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Another inductee to the American Chocolate Hall of Fame!

 

Truth be told: I moved to Napa Valley to be a Napa-centric writer, to comment on America’s best food and wines and to make wine here, too.

But as Chocolate is another passion, I make time to hunt down America’s best chocolate-makers to celebrate their talents.

I have highlighted on this site, for example, the talents – and chocolates – of Shawn Askinosie, from Springfield, MO, who was my first-ever, draft-pick inductee to my virtual American Chocolate Hall of Fame. Boy, can this guy make chocolate!

Last week, while attending the annual San Francisco Fancy Food Show, which attracts hundreds of gourmet food, beverage, snack, and chocolate manufacturers, I found my inductee for 2010.

The chocolate, which took me by surprise, is a brand of which I’ve never heard – Amano. It is produced in Orem, Utah, by Art Pollard, a highly motivated, passionate, chocolate geek who founded the chocolate works in 1996.

I came away from my trade show exposure to Art’s line of premium, single-origin, artisanal chocolates with my heart pounding, convinced that Amano ranks among the best chocolates made in America.

There is a striking similarity in packaging, design and even in the Amano name to one of Italy’s very best chocolates – Amadei. But from my brief tasting at the trade show, and a subsequent follow-up tasting, I’d have to say that Art Pollard has surpassed what may have been his Italian inspiration.

Amano is made from single-origin cacao beans, which come from many different sources and which are kept segregated from other regional beans. Sort of like what we often do in wine-country—keep the grapes from a single vineyard separate from those grown in other vineyards.

Tasting through the Amano’s different “tablets,” my palate was in paradise. (I refuse to call Amano’s gourmet chocolate “bars,” because this suggests that they are in the league of a Hershey Bar, in terms of price and quality. By contrast, Amano chocolate “bars” are more like the chocolate “tablets,” which is what sophisticated gourmets call them in Europe.)

 

Amano business partners Clark Goble & company founder, Art Pollard

Industry scuttlebutt

Among artisanal chocolate makers, there has been a minor controversy about Pollard's occasional use of the term "bean-to-bar," to describe his process. The term, created by Scharffen Berger, implies that the chocolate-maker conducts seven essential chocolate-making steps in-house.

“We buy single-origin cacao beans and bring them to Orem, where we sort, roast, winnow, grind, refine and conch the chocolate,” explains Pollard.

“Until now, we have moved the liquid mass to a friend’s facility where we pour it into molds and package it. We are purchasing the molding line so the term 'bean-to-bar' can legitimately be applied to our operation," says Pollard.

Then, he adds: "I've never been a big fan of catch-phrases, though, especially marketing ones. We don't use catch-phrases to describe Amano, even when they can legitimately be applied. I want our chocolate to stand on its own -- for its flavor, rather than some industry catch-phrase." 

Speaking of the industry

On the Amano web site, Art Pollard comments about chocolatier Michel Cluizel, whose tablets are available in many premium gourmet retail stores.

“I have always enjoyed Michel Cluizel [chocolate],” Pollard says. “They have always produced a very exceptional chocolate…”

“Cluizel for me represents a company that has been able to grow and yet remain true to its roots.”

While this may be true, I have just tasted a sampler of every single, single-origin chocolate made by Amano and can report to napaman readers that Amano is equal, or superior, to, any chocolate, which Michel Cluizel makes.

Amano founder Art Pollard stands beside his “melangeur,” built in Germany about 80 years ago.

Pollard continues: “We have used organic beans for some of our chocolate, but our primary focus is on flavor, so to some degree, we consider [organic] a side issue. It is not that sustainable farming practices are not important— they are. It must be understood [however] that the term ‘organic‘ has been, to some degree, hijacked by the US Government, and it now means what the government wants it to mean.”

“For example, if a farm has a sustainability program in place and fulfills all the requirements of being “organic” but has not paid to have a government-approved inspector give the US Government’s stamp of approval, it is not considered “organic,” even though, for all practical purposes, it is.”

