Boston Wine Expo Tickets and Filipino Chocolates Giveaway

posted on January 12, 2013 by Bianca Garcia

Is there a better pairing than wine and chocolate?

Maybe… but today let’s focus on these two and a giveaway! I don’t do a lot of giveaways on the blog; the couple that I’ve done are very special. This wine and chocolate giveaway is something I’ve been looking forward to sharing with you.

Chocolate is always a priority in my mind so let’s talk about that first. Some of you noticed the single-source chocolate bars I posted last week. My good friend Fe introduced me to Theo and Philo, artisan chocolates made in Manila, Philippines, that are infused with traditional Filipino flavors. They are “bean-to-bar” chocolates, similar to Taza Chocolates, and also have a slightly grainier taste and quality.

The flavors are very unique, such as dark chocolate with siling labuyo (a local Filipino chili that’s similar to bird’s eye chili), milk chocolate with pili nuts (an indigenous local nut) and pinipig (crunchy, fragrant, toasted rice), dark chocolate with calamansi (tiny Philippine limes) and other interesting flavors.

I am not affiliated at all with Theo and Philo, but as soon as I tried them over the holidays, I knew I wanted to bring back a few bars with me to Boston and share it with my friends. And even though I’ve never met most of you, I consider you guys my friends, so here’s you chance to try some of these chocolates bars from my motherland.

As for the wine, I am one of the Blogger Ambassadors for the Boston Wine Expo and the kind folks over there have generously provided me with tickets to give away. I’m not giving away a bottle of wine; I’m giving away tickets to the Wine Expo itself!

I don’t claim to be a wine connoisseur but I’ve been drinking wine for a long time and by now I know what I want. I usually like sweeter wines, regardless of where it came from. I also admit to having an affinity for wines with fun, catchy names like My Big Fat Greek Wine above and Jam Jar (a sweet shiraz).

These bottles caught my attention (and my taste buds) at the blogger event last year, but don’t think that the wines you’ll be tasting at the Wine Expo will be limited to these lighter wines.

The Boston Wine Expo is one of city’s biggest and most anticipated events. It is a two-day celebration of wine, food, and culture from some of the greatest wine-growing cultures of the world. This year, it is being held on February 16-17 at the Seaport World Trade Center and Seaport Hotel.

I’m giving away a pair of tickets to the Grand Tasting on Sunday, February 17th. It’s $85 value per ticket, making the total cost $170. You can sample wine from over 185 wineries around the globe and taste food from the area’s best restaurants.

In addition to that, I’m also giving away four bars of Theo and Philo chocolates.

To enter the giveaway:

1) Leave a comment on this blog post telling me about your favorite wine or chocolate.

For additional entries, do one of the following and leave another comment for each thing you do:

2) Like my Confessions of a Chocoholic Facebook Page and post something on the wall about your favorite wine, chocolate, recipe, or blog post.

3) Follow me on Twitter (@biancagarcia) and tweet:

Confessions of a Chocoholic @biancagarcia is giving away tickets to @BostonWineExpo and some Filipino chocolates! http://bit.ly/ZopEQB

4) Follow me on Pinterest and pin something from Confessions of a Chocoholic

5) Follow me on Instagram and like or comment on any of the pictures

This means that you can enter the giveaway up to five times, but remember to leave a comment for each entry.

You must be 21+ years old to enter my giveaway, and live in the United States.

The contest is open until 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, January 20th. I’ll pick a winner the following week and mail you the tickets and chocolates. Good luck!

*CONTEST ENDED*