Valentine’s Day may have passed, but February is still all about chocolate all month long. Or actually, make that wine, beer, coffee and chocolate.

Silver Coast Winery is hosting a wine and chocolate pairing at each of its three locations through Feb. 28. For $16.00, customers can taste five Silver Coast award-winning wines paired with five Carolina Chocolate Company chocolates. Pairings will be available all day during business hours with the last pairing starting one hour before closing.

“Not all wines work well with chocolate and vice versa,” said co-owner Maryann Azzato. “A lot of tasting was involved to come up with just the right pairings, and it’s amazing how the flavors that come out really enhance both the wines and the chocolates.”

Silver Coast Winery, 6680 Barbeque Road in Ocean Isle Beach, is a full wine-making facility housing an art gallery, gift shops and picnic grounds. Silver Coast also has two additional tasting rooms, one located at 105 S. Howe St. in Southport and another at SouthPark Mall in Charlotte. For more information see www.silvercoastwinery.com.

Several local brewers have created specialty beers for the season, proving that it’s not just wine that pairs well with chocolate.

Flytrap Brewing created a Dark Chocolate Stout for Valentine’s Day, which ran out after just six hours. Head brewer Mike Barlas is currently working on a Chocolate Coffee Milk Stout brewed with coffee from Fourth Street neighbor Folk’s Café. 

“Chocolate and stout pair so well together because they share some of the same characteristics,” said Barlas. “On their own each can be very complex and have a wide range of flavors: sweet, bitter, roasty, dark fruit, nutty, caramel and coffee. Together these overlapping flavors can highlight and complement each other tremendously well.”

Wilmington Brewing Company currently has on tap a Raspberry Dark Chocolate Stout, and Front Street Brewery has created Sinful Stout, an English-style stout brewed with Chocolate Velvet Coffee.

And speaking of coffee, Island Roast Coffee of Carolina Beach has a fresh-roasted Milk Chocolate and Coconut blend ready for brewing and Java Dog Coffee House is serving up Raspberry White Mochas and Chocolate Covered Cherry Lattes all month long.

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