Wine & Chocolate Tasting Event at the Beautiful Pantai Inn

Pantai Inn Collage 2

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Last Thursday, I was invited to attend a wonderful event for a great cause: Wine and chocolate tasting presented by R.A. Rauch & Associates with Eclipse Chocolate at the Pantai Inn in La Jolla, where the proceeds benefitted The Wounded Warrior Project.  Prior to the tasting, I was afforded a tour by sales manager Paula Ruthenberg, who showed me around the Bali inspired hotel grounds and in one of the gorgeous luxury villas.  I truly felt I was transported to another place because much of the décor, furnishings and carved art were imported directly from Bali.  What a lovely backdrop to the decadence of wine paired with chocolate by Eclipse Chocolate.  Thank you Kim Whittemore for the invite and everyone at Pantai Inn for a lovely evening!

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The stunning views from the hotel were enhanced by soothing flamenco music by Anthony Garcia.

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Entrance to the lobby.

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The lobby area.

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I love the Balinese details throughout the hotel, including Balinese translations of items around the lobby. Clever!

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The entrance of “The Gathering Room” with a magnificent mural painted by artist Ed Piffard.

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More from “The Gathering Room” where typically a Continental breakfast is served while overlooking the ocean view. Breathtaking!

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Ray and Will of Eclipse Chocolate.

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My favorite wine & chocolate pairing of the night was the port dessert wine paired with the Chile Burnt Caramel (pictured above).  Separately, each had a tad more sweet and heat than I’m used to.  Together, they balanced each other out into this smooth taste sensation. 

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Ray and Will with Robert Rauch of R.A. Rauch & Associates.  Robert Rauch with Pantai Inn owner, Larry Jackman.

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Moi! (Photo by Fritz Harmon Photography.  All other photos in this post were taken by me.)

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