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With a tip of the hat to all things romantic, ºÙºÙÊÓƵ’ Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science will host leading California women winemakers and a confectionary expert on Saturday, Feb. 12, for an afternoon presentation titled Women, Wine and Chocolate.

The event, coordinated by the Robert Mondavi Institute, will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the institute’s Silverado Vineyards Sensory Theater. It will be followed by a reception featuring wine and chocolate tastings.

Margrit Mondavi will provide opening remarks, followed by presentations by Kathy Joseph, proprietor and winemaker of Fiddlehead Cellars; Tondi Bolkan, associate winemaker at Francis Coppola Winery; and Melissa Stackhouse, Pinot Noir winemaster for Jackson Family Wines.

Grace Erickson, formerly of Ghirardelli Chocolate and now of American Licorice Co., will discuss milk and dark chocolate, differences between single-sourced and blended products, as well as the challenges facing the confections industry at this time.

Professor emerita Ann Noble of ºÙºÙÊÓƵ’ Department of Viticulture and Enology will then guide a wine and chocolate tasting session. Noble is a sensory scientist who developed the wine aroma wheel, a tool designed to provide standard terminology that helps inexperienced wine tasters train their brains and noses to connect aromas with the appropriate terms.

Advance tickets for Women, Wine and Chocolate are available to the general public for $55 in advance, $65 at the door.

More information and online registration are available at or by contacting Kim Bannister at the Robert Mondavi Institute at (530) 752-5171 or