As weddings are getting under way this summer, it is a good idea to keep in mind what wine will work best with chocolate. If you are planning a dessert buffet then make sure to have some wine that compliment this choice. If you are planning on giving chocolates away in gift boxes then why not add a couple of wine facts of which wine to serve with the chocolate and add a personal note. If you are serving a decandent chocolate cake, a rich brownie or a truffle then you need to serve wine that is sweeter than the dessert .  Sparkling wines & Champagnes that are on the sweet side and not the dry side will compliment the chocolate. The denser and heavier the dessert with more texture you will need to serve a Port, Sherry, or fortified Muscat. Milk chocolate desserts with raspberries, cherries or oranges and other sweet fruit compliment a Tawny Port. Keep in mind the better the quality of chocolate served the better the quality of Port should be served. Try to keep your chocolate paired with similar flavors and aromas for example white chocolate with a white port, dark chocolate with a richer more flavorable and aromatic ruby port. Cabernet- Franc  and Cabernet -Sauvignon are great with chocolate that contain more than 72% cacao. A dark chocolate truffle and a single malt scotch are a wonderful match so if you are more into scotch then wine this is an option. For more information regarding chocolate and wine pairings visit  www.rogerschocolates.com .

There are some amazing wineries in the Okanagan and on our last trip we visited Seven Stones Winery 1143 Highway 3 250-499-2144 www.sevenstones.ca absoultely wonderful, the quality of the wines that George the proprietor and local politican produces that has won many notiable awards is truy a treasure and not to be missed. Check out his website and anything that you would purchase from George would be simply outstanding! Beaumont Family Estate Winery 2775 Boucherie Road, West Kelowna 250-769-1222 was good but not our favourite. Volcanic Hills Estate  Winery 2845 Boucherie Road, Westbank, BC 778-755-5550  beautiful shop we tried some whites and reds for us part of the experience and what makes us buy is the service component and if we are engaged, this could have been better. Some host simply stand back don’t engage the taster and then wonder why there is no sale. If they want a sale then be part of the whole experience and engage the taster. They are there to introduce you to their products, provide you with information and engage you in the experience. I really do not understand why they miss this opportunity. Stoneboat Vineyard 7148 Orchard Grove Lane Oliver, BC 250-498-2226 www.stoneboatvineyards.com the host’s name is Rae and she was engaging, knowledgeable and was happy to provide you with information. This is definitely a stop and the uniqueness of the tasting room is right inside the winery so it can be a little cool, so wear a jacket as you don’t want to miss the experience.  There are so many wineries to try and some planning on the style of the winery, the location and the wine price points should be considered prior to setting out. Some vineyards are now charging a small tasting fee of $5.00 although are happy to waive the fee if you purchase a bottle of wine. Another fee is for any ice or dessert wines they are charging $2.00 per tasting.  I think that this is very reasonable given that they need to at least recoup some cost of making the product. For too long to many people went from one winery to the other and used this as a free source for consuming wine at no charge. Charging for a wine tasting is fine as it cuts down on the non-serious consumer. Wineries should display the tasting fee outside the venue to let the customer make up their mind about paying prior to entering the tasting room. I think if all the wineries charged a fee this would cut down on the number of intoxicated people and drinking and driving.