's Harbor Inn, 2079 East Shore Drive, Lansing. It will feature chocolates from Life's So Sweet, Trumansburg, and a wine seminar by Kit Kalfs from Sheldrake Point Winery.
Tickets cost $15. All ticket proceeds will benefit the SPCA, and 10 percent of restaurant dinner proceeds that evening will be donated to the organization. The inn's phone number is (607) 533-3535.
