madcity girl

I’m pretty sure I consumed my body weight in chocolate last Saturday night. My friend Julie and I (along with our very intoxicated friend Kurt), attended a wine and chocolate tasting event at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens. It was definitely my kind of event—$25 all-you-can eat/drink. And you know how much I like to take advantage of those kind of deals.

Julie’s husband Matt was originally scheduled to attend the event as well. But that was before he received free tickets to Bock Fest, an all-day drinking event at the Capital Brewery in Middleton that very same day. Julie adamantly warned Matt beforehand not to drink too much. I kept my mouth shut, but seriously doubted Matt’s ability to keep his sobriety in tact at Bock Fest. With all that beer, testosterone, and peer pressure. It was a lost cause. Sorry, Julie.

So as to be expected, upon pick up at the brewery, Julie decided that Matt was in no suitable condition to attend the wine and chocolate tasting event that night. But to my absolute disbelief, Julie reasoned that Matt’s best friend Kurt (who also attended Bock Fest) would be a suitable replacement. But once again I kept my mouth shut.

Kurt. Where to begin? Kurt is a friend of mine from college. He’s quite the character. A former Bucky Badger. You may also remember him as the star of the recent indie flick “Go West Happy Cow.” Kurt’s a great guy. Always a good laugh. But Kurt most certainly would not come to mind as a sober replacement for a refined wine and chocolate tasting event.

I think Julie and I both knew we were in trouble when Kurt started giving out high fives while we were waiting in line to enter the event. Kurt, this isn’t a sporting event, Julie sneered. We were definitely among the youngest people there. It was mostly a dignified crowd of gray-haired professorial types. What was most interesting to me was watching the older women react to Kurt’s antics—some were visibly appalled (I’m embarrassed for you, one snidely remarked). Others doted on Kurt like a long-lost grandson (oh…honeyyy). But when Kurt said “fuck” for the third time, Julie had had enough. At that point, we parted ways. And so while Julie and I started in on our second loop of wine and chocolate, Kurt wandered off in search of new lady friends.

The event featured wineries and chocolatiers from the surrounding Madison area. Offerings included espresso truffles, cherry port, lemon cardamom-infused chocolate, Lakeshore fume, pecan caramel clusters, chocolate dipped dried Door County cherries, pinot noir, and chocolate chili gelato—just to name a few. All you can eat. And drink. To say I was in heaven would be an understatement.

It was hard to pick favorites among the samples. David Bacco Chocolats and Wollersheim Winery are already among my top picks. Others that I really enjoyed included the liqueurs from AEppel Treow Winery, the balsamic-infused dark chocolate truffles from Maurie’s Fine Chocolate, pomegranate white tea infusion chocolate from TerraSource Gourmet Chocolates, and toffee from James J. Chocolates. We also all really enjoyed the guy from AEppel Treow Winery (pictured, above, appropriately sporting and kilt and silver flask). There were good laughs with that one.

Despite the evening’s rough start, Julie and I persevered for three hours of nonstop chocolate and wine tasting. Because that’s the kind of ironwomen we are. By the end of the night, we were giddy and content with bellies full of wine and chocolate. And Kurt made some new friends. All of which has made for a great story among our friends.