Roses are red, grapes grow on a vine, let’s listen to live music and have chocolate and wine.
Hopefully your Valentine’s Day message to your boo is a little more romantic than ours, but if not, buying tickets to the Enumclaw Expo Center’s 15th annual Wine and Chocolate event might make up for your lack of linguistic creativity.
This year’s event is being held on Feb. 2 (4 to 9:30 p.m.) and 3 (2 to 9:30 p.m.) at, as always, the Enumclaw Expo Center’s Les Schwab and Restorx Halls.
More than 20 wineries will be showing up to give you sips, including Enumclaw’s Leony’s Cellars, and fittingly, 15 chocolate and other sweet treat vendors.
Beyond the libations and confections, there will also be live entertainment.
On Friday in Les Schwab Hall will be Kevin Jones from 4 to 6 p.m.; Cory Wilds from 6 to 8 p.m.; and Sean Crukandahl from 8 to 9:30 p.m. In the Restorx Hall that day will be Amelia Day from 4:30 to 6 p.m.; Aaron Saliba from 6 to 8 p.m.; and Hilary Lindstrom from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
And on Saturday in Les Schwab Hall will be Maddie Walker from 2 to 4 p.m.; James Coates from 4 to 6 p.m.; and Kage Dallas from 6 to 8 p.m.; and Jeff McLaren from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
And finally, in the Restorx Hall on Saturday will be Kristin Marlo from 2:30 to 4 p.m.; Amelia Day from 4 to 6 p.m.; Andy Shofner from 6 to 8 p.m.; and Kaitie Wade from 9 to 9:30 p.m.
General admission tickets are $40, and come with a tasting glass and eight tasting tickets; wine tastings cost between one and three tickets each, and there are more tickets to purchase at the event for $1.
Designated driver tickets are $15, but those can only be bought online.
And VIP tickets for two are $160, again only available online; these tickets include a 45 minute reservation in the VIP lounge, a special tasting glass, twelve tasting tickets, exclusive wine tastings, and a charcuterie box to share between the two of you. These tickets are limited, and many time slots are selling out quick.
Tickets can be bought at enumclawexpo.com/p/tickets.
LOCAL OFFERINGS — LEONY’S SULTRY COFFEE AND PETIT VERDOT
Sandi and Salvador Moreno have been operating Leony’s Cellars out of the bright blue building on Railroad Street for about five years, though they’ve been making wine for about a decade.
It all started when Sandi, who was in the Navy at the time, was searching for a wine barrel to turn into a table. Instead, she came across a listing for a boutique winery for sale in Cashmere, whose owner was willing to pass along his knowledge of the trade.
The name of the winery, which means “Lioness,” is both Sandi’s and her great-grandmother’s middle name.
The Morenos will be offering four different tastings at Wine and Chocolate, plus a fifth that is VIP exclusive.
Available to the general public will be their 2022 Honeymoon Riesling, the 2022 Serendipity Merlot, the Intrigue Grenache, and — perhaps the most intriguing — the Sultry Coffee port, which is described as a less sweet dessert wine fortified with brandy and infused with cold-brew Sumatra coffee.
“It smells like fresh roasted coffee; tastes like chocolate raspberries and coffee,” Sandi said. “It pairs really well with tiramisu from Il Siciliano.”
And the 2021 Fierce Petit Verdot will be available to those relaxing in the VIP lounge, which is described as big and opulent, with notes of dark fruit flavors, blackberries, plum, boysenberry, violets and sage with a slight mocha finish.
For those that might not be able to enjoy Leony’s wines at Wine and Chocolate, the winery is hosting two of its own events.
The first is a Jan. 28 vertical tasting, where you drink three different vintages of the same wine; featured at the event withh be the Petit Verdot, a riesling, a cabernet franc rose, and a syrah. Tickets for the event can be bought on leonyscellars.com by clicking “wine store” and “event tickets”, and cost $80. The event is at 6 p.m.
And after Wine and Chocolate, Leony’s is hosting a paint and sip with Patricia Moss on Feb. 18, starting at 2 p.m. Tickets are $45.
Tasting room hours are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 2 to 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays frfom 2 to 9 p.m.
For more information, head to leonyscellars.com, or email info@leonyscellars.com.
