Bringing wine country to you

What do you look for in a wine? Do you like bold, spicy zinfandels that pack a tannic punch? Or do you prefer crisp, buttery chardonnays that glide across your tongue? Perhaps you like moscatos, so sweet and dessert-like that you'd think you were drinking juice. Or maybe, just maybe, you like it all - wine in all shades of red, white, and everything in between, with notes of everything from oak to cherry, leather to lampshade...you get my drift.

If that sounds like you, then you're probably a oenophile, and I'd like to bake for you! The sky's the limit when it comes to working with wine, so T and I were very excited when preparing cupcakes for wine-loving Anna's birthday. Here's what we came up with:

Chardonay Peach (pictured at the top) - Chardonnay-infused vanilla cupcakes filled with peach chunks, topped with cream frosting splashed with chardonnay and peach juice and a fresh yellow peach slice.

Strawberries and Champagne - Champagne-infused vanilla cupcakes filled with champagne-soaked strawberries, frosted with strawberry-champagne buttercream, and topped with a fresh strawberry half

Dark Chocolate Cabernet - Cabernet-infused dark chocolate cupcakes topped with silky cabernet cream cheese frosting

Happy birthday, Anna! Hope you enjoyed these. All that's missing now is a trip to beautiful wine country for a day of cupcake and wine pairings.