Recipes


Pavlova with Red Wine Winter Fruit Compote & Whipped Cream

You can’t mess with perfection, but you can make it seasonal. For those colder winter months, we’ve taken an incredible pavlova recipe from Cooks with Cocktails and spiced it up a little, adding cinnamon and fresh ginger to a mix of winter fruits—pomegranate, persimmon, and fresh citrus—cooked in a hearty Zinfandel from California. Pair with a California Zinfandel or California dessert wine.

Toasted Almond, Orange and Olive Oil Cake

When you want to show someone you care, there's nothing better than a homemade cake! This one is easy to make, impressive to taste and captures three of California’s favorite flavors: navel oranges, olive oil and almonds. Pair with California Muscat or California Late Harvest or Dessert wine.

Soft-Centered Chocolate Babycakes with Red Wine Raspberry Sauce

If you can’t imagine Valentine’s Day without chocolate, consider adding these mini-cakes to the menu. Served warm with red wine raspberry sauce, they are almost molten inside, with crunchy edges. The recipe makes four, so you can have one cake apiece with your sweetie and save the other pair for lunch the next day. When cool, they taste like a super-rich brownie.

White Wine Poached Pears Stuffed with Chocolate, Dried Plums, and Hazelnuts

Pears love chocolate and dried plums, and this impressive do-ahead dessert does not disappoint.

Dark-Chocolate Dipped Almond Bars

Toasted almonds, chewy coconut and rich dark chocolate make this bar deliciously decadent. Pair with late-harvest California wine or California Cabernet Sauvignon.