Pollard goes on: “It is our experience that most cocoa that has been certified ‘organic’ simply does not have the quality we demand, and while sustainability is important to us, labels are not.”

Right on, Art! And the proof is in the tasting. I tried eight different single-origin tablets, which I requested from Clark Goble (that’s Goble, not Gable!), Art’s business partner. Here are my tasting notes:

 

Ocumare 70% Dark, made from handpicked, criollo cacao beans, harvested in a remote valley in Venezuela. Definitely my favorite Amano chocolate.

Ocumare is more complex than a Dan Brown novel, which may not be such a high hurdle to jump, when you think about it, but each bite lingers infinitely longer in your mind than anything Brown has written.

Occumare has a smoky scent on the nose and a complex flavor release, suggestive of oak barrels, Asian spices and forest floor.

This is to chocolate in richness of depth and color what Guinness is to beer. In a league of its own. 96 points.

 

Montanya 70% Dark comes from a high plateau in the mountains of Venezuela. The altitude and lower nighttime temperatures create a chocolate with unique flavors. I love the aroma, which is released when you peel back the gold foil; the flavor and texture of this tablet are no less memorable.

On the initial melt on the tongue, there are hints of vanilla and exotic woods like mahogany and ebony; the flavors are accompanied by a voluptuous mouthfeel. This is Chocolate Nirvana. 94 points.

 

Jembrana 70% Dark, whose cacao beans come from the Indonesian island of Bali, is different from other Amano chocolates. This chocolate starts without the smoke, earth, or grit, of the other Amano offerings. Instead, this tablet has a lovely, lyrical chocolate-y-ness that ends with light acidity. It’s almost a refreshing chocolate. Think of it as a chocolate-pick-me-up when your palate is fatigued from eating too much chocolate! 

92 points.

Guayas 70% Dark is another of my favorite Amano chocolates, made from nacional cacao beans from the fertile Guayas River floodplain in Ecuador. Lots of smoke, green banana and a hint of berry at the finish. This is what I would eat in a darkened cinema, if I were watching any of the four Indiana Jones flicks because this chocolate has the same kind of foreign intrigue, hints of daredevil effort and – better yet! – daredevil achievement! 91 points.

 

Dos Rios 70% Dark is made from cacao beans harvested in the Dominican Republic. On the initial melt, there is a hit of grit texturally, followed by the slow release of smoky, almost BBQ-like, flavors, which mature in the middle palate.

One of the most individual, almost bohemian, flavor profiles of all the chocolates in the Amano line. 92 points.

Madagascar 70% Dark, made from cacao beans from – duh – Madagascar. This chocolate has a very noticeable reddish tint; upon melting, the flavors released include those of volcanic, red, iron-y soils, there’s a hint of slightly under-ripe red berries and a few waves of youthful wine tannin. The chocolate ends with a plum-like finish.

89 points.

 

Jembrana Milk 30% Milk Chocolate is produced from cacao beans, which grow in the shadows of ancient volcanoes on the island of Bali. These are the same beans used to produce the 70% dark chocolate Jembrana tablet, but here, milk and sugar are added to bring the tablet down to the LCCD– the Least Common Chocolate Denominator, AKA milk chocolate. 91 points.

 

Ocumare 30% Milk Chocolate is made from the same beans used to produce dark Ocumare chocolate, but they’re lightened with milk and sugar. I personally find this milk chocolate offering too sweet for my taste, but in a world of mediocre milk chocolates, this one stands out as pretty good. 90 points.

The proof that Amano has “finally made it to Prime Time” is the fact that two different Amano “tablets” have just been introduced in Starbucks – Madagascar Dark and Ocumare Milk. You’ll find these in nearly half the Starbucks locations in the country, some 5,000 outlets.

You can read about Amano’s artisan chocolates, the corporate philosophy, and regale yourself with information about the whole line of single-origin cacao beans on the Amano website; you can even buy Amano chocolate at www.amanochocolate.com.

So now that we have Askinosie and Amano in my American Chocolate Hall of Fame… anyone else you’d like to nominate, or bring to napaman’s attention?

