Meramec Chocolate Truffles

2 bags of dark chocolate chips (12oz. bags)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup Peaceful Bend Vineyard Meramec (dry red blend of Norton and Chambourcin)

1-2 TBL vegetable shortening

optional: 2 TBL white chocolate or sprinkles

Coarsely chop one bag of chocolate chips. Put your coarsely chopped chocolate in a heat-proof bowl and set aside. In a heavy-bottom saucepan set over medium heat, bring the heavy cream just to a boil. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until all the chocolate has melted. Stir in the Meramec until everything is smooth. Set the bowl in the refrigerator or freezer until the mixture is firm, but still a bit pliable. Take the mixture out, and working quickly, roll tablespoonfuls of the mix into balls. Set the balls on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Put these back in the refrigerator or freezer to re-harden.

Meanwhile melt the second bag of chocolate chips either in the microwave or in a double boiler. It's useful to add a tablespoon or two of vegetable shortening to chips to keep the chips from burning while they are melting, but this is optional. Two and a half minutes on high in the microwave should melt the chips, but do this in one-minute increments to keep from overheating them. Once melted, whisk the chocolate until smooth. Then working quickly again, take out the hardened chocolate balls from the cooler, and coat with the melted chocolate. Two forks will allow you to roll the balls in the chocolate and let the excess drip off into your bowl. Set the coated truffles on another wax-lined cookie sheet.

Now comes an optional step: melt white choclate, dip the tines of a fork in the white chocolate and kinda shake the fork back and forth over the top of the truffles. This will fling little white lines all over the top of the truffles and make you look ever so artistic!