On the Wine Side - Cupcake Delights Mon, Sep 22, 25 Some days are just sweeter than others, and Wednesday, September 17, was one of them. The Wineology class topic that night was "Wine & Cupcakes." The class was treated to beautifully decorated, homemade vanilla cupcakes with real buttercream frosting to enjoy with a selection of wines. The cupcakes were made by Lisa, whose business - Sprinkles of a Gemini - is cake and cupcake decorating for groups. At her workshops, she makes everything and gives step-by-step instruction. Learn more at sprinklesofagemini.com. What to pair with such a decadent treat? That was actually quite a challenge, because the wine chosen to pair with a cupcake needs to play nicely without being bulldozed by sugar or clashing with the frosting's richness. We started with two rosé sparkling wines, the Côté Mas Cremant Brut from southern France, and the BFF Rosé Prosecco, Extra Dry, from Italy. The idea was to discover which style tasted better with a bite of cupcake, the drier Cremant, or the slightly sweeter Prosecco. As always (and that's part of the fun), opinions varied, but everyone was surprised at the differences. One couple commented that they liked one of the wines best before pairing it with the cupcake, but when they tried both wines again with the cupcake, they preferred the other. Sweet discovery! Other wines chosen for the class were the Zeller Pink Kat Riesling (what a purrfectly pretty bottle!), the Lakeland Fresh Blueberry wine, the Introvert Pinot Noir, and - the surprise of the night - Cocoa Di Vine. Each pairing had its own surprises, making either the wine or the cupcake taste better when tried together. The Introvert Pinot Noir was a winner even though it's a dry wine, because it's a beautiful fruit-forward Pinot from California. The Cocoa Di Vine is like drinking a chocolate shake but with a nice kick. We all agreed keeping a bottle in the fridge is a great idea. Thank you, Lisa, for the cupcakes, and thank you, class, for your willingness to be adventurous with tastings, trying wines you might normally not consider. We're all ready to host dessert and wine parties now. Yay! At the previous week's blind tasting class, palates were challenged to differentiate between the Hugel Pinot Blanc from Alsace and the Banfi San Angelo Pinot Grigio from Italy; the Granite Hill Petite Sirah and the Granite Hill Pinot Noir (both from California); and the E's Vineyard Virgin Soils Malbec from Argentina and the Rodney Strong Merlot from California. Several people correctly identified all of them (congrats!), but we all came away winners knowing more about these wines that we really had to pay attention to. The blind tasting classes are pretty sweet, too. September's final Wineology class will be a round-up of Exit 9 Green Tag "Gems" from around the world. There are so many of these special wines in the store, including a selection suited for fall's changing temperatures and moods displayed on the shelves adjacent to our "Ask Me" customer service desk. Check them out. As always, when you mix and match six or more of any "green tag" items in the store, you save an additional 10%. How Sweet Is That?!? See you on the wine side. Salut! By Dominique De Vito
