When pairing wines with chocolate, your best bet is to match lighter, more elegant flavored chocolates with lighter-bodied wines; likewise, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. For example, a bittersweet chocolate tends to pair well with an intense, in-your-face California Zinfandel or even a tannin-driven Cabernet Sauvignon. The darker the chocolate the more tannins it will display. However when you pair this darker chocolate up with a wine that has stout tannins, the chocolate will often overshadow or cancel out the wine's tannins on the palate and allow more fruit to show through.

White Chocolate Wine Suggestions

White chocolate tends to be more mellow and buttery in flavor, making it an ideal candidate for a Sherry or a Moscato d'Asti  from Italy’s Piedmont region offers subtle, sweet bubbles, or an Orange Muscat. The Sherry and Moscato d’Asti will pick up the creaminess of the chocolates and the Orange Muscat will pick up any fruit tones.  Another option is a contrast pairing approach, this is a little riskier, but when you find a match it can be exceptional. For example, taking a wine like a Zinfandel which tends to have a heavier tannic content and often a higher alcohol level and partnering it with a creamy, buttered white chocolate can have an unusual "melding" affect. It's like the tannins get softened out by the fat content and make for a remarkable potential for pairing.


Milk Chocolate Wine Suggestions

Pinot Noir or a lighter-bodied Merlot  will complement a bar of milk chocolate.  Rieslings, Muscats or dessert wines tend to hold up well to mild milk chocolates. Also consider a sparkling wine or Champagne for pairing with milk chocolate dipped strawberries. Last, but not least a classic milk chocolate pairing to consider is a nice Ruby Port - a very safe bet when looking for a perfect wine to accent milk chocolate.

Dark Chocolate Wine Suggestions

Dark or bittersweet chocolates need a wine that offers a roasted, slightly robust flavor itself, with perhaps a hint of its own chocolate notes. Cabs and Zinfandels have a history of perfecting the dark chocolate match, resulting in an unparalleled tasting combination. A Cabernet Sauvignon or a Zinfandel will more than fill your chocolate pairing expectations. Also consider a Pinot Noir or a Merlot to handle dark chocolate around the 55% cocoa mark. Finally, give a Tawny or Vintage Port a go to offer a very well balanced pairing approach to a dark chocolate dessert or truffle.

Resources:

San Diego International Winery Competition
Milwaukee Journal Sentinal
About.com/wine

Chocolatier William Curley has set a Guinness World Record by crafting the most expensive non-jeweled chocolate egg ever sold at auction.

The 110-pound confection -- christened the Golden Speckled Egg -- sold for more than $10,000 to technology investor Cyrus Vandrevala.

It took seven skilled chocolatiers at Curley's Twickenham production kitchen three days to handcraft the egg. The body of the egg is made of Amadei chocolate from the Chuao region of Venezuela, what many consider the best chocolate in the world.

The egg is filled with Curley favorites that have all won gold awards from the Academy of Chocolate, including muscovado caramel, Japanese black vinegar, rosemary and olive oil, toasted sesame and juniper berry and cassis. The egg is accented with edible gold leaf.

The egg was auctioned as part of the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt, which is raising money for the charities Action for Children and Elephant Family.

More than 200 eggs, each over two feet tall and created by leading artists, designers, architects and jewelers, were hidden all over London. Egg-hunters text a code on a plaque by each egg to register their finds.

Get ready for a serious sugar rush. As we enter into the month of February, our 50^th anniversary celebration is in full swing! We have new events and promotions planned, and they will be coming to you through our newsletter, Facebook and Twitter. So if you haven’t signed up for our newsletter on our homepage, liked us on Facebook or started following us on Twitter, now is the time because we don’t want our fans to miss out on such sweet surprises!

Here’s a sneak peek on what’s in store:

We’re kicking off the month with a special $4 flat rate shipping option on ground orders in effect until February 6^th in honor of our favorite holiday commemorated by indulging in any and everything sweet - Valentine’s Day.  Capture the heart of your cupid’s cutie by ordering soon!

Later in the month, we’ll be giving away a pound of M&M fudge to one special fan who captures our heart. We’re not telling you when just yet, but get your appetites ready and let us know why you deserve this tasty treat on Facebook or Twitter (or just comment below!) 

We’re also teaming up with foodie bloggers across the United States who are hosting fudge parties and bringing you innovative recipes and tasty dishes using fudge.  Check out some of our past foodie parties here and here . If you have interesting new recipes calling for fudge, share them with us through Twitter or Facebook.

In addition to these great promos and events, we’re continuing our Swiss Maid’s Random Act of Fudge, and what better month to do so than February when so much love is in the air. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it’s our campaign to encourage acts of kindness throughout communities nationwide.

