Being a member of the Atlanta Food Bloggers Society is a delicious adventure because it tends to partner with some amazing brands that craft unique experiences, like sipping wine and tasting Astor Chocolate in a private suite at an Atlanta Hawks Game.
Rich Ezra, Chief Disruption Officer with Creative Chemistry, and Jackie Robertori, Marketing Manager with Astor Chocolate, put together a night of wine parings to highlight the extensive line of gourmet chocolates and truffles made by Astor. The suite had a perfect view of the court and was stocked with wine, chocolate, munchies, and chicken wings with all the fixings.
You might think you haven’t heard of Astor Chocolate before, but I bet you have eaten them without even knowing. The company has been around for more than 60 years with two manufacturing plants in the U.S. – one in Lakewood, New Jersey and the other in Napa Valley, California.
Astor Chocolate is a leading supplier of premium Belgian chocolates and truffles in the United States and they can be found everywhere from food service, catering, souvenir gift shops and gourmet retail. They are also the leading chocolate supplier in the hospitality industry with their line of turndown chocolates originally introduced in 1970. If there is a chocolate on the pillow at a hotel, chances are high that it is made by Astor Chocolate, so do yourself a favor and eat it.
We sampled chocolates from their sublime collection paired with wines from Napa Valley. Many of the almost-too-gorgeous-to-eat chocolates contained a fruit filling, like the Fruit de Passion, which is passion fruit infused ganache covered in white chocolate, and the Le Coeur D- Amour featuring raspberry gelate layered over vanilla infused dark ganache in dark chocolate. These chocolates are hearty, flavorful and pair nicely with a full bodied red wine, but it was the signature truffles that stole my heart and left me wanting more. These bite-size Belgian chocolates are addictive with Belgian milk chocolate layered over peanut butter, caramel, shaved coconut, and hazelnut infused chocolate. So rich and intense with flavor that one wasn’t enough.
Thank goodness they sent us home with a box of handmade chocolate truffles to satisfy my cravings. Order these chocolates online for corporate gifts that will knock your client’s socks off. Personalize them for a baby or bridal shower, or buy them for yourself. Just make sure you seek them out and try them soon, very, very soon.
Disclosure: The ticket for the Atlanta Hawks game was provided as a result of a media invitation. I received no compensation for this review. In no way did this influence my opinions and views, which are derived from my personal experience at the event.
