Dim lights, chocolates and tables decorated with confetti hearts made for a romantic setting Sunday evening at on Ridge Road.
To go with the wine and chocolate, the room was lined with tables holding a large selection of fine chesses, dips, risotto, hors d’ouevres and fruit, all for the crowd to enjoy while walking around and sampling wine. Water and crackers were at hand to cleanse the palate for tasting.
Congregation Mishkan Israel hosted "Wine and Chocolate" Sunday, marking Valentine’s Day, the biggest couple’s holiday of the year. Attended by couples, singles, and friends, there were 78 in attendance, a good crowd for a cold Sunday evening.
The event brought out Mayor Scott Jackson and his wife Mandi Isaacs Jackson.
“It sounded like a great event near Valentines Day," the mayor said. "Since this is such a tight knit community, we like being a part of it.”
Also there was school board member John Keegan and his wife Dana Brozinsky.
“This event was successful in the past and is a nice thing to do before Valentines Day,” said Rabbi Herbert Brockman, who was the host for the evening with Amy Ullman, a sommelier, or wine steward.
Ullman lead the event with her wine expertise. She gave a lively chat, saying, “Wine goes with the holiday of pairing."
Ullman covered wine etiquette and let the crown know it’s not as complicated as people think,
“Most pairings are perfectly acceptable," she said.
Ullman also covered the property of wine. “The weight of the wine is based on the alcohol content,” she said.
”When eating fish white wine compliments the taste,” she advised, along with the opinon that red wine goes best with lamb or steak and “anything high in alcohol should not be consumed with spicy foods or desserts."
Ullman has a 10-year history working in the wine industry, from Pub and Wine bars to boutique wholesalers. She received a Bachelor of Liberal Arts from Harvard University in 2009 and is an Advanced Candidate through Court of Masters Sommeliers, working for a diploma in Wine and Spirits.
She is a member of the Guild of Sommeliers and a Director with the Boston Sommelier Society. Currently Ullman is a wine and beverage instructor with Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts and an analyst at the Beverage Media Group. She is the founder and principal at Just a Waitress Social Media. Ullman is a resident of Boston but has close ties to Congregation Mishkan Israel.
All of those working at the event were donating their time, serving wine, checking people in at the door and tending to the food. Two of those volunteers, Alyse and Jeff Sabina, said they were volunteering because it “sounded like a fun event.
"We are new members," they said, "we joined in September and it is a way to get to know other members.”
Mount Carmel Wine & Spirits supplied the wine and Debra Vieira and Emily’s Catering supplied the food.
