2009
Chocolate & Wine
The IW&FS Toronto Branch presented a evening of learning about chocolate at SOMA Chocolate in the Distillery District of Toronto. The passion that owner David Castellan showed was exceptional and it is that passion that shows in every bit of the “Food of Gods”.
Wine pairing with Chocolate is hard at best but our Cellar David Jarvis did an outstanding job. The most spectacular wine was a “sticky” Zinfandel from South Africa outstanding learning experience all around.
A special thank you to Chris Tierney of the IWFS Board for making this happen.
The IW&FS Toronto was proud to share this find with you our members and their guests.
SOMA Chocolatemaker
& IWFS Toronto
55 Mill St. (Building #47), Toronto Ontario M5A3C4, (416) 815-7662
In the distillery district, Soma is a chocolate experience to remember. When you open the doors of this chocolate shop the smell of chocolate wafts towards you - and this is just the beginning. You can easily spend the evening enjoying the atmosphere and tasting chocolate and wine and we did!
Venchi 85% Dark
Vouvray Brut Tete du Cuvee
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D.Ackermann, NV
Soma Madagascar Organic
Zinfandel LBV, 2002,(South Africa)
Gruner Veltliner, Berrenauslese, 1998 (Austria)
Soma Conacado Organic
Chardonnay, Le Clos Jordanne Village, 2005 (Ontario)
Soma Papua New Guinea.
Clos De Los Siete, Michael Rolland, 2002 (Argentina)
Domori Puertomar 75%
Quinta do Noval White Port, NV
(Portugal)
Review - SOMA Chocolatemaker
The shelves of SOMA Chocolatemaker are filled with bars, truffles, and a seemingly endless array of things that have been dipped or coated in what the writing on the wall reminds you is "the food of the gods". SOMA differences are in the uniqueness of the origin of the beans each carefully selected for their individual flavours and growing conditions around the planet and all fair trade certified. David is trying to contract with individual farmers in the Americas to work with and create the best chocolate in the world that will be SOMA. Chocolate making it appears is recession proof judging by the number of people entering the facility and allowing that small indulgence.
SOMA's products are hand-crafted on site, and careful detail of what taste to expect is listed on each item. The product page on SOMA's website has the info as well. The entire Chocolate process was explained including the fermentation process of the beans before they are dried, music to a wine lovers ears.
Large windows allow easy viewing of many of the rooms where the work takes place and raw beans are converted into the treats you know so well. The small tables and chairs provided a nice place to balance chocolate and wine arranged in an orderly fashion to go along with the explanations. The wine paring of the evening was a sweet South African Zinfandel, simply a great discovery when Port would be too heavy or too much with a complete dinner.
SOMA is chocolate. Chocolate was matched with wine from the IWFS cellar under David Jarvis’s watch full eye. I never got to taste the many flavours of freshly-churned gelato also available at SOMA.
After the tasting experience we tried one of the many fine restaurants in the area and the Winterlisious menu what a surprise good food and service on a cold winter’s night.
I now know about single origin Chocolate and its many phases. Thank you Cynthia Leung and David Castellan from the membership of the IWFS Toronto for your devotion to Chocolates who installed an 80-year old Catalan Melangeur (that’s a chocolate grinder to the rest of us) via forklift, and then built the walls of their shop around it.
A SOMA Product List can be found here...Click...
