ShopEatDrink

I have to say Saturday was a great day. It started with going to the Cartier and America exhibit at the Legion of Honor museum in San Francisco. Talk about bling! More diamonds, emeralds and rubies than I’ve ever seen in one place. The focus was on American women who bought or wore Cartier jewels. At the turn of the 20th century it was fashionable for women of a certain social status to wear tiaras, whether or not they were royalty, and you’ll see a lot of them here. Seems like a quaint trend, can you imagine wearing a crown now? Some of Grace Kelly’s jewels are on view, including her 10 carat diamond engagement ring. Then there’s the set of jewels that Mike Todd gave Elizabeth Taylor — diamond and ruby necklace, bracelet and earrings. Wow. And, many of the Duchess of Windsor’s pieces (aka Wallis Simpson). Also on view, a behind the scenes peek at the drawings and how the jewelry is made. If you go get the audio tour. Runs through May 9, 2010.

The rest of the day I spent walking around and tasting artisan chocolate at TasteTV’s Chocolate Salon at Ft. Mason. This is even better than Willy Wonka’s chocolate river! More than 50 chocolatiers were offering samples of their sweet treats, from across the country. I have to confess, I hit chocolate overload about half way through, so I didn’t get to taste everything. Here’s the best of what I did try:

Saratoga Chocolates - Strawberry balsamic truffle. One bite and the sweet concoction of strawberries and balsamic vinegar explode in your mouth.

Ococoa - They bill their chocolates as “the grownup peanut butter cup,” and the sunflower honey and butter cup is to die for.

Neo Cocoa – Here it’s the “heart” of the truffle — the filling — that takes center stage. Loved the lime zest chocolate.

Vice Chocolates – As far as vices go, chocolates aren’t so bad. Really like the fig and anise seed bar.

Posh Chocolat - These sweets are made in Montana, not exactly the center of the chocolate foodie world. Doesn’t matter, the couple who makes these chocolates have created a world of interesting flavors with chocolates of single origin Ecuadorian dark chocolate. Some work very well, and one I wasn’t crazy about. Likes: The Turkish coffee caramel, the bacon caramel applewood smoked sea salt, and the coconut pineapple caramel Hawaiian pink sea salt. Salt is a common theme in their recipes. The strangest combo here is the white truffle oil caramel with flakes of Cypress sea salt. Putting bacon in chocolate is one thing – truffle oil is just going a bit too far.

Little Sky Lavender Farm – Something different – yummy brownies infused with lavender! They sell the brownie mix so you can make them at home.

Jade Chocolates – These Asian flavor-inspired chocolates win big in the eyes of the Chocolate Salon judges. Their Genmai chocolate bar made of milk chocolate, roasted brown rice, roasted green tea and jasmine tea won 1st place for Best Flavored Chocolate in this year’s salon. The Terracotta bar with tamari almonds and pink sea salt won New Product Award 1st place.

William Dean Chocolates – Got my vote for most colorful confections. But never did get to try, the line was way too long!

Vermeer Dutch Chocolate Cream Liqueur – vodka-spiked chocolate is an indulgence.

I went to a tasting of the base wine components that go into the sparkling wine, J Schram, made by Schramsberg Vineyards in Napa Valley.  What’s a base wine?  Champagne and sparkling wines are usually blends of many many base wines, 50 to 60 in some cases.  Each component comes from a particular lot – say a block of a vineyard.  These base wines are fermented alone, and spend time either in stainless steel tanks or oak barrels before they are tasted by the winemakers to create the final blend.  By having so many base wines, or elements, the winemaker can ensure the consistency of the “house style.”

The lineup had six base wines in it:  stainless-steel fermented Chardonnays; a Chard with no malolactic fermentation and a Chard with ML; a stainless steel fermented Pinot Noir and a barrel fermented Pinot. All bases wines are single vineyard designate.

You don’t want to drink these wines!  They are very acidic — really sour.  You think the enamel on your teeth is being eaten away.  What you can taste is the fruit, green apple and citrus.  The ML Chard and Pinot are definitely richer and creamier.  Each of the wine contributes a desired characteristic to the final blend. 

Winemaker Keith Hock says they start with over 200 base wines, and after tasting through them all narrow it down to around 40-50 base wines to be considered for the blend.  

I have to say this really showed how winemaking is an art.  To be able to taste these young wines and find “the bones” that will make a great bubbly is impressive.

We also tasted finished sparklers.  We tried the J. Schram 2001 before bottling and after bottling.  The before bottling was tart but fuller on the palate while the bottled versiion was lively and full of citrus.  Interesting how the wine changes over time, and with the addition of the dosage.  Then we tried the 1997 and 1992 bottles.  The ’97 still has lots of berries and brioche and vanilla.  The ’92 has some tropical notes along with caramel.  What’s not to like?

The ’09 J. Schram won’t be out until 2016, because it will also spend 6-7 years of bottle aging on the yeast.  I’ll mark my calendar to buy a bottle and see if I can remember how the base wines tasted.