FFSC Wine and Chocolate 2012. Photo by Mary Lindsay
Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards organized some exceptional Santa Cruz Mountain Appellation wineries to share their wines. We were given the opportunity to enjoy excellent wines from Ahlgren Vineyard, Muns Vineyard, River Run Winery, Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Silver Mountain Vineyard. And Osocalis Distillery poured alambic brandy! Everything was outstanding.
And we couldn’t forget the food: the table groaned with a wonderful array. There were no long lines, just people mingling around the numerous tables munching on food and sipping wine. One comment overheard from a first time attendee was, “I can’t believe that there are so many ways to fix appetizers.”
Chef Bob Wynn produced several fresh-baked mushroom foccacia breads. Our new wineglass plates, courtesy of Dawn Engel, made the food and wine balancing act a snap.
Our chocolatiers-extraordinaire, Fred Molnar and Debbie Johnson, demonstrated just how many mushrooms can be made from 30 pounds of chocolate (quite a few, as it turns out). The display of chocolate mushrooms they produced was amazing (see main photo). We heard people expressing disbelieve that the mushrooms were actually chocolate; they looked so real. Mushroom door prizes were awarded at the end. This was an exceptional evening of gastronomic gluttony!
Many thanks are due to the volunteers that came early to help transform the Community Center into a gala party room. The facility was bright and cheery and decorated for a party. Thanks to Vernetta McGuire for spearheading the decorating of the tables, Barbara Hanson for organizing the lighting effects and Rene Barone for setting up the beverage table. Needless to say, as with most of our events, we could not have done this without our willing volunteers who help before, during and after the event. You transformed the room for a gala party event and cleaned it all up afterward. Thank you yet again!
Queens of All Things Culinary
Margaret Carpenter & Dawn Engel
.jpg)
