CHARLOTTE, NC. January 19, 2012 – Residents and visitors to Charlotte can celebrate the Valentine’s month of February with special gifts of love, as Bar Cocoa at The Ritz-Carlton introduces six new Valentine’s retail specialties from celebrity chocolatier Norman Love. The hotel will also honor the romantic four-day weekend with added availability of its five-course, all-dessert Chocolate & Champagne Dinner, and with two February 11 cooking classes designed specifically for lovers of Champagne and chocolate.

Following are highlights of romance month at The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte:

Bar Cocoa Chocolate & Champagne Tasting Dinner

Bar Cocoa’s spectacular weekly Chocolate and Champagne Five-Course All-Dessert Dinner will be offered from February 11 through February 14, 2012, presenting added availability throughout the Valentine’s weekend. The romantic dining experience for two pairs five premium Champagnes with five elegant desserts, including such combinations as Caramelized Lemon Chiboust and Berry Consommé with Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, or Passion Fruit Soufflé with White Chocolate Soup and Veuve Clicquot Demi-Sec. Priced at $125 per person excluding tax and gratuity, this one-of-a-kind dining experience is presented from 7 to 10 p.m. and may be pre-reserved at 704.547.2244.

Chocolate and Champagne Lovers Workshop at Cocoa Lab

This is the ultimate dessert class, allowing students to combine freshly-created sweets with paired Champagnes. With a menu inspired by Bar Cocoa’s Chocolate and Champagne Dinner, the workshop is offered from 9 a.m. to noon and again from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 11. Students will receive instruction on the creation of three spectacular desserts, followed by the opportunity to enjoy each of them along with a paired premium Champagne. The three-hour workshop is priced at $75 per person and may be reserved at 704.547.2244. Students will receive complimentary parking, a recipe collection and keepsake apron as part of their participation in this special Valentine’s workshop.

Valentine’s Specialties from Norman Love Confections

Six beautifully-wrapped, hand-made Norman Love Valentine’s selections will be available at Bar Cocoa from February 1 through February 15, 2012, complemented by a variety of other sweet delicacies available for purchase or to be enjoyed in person at Bar Cocoa. The Norman Love Valentine’s collection at The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte includes:

Red Berry Romance -- An exquisite white chocolate confection infused with fresh red berries, mixed into a white chocolate ganache

Bubbly Kiss -- Toast love with this special chocolate confection, which is filled with strawberries and champagne

Blushing Kiss -- A holiday ganache of cherry, almond, and white chocolate adds Valentine’s color to this special white chocolate confection

Dreamy Love -- Proving peanut butter, marshmallow and chocolate can work in heavenly ways, a milk chocolate shell hugs this sweet Valentine’s ganache

Fiery Love -- Dark chocolate is hotter and more enticing, than ever, filled with a unique chipotle and dark chocolate ganache

Ritz-Carlton Gift Cards

Another popular Valentine’s gift choice available for purchase at the hotel’s Spa & Wellness Center, The Ritz-Carlton Gift Card may be used for overnight stays, spa treatments and retail purchases at The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte, and for dining at the hotel’s Urban Sip and Bar Cocoa. The Gift Card is also valid at many other Ritz-Carlton hotels and resorts.