CALIFORNIA PAIRING

DEFIANCE VINEYARD PETITE SIRAH X MOON ROCKET FUDGE DARK CHOCOLATE BAR

THE TANNINS

Defiance Vineyard Petite Sirah defiancevineyard.com

Family-owned winery Defiance Vineyard has crafted bold-yetbalanced reds from robust varietals in the rolling hills of the pastoral Paso Robles countryside for the past decade. The Faulkner family’s experience and passion for the craft shows through in their 2018 Petite Sirah, which offers a stellar expression of the fruit and the region’s character. Rich, full-bodied notes of berry and dried tobacco rest atop a foundation laid by an assertive – but not aggressive – tannic backbone that lingers on the palate.

THE TERPENES

Moon Rocket Fudge Dark Chocolate Bar 100mg THC/bar | 10mg THC/serving moonmegadose.com @moonedibles

The unpretentious, playful branding behind the Moon line of chocolate bars says it all: These effective bars will take you to the moon. The Rocket Fudge Dark Chocolate bar breaks with a tantalizing snap and offers a slightly bitter cacao character with a subtle creamy sweetness. Each piece breaks the dosage up into 10mg chunks, so you know the drill … just be careful not to eat the whole thing.

THE PAIRING

It’s almost too easy, pairing dark chocolate with a bold red like Defiance Vineyard’s Petite Sirah – but it’s a cliche for a reason. Still, we couldn’t help ourselves. The dark chocolate, dried berry, and chewy tobacco character of the wine melded perfectly with the rich fudge in the Moon Rocket Fudge bar. This would be a great pairing for a music festival at sunset, or an evening next to a lake – as the lights dim and the stars take the stage for their nightly performance. A GREAT PAIRING FOR A FESTIVAL AT SUNSET, OR AN EVENING ON THE LAKE.