The Chocolate Cow in Sonoma celebrates community with handmade confections

Welcome back to Morning Sun 2. It is 6.12. We are taking a zip trip later this morning to Sonoma, which is known for its vineyards and its wine, but it's also surrounded by rolling hills with grazing cows. And one local family-owned business in town is celebrating the Sonoma Cow with their handmade chocolates that are made in the bay. I make it in the morning and they can sit out. Yeah, we put them on a tray. We also do like raspberries with an almond and a pinch of sea salt on top. So, and then if I don't sell them for the day, I drop them off at, you know, Capo Isetta over there and they hand them out at night. That's how businesses operate in the town of Sonoma. Family-run shops helping each other. My entire life is, you know, kind of based around the chocolate cow. I came here after school. I had my birthday parties here and sleepovers with friends. We'd come and break in and get ice cream and chocolates. And then, you know, I've worked here. This was my first job and I continue to be a part of the family business. So I can't remember life without the chocolate cow. Heather and Max's dad started the Chocolate Cow, a local ice cream and chocolate store. And 35 years later, the ice cream is still local and the chocolates are still made right in the shop. We have over five different kinds of dark chocolate. These machines temper the chocolate, right? It brings it to a certain temperature, allowing you to dip. Now, if you're at home and you're trying to do it on the stove, it looks good when you initially dip it, but then it would turn white eventually, right? So that's, nothing's wrong with it. It's just mistempered. The technique comes from their dad and the ingredients come from local farms. The chocolate, the strawberries, the blueberries, they even infuse local wine into some special truffles. For example, you know, during harvest season, they got a new wine, generally reds, I would say work better. And instead of using water in your ganache, you use their wine and the alcohol cooks out of it and you'll get a subtle wine infused truffle. The end result looks like this. That's an example of dark spots in milk. And then that's an example of milk with dark. The chocolate cow, the truffle, the name and the decor are all a tribute to the history of agriculture in Sonoma. What do you say? You're welcome. Mia grew up coming to the chocolate cow. Now she brings her daughter and they sit on the little cow chairs she sat in with her mom. It's not just an ice cream shop. It's not just a candy store or chocolate that we're making. It's really rooted in people making memories here and coming back to celebrate those nostalgic moments together. I moved away for a while and now I'm back and I'd say chocolate cow is kind of like represents what I love about Sonoma. Our parents know each other. And so they would sometimes help serve snow cones behind. So I would love to come in and watch, you know, the craziness in here and people would help out. And my friend Max would have to be working while we're all having fun. So we would come and give them a hard time. Places like this are just hard to find. You know, it's a little hidden gem. It has become a tradition for many families. One year their parents said for the first time that they were going to go to Disneyland and they all burst out crying and said, no, no, we want to go to the chocolate cow. Sonoma is also about wine tasting and the chocolate cow has something for that too. It's called an affogato. It's an espresso float, but I like to call it the wine country pick-me-up. It's, you know, a scoop of gelato, a couple shots of espresso, a little whipped cream. And, you know, after a long day of wine tasting, it's just the pick-me-up that you need. There's a lot to choose from and many favorites. Definitely the fudge. And there's also a, like a brittle candy that I really, really like, but we're really, we're big on the fudge and we like to watch Max in the background behind making things. Dark. Dark, salt, almonds or cashews. Dark pecan turtles or the dark almond bark would be the thing I snack on the most. Probably dark almond bark at 72% dark with a pinch of sea salt. Yeah. At night, alone. When you walk into a chocolate shop, when you walk in to get ice cream, you instantly are happy. You feel joy. And that's what we want every single person walking through the door to feel. Is the chocolate cow your happy place? Me too. Oh, you can just see that happiness when you walk in. That's what Max, who is just so sweet and everybody just loves him and he's back there making chocolates. His dad taught him how to make, he said he wants everybody when they walk into the store to be overwhelmed. It's just stacked with chocolates. I want him to overwhelm me. I know, right? And he's also the local football coach. Oh, really? And so when he was talking about if you caught it at the beginning, if they have extra strawberries, he said, you got to eat them that day for the best, you know, chocolate covered strawberries. And if they have extra, he brings it over that cup of soda, which, um, I think, uh, Sal went to the little wine, uh, tasting and local winery family owned. Um, and then, you know, that business helps support the football team. And then this business helps, they all support each other. It's just, that's the little town of Sonoma. That is our zip trip today, our Fox local zip trip. So you'll get to know more of those little gems and go in, say, hi, say that you saw it here because they just, they just love to meet everybody and, uh, introduce you to all these little businesses. Uh, it's happening live today, right here on mornings on to the nine, our crew Garcia, Andre will be out there live. Um, so it's, it's very fun. And Devin Truby is in for Sal.