It’s simple process too: download our Swiss Maid cutout and snap a picture of you doing something nice for someone else. Upload your picture to Facebook or Twitter and tag Swiss Maid Fudge with the hashtag #SMF50. Throughout the year, we’ll randomly select fans who have helped put smiles on others’ face for a prize.

Big or small, kindness counts.

May you put an extra dose of sweet in your schedule this month and spread some Swiss Maid love.

As it’s been often said, the way to someone’s heart is through his or her stomach.

And for the past 50 years, we have been trying to reach everyone’s heart. For us, making candy is not just a job or a hobby; it is a passion.

We take pride in making quality products with the freshest ingredients, and we enjoy pairing uncommon ingredients to create innovative and tasty products that leave people wanting more.

Over the past few weeks we have been hard at work whipping up chocolate concoctions that are sure to make your taste buds go wild.  For that special someone who makes your heart flutter, we have designed a creamy milk chocolate heart shaped fudge dipped in sweet milk chocolate and embellished with mini hearts. If you’re looking for a sweet ending, our book of caramels slow cooked with sweet cream butter will suit your fancy.

To take an appetizing look at all of our Valentine’s product line, just peruse our site. We’re sure to have something that will warm the heart and satisfy the sweet tooth of your Valentine.

Indulging in chocolate is often referred to as a guilty pleasure, but Valentine’s Day is one exception to splurge. 

So from Swiss Maid to our loyal fans who continue to provide inspiration for our irresistible goodies, we wish you Happy & Sweet Valentine’s Day!

                         

We can usually find an excuse to indulge in a little something sweet on any day of the week, but now we have one for everyday this year. We’re celebrating several milestones in our rich history during 2012—our golden anniversary and the 90th birthday of our founder! 

We’ve been able to mark our 50th anniversary because of our loyal customers such as you, and we want to show you our sweet side with a yearlong series of giveaways, promotions and contests.  

As we continue our celebration in full swing online and in store, we plan to unveil new fudge flavors, offer monthly specials and discounts to customers and hold an art contest and Maid Your Way fudge-making contest. A portion of proceeds from selected months will benefit local and national charities throughout the year. 

Check out our anniversary page for a glimpse of what we have in store for the upcoming months. If you want to stay informed of our latest deals, sign up for our newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. 

Is there anything that wouldn’t taste good dipped in chocolate? At Swiss Maid, we think just about everything tastes better dipped in chocolate: cherries, apples, pretzels, toffee bars, marshmallows, twinkies, bacon, you name it! 

Today is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. During this holiday season, who needs the added incentive to enjoy chocolate? In the true spirit of the holidays, make sure you give someone special something covered in chocolate.

We’d like to send good tidings to you and yours this holiday season, and in honor of the holiday, give you a chance to win one of our most popular seasonal items, egg nog fudge! 

Just “like” our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/swissmaidfudge and correctly answer our trivia question for a chance to win egg nog fudge!

*Giveaway lasts today, December 16, 2011 only. Winner chosen at 5 p.m. CST. 

The holidays are a time to share good tidings and spread goodwill.  At Swiss Maid Fudge, we are supporting the lovable animals from the Columbia County Humane Shelter needing homes this holiday season. 

We’d like to invite you to stop by this weekend to see the animals and cross off those last minute items on your holiday lists. On Saturday, December 17 and Sunday, December 18, we are offering a sweet deal-- 20 percent off storewide, plus we are donating 10 percent of proceeds from the weekend to the shelter.  

From 12 to 3 p.m., on December 17 and 18, the some of the furry companions from the shelter will be on-site at Swiss Maid.  Swiss Maid’s hours will remain Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

We will also be welcoming the following gifts for the shelter: 

•Gift cards for gas or local stores

•Clay Cat Litter (non-scoopable)

•Medium or large dog crates

 (metal or plastic) to be used as cat cages

•Large Heavyweight Garbage Bags

•Rawhides and Dog Chews

•Durable Dog Toys

•Paper Towels

•Liquid and Powder Bleach

•Laundry Detergent

 (High Efficiency for front loading machines)

•Dryer Sheets

•Anti-bacterial Dish Soap

•General Cleaning Supplies

•Heavy Duty Laundry Detergent

•Copy paper

•Pens

•HP 96 Color and Black Inkjet Cartridges

•Vitamin C - keeps the animals healthy!

• Lysine

•Canned Dog, Cat, and Kitten Food!

From candy cane truffles to eggnog fudge, we hope you can find something sweet for someone on your list while helping support the animals at the Columbia County Humane Shelter. To sweeten the pot a little more, print off this coupon and save $3 on your purchase. 

Happy Holidays!