A red, white and chocolate tribute to romance

Clark County wineries offer tastings paired with variety of sweets in honor of Valentine's Day

Contributed photo

Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

By Sue Vorenberg
Columbian Staff Reporter

Friday, February 15, 2013

Contributed photo

Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

Contributed photo

Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

Contributed photo

Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

Contributed photo

Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

Contributed photo

Michele Bloomquist and Chris Eckels at harvest. Thirteen Clark County wineries will participate in this weekend's Wine and Chocolate Festival.

If you go

What: Valentine's Wine and Chocolate Tour.

Where: 13 wineries across Clark County.

When: Noon to 5 p.m. at most locations, Feb. 16-17. Call individual wineries for details.

Cost: Varies at each winery.

Information: Southwest Washington Wine

If thoughts of Pacific Northwest wines bring to mind the Willamette Valley in Oregon or Columbia River Gorge, you might want to also look a little closer to home.

Clark County is actually a budding scene for new craft wineries.

The area has at least 13 of them, and their number is growing, said Michele Bloomquist, owner of Heisen House Vineyards in Battle Ground.

"Clark County actually shares the same climate as the Willamette Valley," Bloomquist said. "It's a mystery why wine in Washington developed in the eastern part of the state while wine in Oregon developed west of the Cascades. Wineries in Clark County are sort of a well-kept secret."

But it's a secret that local wineries don't really want to keep.

So for the past five years, they've been luring visitors from near and far with a festival of wine and chocolate pairings over Valentine's weekend.

This year's Wine and Chocolate Festival will feature a host of Clark County wineries, each with some sort of chocolate concoction and a sampling of their locally made wines.

"The exciting thing about Clark County wine is that all of these wineries are kind of mom-and pop-organizations," Bloomquist said. "It's great because the person that's pouring the wine is the person that made the wine. That's rare in the wine industry."

Each winery plans to offer different combinations. Three Brothers Winery will serve couture cupcakes by Haute Cakes. Rusty Grape Winery will have chocolatiers demonstrating their craft. English Estate Winery will offer truffle tasting with free photographs. And Gouger Cellars will present a chocolate-filled Danish pastry called "ebelskiver" and chocolate fondue with strawberries.

"I think it's going to be a really good event," said Gary Gouger, owner of Gouger Cellars. "There's going to be a lot of people out and it's going to be really fun. I think I may leave here about 10 pounds heavier."

Many of the wineries will focus on how to pair various wines with chocolate. Heisen House will let visitors try chocolates from Smitten Artisan Truffles paired with several of their wines, Bloomquist said.

"White chocolate or white chocolate with fruit pairs well with white and sparkling white wines," Bloomquist said. "Reds go better with dark chocolate or chocolate with berries or chili. I think milk chocolate is a bit too sweet, so a dark tends to pair better."

Most of the wineries will be open from noon to 5 p.m. or noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday for the event. And there's plenty of room for visitors, Bloomquist said.

"It's fairly popular," she said. "We usually see four to five times our normal traffic. It's a fun thing to do on a weekend."