They (photo) shoot horses, don’t they?

Calistoga artist Tom Scheibal and two friends

One of the more bohemian, talented persons I know in Napa Valley, Tom Scheibal, has spent the past six months horsing around, so to speak.

Using pastels, feathers, wool, and whatever else he finds in his studio, the Calistoga artist evolved a series of mixed-media panels, of which the theme is WILD HORSES. (This would be a good time to turn up the volume of The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses…”). Many of the images are finished with a luscious, thick coat of clear acetate-like lacquer, which hardens, adding depth to the subject.

 

I was shocked to see how good the series is; Tom, who has become a good friend over the 13 years I have lived in Napa Valley, called one day last summer and said, “I think I am going to paint wild horses.” He announced his decision with the casualness of one who has just skimmed the newspaper, and decided to attend the 8 pm screening of a film. If Tom had earlier been ruminating on the subject of what to paint for months, it certainly was never shared.

I only knew Tom as a sculptor, who had studied in Brighton, England, and as a designer/decorator, who has filled many homes in Napa Valley with brilliant, original and eclectic art. He also designed lawn furniture, which he fabricated on a fairly large scale in Mexico. Until last summer, I never knew the guy had an innate drawing talent, too.

 

This week, in advance of his exhibition at Myra Hoefer Design, in Healdsburg, Tom asked me to photograph some of his newest works for his own portfolio; in a word, they are awesome!

In fact, I was so impressed by his output that I figured napaman readers would want to know about the Healdsburg exhibit, which opens Sunday, January 24 at 2 pm. Tom will be present.

Myra Hoefer Design is located on the town square at 309 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, CA 95448. Tel: 707-694-2121.

 

I asked Tom what piqued his interest in horses, wild or not.

“I grew up next to a farm in Bellingham, WA, where they kept a herd of majestic Arabian horses. I’ve never forgotten these horses, though I have never actively ridden.”

Tom says that he has also been inspired by Robert Redford’s work to rescue wild horses; as such, part of the proceeds of the sale of images in this exhibition will be donated to several wild horse sanctuaries across the country.

 

Save the date! 3 of Italy’s top winemakers coming to the Bay-area…

Here’s a chance to meet, and have dinner with, three award-winning Italian winemakers, each a recipient of “tre bicchieri,” (three glasses), Gambero Rosso’s designation for Top Wine.

The event is billed as “A Tre Bicchieri Journey Through Italy,” and is being hosted February 25, at one of my favorite Bay-area wine stores and restaurants, PRIMA, in Walnut Creek.

(Am thinking that perhaps they should rename the place and call it DUO since it’s both a well-stocked wine store and a fabulous restaurant!)

The winemakers who will be present, pouring their wines:

Cristina Oddero pulls corks from her wines

Cristina Oddero, whom I visited just two months ago at her winery, Fratelli Oddero, in La Morra, in the Langhe region of Piemonte.

I summarized my visit by noting “Cristina produces liquid poetry.” Let’s hope she brings some of her stunning 2001 Mondoca Bussia Soprano, an ambrosial Barolo filled with truffle scents and ripe red fruit.

Felsina winery, in Tuscany

Caterina Mazzocolin, who makes the stunning wines at Fattoria Felsina, in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany.

Felsina Panorama

I visited her family’s winery a few years ago, and spent a morning with Caterina’s dad, Giuseppe. I was overwhelmed by the quality of reds coming off their property.In fact, if volume is any significance, the largest single selection of Chiantis in my cellar comes from the Felsina property. Their 04, 06 and 07 Sangiovese-based wines are thrilling.

Caterina will pour Felsina’s full line-up at the PRIMA tasting, including Cru Rancia, as well as Wine Spectator’s Number 13 wine of the year, Fontalloro. 

Winemaker Sabino Loffredo

Sabino Loffredo, from Campania, who makes the much ballyhoo’d Pietracupa, in Avellino, is the only winemaker at the PRIMA event whose property I have not visited.

