I visited the Phildelphia Candies store in Hermitage on Tuesday and enjoyed a wonderful chocolate tasting with my co-worked and friend Brenna Teaberry from Avalon Golf and Country Club. The store was a wash in all kinds of heart shapes and pink decorations for Valentine's Day.  Brenna and I were there for some serious business.

We had an appointment with John Macris, whose family owns and operates Philadelphia Candies. John is a real chocolate expert and he took us through a unique tasting to help us find the right chocolates to pair with red wine for an upcoming event.

Here's a look at the chcoloates we selected and some wine pairing suggesstions for them:

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Cream with Chopped Hazelnuts

Try this delightful treat with a fruit forward pinot noir. The delicacy of the wine should mold beauftifully with the lighter mile chocolate. A pinot that has some subte oak or nutty undertones will make an excellent complimentary pairing.

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Truffle

This one was the favorite of both Brenna and I. It is a complex set of flavors all working together (sound familiar wine lovers?). Try pairing a South American blend with either Malbec or Carmenere as the base grape.

72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bark with Esprersso Beans

The dark chocolate really gets your attention and the espesso beans kick it up another notch. I suggest and contradictory pairing here by using a sweet red or even a sweet sparkling red, which will allow the flavors to play off each other and work beautifully together.

Several local wine shops are hosting wine and chocolate events over the weekend and many of the local wineries are holding such events as well. Thee events make for a great date night and fun way to try a new method of wine tasting.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!