SUMMER’S BEST PAIR: WINE & S’MORES

This time of year is everything. The warm breeze, chirping of crickets, the crackle and smell of campfires, fireflies floating about. It’s nature’s friendly reminder to slowww down. Take an intentional moment to enjoy the little things. In hopes of doing just that, I co-hosted a summer wine and s’mores pairing party for the people I want to intentionally spend more time with: my girlfriends.

Let’s be honest. Life is busy! In the midst of work, significant others, family, side hustles and all of the things, why not make it a priority to have at least one summer night dedicated to catching up with girlfriends around a campfire alongside a make-your-own s’mores station. And who better to host along side me than food and wine pairing expert and friend Carin Skowronsky of Pairs Well With… She’s a fellow blogger and the wine connoisseur every good party needs, for both expertise and fabulous company! And I would feel ok about calling myself a s’mores connoisseur. It’s one of my favorite desserts because I can make it pretty much anywhere: summer campfires, fall bonfires, the cabin fireplace in the winter, and if I’m lucky like I was this year — a spring campfire. Does that qualify me as connoisseur-status? 🙂

I knew we wanted to do something memorable, special, and gourmet with our s’mores. After all, it’s girls’ night. That’s why we got our chocolates from Minnesota’s own Legacy Chocolates. The iconic St. Paul-based chocolatier’s decadent chocolates are a game changer for s’mores. I’m talking wayyy above and beyond the regular graham + mallow + milk chocolate square. Each chocolate is made with fresh local butter, cream and high quality cocoa.

And with Carin’s vino savviness, we were able to pair the most perfect s’mores and wine combos EVER. Famiglia Meschini‘s award winning wines are a local favorite in the Twin Cities where the owners live. Their vineyard is in Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina. Argentinian wine with a Minnesota twist. It doesn’t get any better than that! Their whites and reds were exactly what Carin and I thought we needed for the wine and s’mores party.

Take a look at the video below for a glimpse of the party and scroll down for all of the details!

THE CHOCOLATE

Each s’more is created with either Legacy Chocolates‘ aromatic and flavorful truffles or premium chocolate bark. Now you may be wondering, how on earth do you use a truffle in a s’more? It’s actually quite a beautiful method of s’more making which you’ll see below. Hint: Open faced. Can you believe this chocolate is handcrafted in St. Paul, MN? Our party guests definitely enjoyed each and every creation. Satisfaction in a bite… or two or three. You could compare Legacy’s chocolate to wine because each one touches the palate so differently!

Here are the official chocolates from our summer s’mores soirée (say that 3x fast):

You can actually visit Legacy’s Chocolate Cafe in downtown St. Paul in the historic Pioneer Endicott Building and pick your chocolates there. If that’s a hike, order online for your next campfire get together or other fun occasions.

THE WINE

Get ready to drink up and catch up on life! Is it just me or does wine make me want to open up more? 😉 You can base your wine choice on the type of chocolate you choose to build your s’mores or vice versa. Famiglia Meschini has a wide range of wines which made our pairings come together so easily!

Here are Carin’s suggestions for pairing the chocolate and wine, but full disclosure — while the first sips were combined with each particular chocolate, we later ended up just drinking whatever fancied our taste buds:

THE OTHER INGREDIENTS

Here’s where you can get creative. Grab all the toppings, graham crackers, cookies, etc. you want! This is a chance to give your girlfriends total freedom in making their own s’mores. The sky is the limit. Here is what we went with:

THE OUTSIDE “CRACKER”:

• Original graham crackers
• Cinnamon graham crackers
• Fresh baked sugar cookies
• Stoopwaffels

THE INSIDE:

• Regular marshmallows
• Peach marmalade
• Raspberry preserves
• Dulce de leche
• Cherry preserves

MY FAVORITE COMBOS:

• Chardonnay + sugar cookie + peach marmalade + toasted marshmallow + white chocolate bark with pistachios
• Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva + cinnamon graham cracker + toasted marshmallow + dulce de lece + semi-sweet caramel pecan truffle
• Malbec + Stroopwafel + toasted marshmallow + milk chocolate espresso truffle
• Torrontes + cinnamon graham cracker + cherry preserves + toasted marshmallow + bittersweet chocolate bark with cherries
• Torrontes + original graham cracker + raspberry preserves + toasted marshmallow + bittersweet raspberry truffle

Here are a few other fun combos:

THE DECOR

I love a good Northwoods vibe. Bring on the cozy plaid blankets, canoe, lantern and twinkle lights. If there is anything I know about decor, it’s that lighting is everything. Cue the tiki torches, sparklers and the fire pit. There’s really no right or wrong way to setup your s’mores and wine station. Just plop out a table near where the campfire is happening. Top it with with linen, a cute container to hold your marshmallow sticks, your favorite platters, napkins, wine glasses, wine opener, and wine chilling bucket. You can be more strategic about where you place the ingredients with wine-related items on one side and s’mores related items on the other.

INSPIRED? THROW YOUR OWN WINE & S’MORES GET TOGETHER

This post is in collaboration with Legacy Chocolates, Girl of 10,000 Lake’s official chocolate for s’mores. Find them on Facebook: @legacychocolates or Instagram: @legacychocolates. Thank you to Legacy Chocolates for your partnership and the tasty work you do every day to make the community a little sweeter.