"symphony" news and stories

Two Milford, Mass., girls got more than they bargained for when they shared a Hershey's Symphony bar laden with what are thought to have been moth larvae. Employees of the Walgreens where the chocolate was sold quickly removed the rest of the bars from shelves to find that they too had bug problems. The larvae aren't so much a health risk as a disgusting nuisance, according to a local health official quoted in a recent Metro West Daily News article. Still, the girls and their family claim the incident left them feeling ill.

I didn't know that you could make a brand new fruit, but I guess if you can make a grapple (that's an apple that tastes like a grape), you can make a grape called Symphony.

Dr. James Olmo created the Symphony in 1948 (that's a baby by wine grape standards!) at UC Davis by  crossing the Muscat of Alexandria grape with Grenache Gris.

Ironstone Vineyards in California makes a wine called Obsession from Symphony grapes from their own vineyards. I bought a bottle of the 2004 Obsession a few nights ago only because I was curious about a California born-and-bred grape, and the wine guy said that it's light, sweeter, a little bubbly, and would go well with spicy foods. Besides, how could I pass up a wine called "Obession?!?"

I drank a glass first while cooking, since I was preparing for Spirited Cooking (which I took quite literally). The wine looks very pretty - light, pale, and the wine guy was right. The Obsession sort of sparkles in the glass as well as on the tongue. It was much sweeter than I expected, though. Not quite like a Moscato or the super-sweet Rieslings, but still rather sweet and perfume-y for something right before dinner.

It was fine with the spicy foods we were having for dinner, but I couldn't really imagine drinking the Obsession with Korean food. The search for a good pairing with kimchee still continues.