Wine Country Chocolates - Sesame Ginger Bar - Oct. 23, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wine Country Chocolates
Sesame Ginger Chocolate Bar
Good+
Weight: .78 oz. (22 g.) / 2.35 oz. (66.5 g.) in total bar
Calories: 117 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wine Country Chocolates, Tasting Room, Glen Ellen, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #4) in this week's Chocolate and Sesame Series, and the first day of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Being located in Northern California, it's easy to find local wineries to visit. In the case of Wine Country Chocolates, located near several wineries in Sonoma County, they operate tasting rooms filled not with bottles, but rather chocolate confections, barks and bars.

I found today's Sesame Ginger Bar after after taking a wrong turn while driving in the Sonoma area. Happily, this led to discovering Wine Country Chocolates' Glen Ellen location on a tree-lined, meandering country road.

This Sesame Ginger dark chocolate bar was sprinkled with small pieces of candied ginger and toasted white sesame seeds. Ginger is a great spice and complement to chocolate. And this bar achieved a nice, balanced blend of flavors.

Wine Country Chocolates - Coconut truffle - March 1, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wine Country Chocolates
Coconut truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: .45 oz. (12.7 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: 67.5 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 (approximately) for 1 piece (part of a 6-piece box)
Purchased from: Wine Country Chocolates, Glen Ellen, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

While driving through Sonoma recently, on the way to a hike, I took a wrong turn. Fortunately, this error resulted in a short and interesting detour -- and the discovery of Wine Country Chocolates Glen Ellen shop location.

The woman behind the counter proudly pointed out that Wine Country Chocolates had been around for 10 years, and was not a newcomer jumping on the "hipster chocolate" bandwagon. Working in a retail business, even a successful chocolate business, is a hard slog. And my hat is off to anyone who can be indoors, in one place (where temps need to be kept under 75 degrees) for that many years -- especially on the sunny day when we popped in. So, congrats to the two women owners (not at this location that day) for keeping this going.

I had previously bought an assortment of chocolates at the Wine Country Chocolates Sonoma location; but I missed a few, including today's oval-shaped, Coconut truffle.

Each dark chocolate Coconut truffle was filled with a white, shredded coconut filling, and had an attractive green stencil pattern across the top.