I asked John Rittmaster, owner of PRIMA, to share a few thoughts about Sabrino’s wines, and what guests might expect at the event:

“Southern Italy is less traveled than Piemonte and Tuscany; and while many associate the Amalfi Coast and Napoli with Campania, to me it is the meandering hills around the towns of Avellino and Taurasi.  It is here where some of Italy’s purest, most lovely, whites are made in the shadow of grumpy old Mount Vesuvius and some of the oldest vineyards in the world produce dark, pungent Aglianico wines capable of aging effortlessly for decades. 

Sabino Loffredo’s Pietraculpa wines are some of the best made in all of Campania. The whites are intense, minerally and broadly flavored while Sabino’s Taurasi is a showstopper. His wines will add a distinctly southern accent to this evening’s journey around Italy.”

Highlights of the event

There are really two parts to the Tre Bicchieri  evening.

From 5:30 to 7 pm, you may hob-nob with the winemakers, taste their wines, and nibble on antipasti. The fee is $20 per person.

As well, or instead of attending the in-store tasting, at 7 pm, you may sit down to a fabulous full-course dinner, at which wines from all three producers will be poured copiously. The cost for dinner is $85 per diner, plus tax and gratuity.

Reservations are suggested for the tasting, but required for the dinner.

Sign up by emailing info@primawine.com, or call 925-935-7780 and speak with John.

PRIMA is at 1522 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CAPS. I was so thrilled with the fall-color shots I took in Piemonte, near Cristina Oddero’s estate, two months ago, that I want to share them with readers.

One More Thing: The Langhe in fall may be the most beautiful wine region I have ever seen. If Wine Heaven looks like this, I won’t put up a struggle to go.

 

You’ll never read about Napa Valley in this magazine – yet it’s a must-get!

Business colleagues, with whom I recently worked, evolved the four-letter name of a new travel magazine -- AFAR. As much as I like the all-caps title, I also like the magazine, which is two-issues-old.

The magazine is such a bold experiment in publishing that maybe they should have chosen a five-letter word for the masthead instead: BALLS! Because that’s what it must have taken magazine founder and CEO Greg Sullivan to start a magazine venture at a time when many popular magazines are folding in the economic swamp – Gourmet, Metropolitan Home, Modern Bride among them last year, and Mcgraw-Hill just sold its money-draining BusinessWeek to Bloomberg.

What makes Sullivan’s move to start a new travel magazine even more preposterous are these two realities:

1. The editorial offices are in San Francisco, not media-saturated New York.

2. The editorially elegant magazine, filled with snazzy photos and alluring layouts, only features destinations OUTSIDE the U.S.

So you will never see a story written by napaman about Napa Valley in AFAR, or a story written by others about Mt Rushmore, Disneyland, or the Badlands of North Dakota, either.

But since other magazines look after these themes, Sullivan’s efforts may attract a xeno-keen audience. (If someone ‘xenophobic’ fears strangers, then someone who is ‘xeno-keen’ would have a love for -- and attraction to -- that which is foreign and exotic, to my way of thinking, and my way of wordsmithing.)

AFAR is what you would get if you threw copies of National Geographic, Food & Wine, and Travel & Leisure into a food processor and pulsed on high for 15 seconds.

The stories are largely functional, certainly make you want to go to the destinations featured and they tell you how to get there.

You have to applaud AFAR’s editorial idealism: No one on the team—no writer, editorial member or photographer – accepts free trips, free lodging or free meals.

On top of which, to offset the carbon emissions generated by flights taken to the places written about, or photo’d, in the magazine, AFAR donates to the Gold Standard Portfolio of Sustainable Travel International. For example, to generate all the stories for Issue Two, AFAR offset 21.62 metric tons of carbon emissions. Them’s a lot of emissions, but how else are you going to get to Russia, Sweden, Burma, Ireland, Netherlands, Ecuador, India, the Seychelles and Spain?

At this point, AFAR is published bi-monthly (6 x/yr). A subscription is $19.95 for one year, $34.95 for two years and $49.95 for three years. If interested, call 888-403-9001.