valentines day flowers - Wine, Chocolate, Love and Art

LEELANAU – Chart your own course to creating memories that will last a lifetime at the Leelanau Peninsula Vintners Association (LPVA) “Taste the Passion: Wine, Chocolate, and Love,” to be held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Tickets allow participants to attend their choice of many LPVA member wineries in any order during the weekend, while enjoying gourmet food and wine pairings in intimate and festive settings.

A variety of optional winter and valentines day flowers-themed activities will also be available, so dress warmly, bring your camera, and expect to have a great time!

The self-directed wine tour starts on Saturday as attendees pick up a souvenir wine glass at their first selected winery; from there, they can chart their trail to a variety of locations in the picturesque countryside where special pours of prize-winning Leelanau wines paired with sweet or savory foods await their arrival.

Tickets for the popular event are $30 per person, and quantities are limited at each winery in order to guarantee the best possible experience for each participant. With that in mind, organizers recommend purchasing tickets early. If traveling with a group, make sure that all select the same starting winery.

Here’s a sampling of the food pairings and activities that will be offered this year:

Bel Lago’s Pinot Noir will paired with a slice of Decadent Chocolate Cake; Black Star Farms will offer a Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Bean-infused Crème Anglaise and Pistachio-Cranberry White Chocolate Bark paired with Sirius Cherry dessert wine (if you bring your marriage license, Black Star Tasting Room Manager Chris Lopez will marry you! valentines day flowers).

Brengman Brothers will pair Runaway Hen Syrah with a Bittersweet Chocolate Truffle with Parmesan cheese, coarse sea salt and bacon (weather permitting, the vineyard trails will be open for cross-country skiing); Chateau de Leelanau will be serving Cherry Chipotle Mole Chicken Wings paired with its Riesling Harvest Select; Chateau Fontaine will offer Greek-inspired Chocolate Chili Dogs Topped with cheddar cheese (onions optional) paired with its Big Paw Red; Cherry Republic’s Shook dessert wine will be paired with a Chocolate Coffee Cake Truffle; Ciccone Winery will offer Italian Bruschetta with its 2009 Cabernet Franc (cork fishing and a wine bottle ring-toss will add to the fun); Forty-Five North will serve Red Wine-Marinated Figs Wrapped in Bacon with Mascarpone Cheese and Drizzled with Red Wine Chocolate Sauce paired with 45 Red (a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot).

Gills Pier will present Mini Chocolate/Honey Mousse Cups with sea salt and cocoa ribs, paired with Whitewater, a semi-sweet white wine made with Vignole grapes; Good Harbor will serve Chicken Jalapeño paired with their Pinot Grigio; L. Mawby is offering a piece of Chocolate/Bacon and Chocolate/Maple Fudge from 45th Parallel Candy along with the winery’s sparkling J’Adore; Silver Leaf will serve Chocolate Almond and Cherry Clusters paired with two-time Gold Medal winner Chafia Cherry wine (cross-country skiing and snow shoeing will be available, weather permitting).