Like Wine for Chocolate
Wine Truffles by J. Emanuel Chocolatier
by Sylvie Greil

We love the delicious alchemy that happens when you pair wine and chocolate, two of our favorite vices. And with recent reports that both are actually good for your health, there’s even more reason to indulge.

One of the latest and most delicious marriages of vino and chocolate was born on a visit to Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in Napa Valley in 2001. When third-generation chocolate maker Tad Van Leer of J. Emanuel Chocolatier met vintner Warren Winiarshi, the two agreed on the similarities between chocolate and wine, including the fact that both are affected by and express terroir. The result is melt-in-your-mouth truffles that have nothing in common with grandma’s liquor-infused bonbons. Wine truffles have a subtle, sophisticated flavor, with just a hint of Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay or Malbec from top wineries including Trefethen, Merryvale and Joseph Phelps.

The Napa Collection is $22 for a sixteen-piece box. The J. Emanuel Chocolatier line also features chocolate bark made with wine-soaked peanuts, and for a memorable holiday gift, Van Leer will make a wine truffle exclusively for you. You can provide him with the wine, or they’ll source a vintage of their choice. One bottle of wine yields about five pounds of truffles, at a cost of $45 per pound if you supply the vino; initials or other personal touches can also be added.

For more information, call 888-JEMANUEL or visit www.jemanuel.com

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