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Pairing Wine With Something I Hate


Let me tell you how much of a sacrifice I making for my readers…


To start off, I HATE chocolate! Yes you heard me correct. I 100% hate it. So then why am I making a post about how to pair wine and chocolate? Well, because I know so many people out there LOVE chocolate and would be very interested in pairing it with the perfect wine!


So here is to all those chocolate lovers out there!


I found an article titled “How to pair your wine and chocolate” on the CNN website which was extracted from the site MyRecipes.com


Story Highlights :

  • When deciding on desert drink, the chocolate shouldn’t be sweeter than the wine

  • Expert: Cabernet Sauvignon can clash with sweet chocolates

  • Says Merlot often is a more “seamless partner for chocolate”

  • Sweet sparkling rosé adds extra sparkle to chocolate fudge cheesecake

(MyRecipes) — Red wine and chocolate are a darling pair these days. With all those deep, dark chocolate notes right in a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine seems like a natural match for an intensely-flavored, dark chocolate dessert. But are the two perfect together? Maybe not, according to Sara Schneider, Sunset wine editor. “Along with those sweet-seeming chocolate flavors and dark berries and plums, good (young) Cabernet Sauvignon has a backbone of tannin that can suddenly taste harsh and astringent when you put it with chocolate, especially if the chocolate is quite sweet,” she says. “Merlot, on the other hand, tends to have softer, rounder tannins under its cocoa and mocha layers; it’s often a more seamless partner for chocolate,” says Schneider. “Consider Zinfandel too. It’s a variety that often goes way beyond “hints of chocolate” to practically being chocolate coated–and it rarely has the tannin level of Cab and Merlot (Bordeaux varieties).”

Tips for pairing:
• The chocolate shouldn’t be sweeter than the wine.
• The darker the chocolate, the more likely it will be to taste good with red wine (partly because chocolate with a higher percentage of cacao has less sugar).
• The darker chocolates, with deep-roasted flavors, pair well with wines with dark, toasty notes themselves.
• Port-style and sweet late-harvest reds tend to be the best matches for chocolate desserts.

An ideal couple
• The flavors of warm chocolate souffle cakes with raspberry sauce explode when paired with a late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc or a late-harvest Chenin Blanc.
• A sweet sparkling rosé adds extra sparkle to chocolate fudge cheesecake.
• A tawny Port or an orange Muscat are the perfect match for bourbon pecan tart with chocolate drizzle.
• Give chocolate-chip shortcakes with berries and dark chocolate sauce a try with a late-harvest Zinfandel.

Taste the Magic:
• Try a new line of quality chocolate introduced at the San Diego Fancy Food Show in January 2008. Brix: Chocolate For Wine Lovers are milk and dark chocolate bricks specially designed to complement the various varietals of wine.

• Get saucy with two wine-flavored chocolate sauces from Caramoomel, Wine Lovers Dark Chocolate Sauce with Merlot and Wine Lovers White Chocolate Sauce with Riesling. Both are smooth, silky, and perfect for a drizzle on ice cream, cake, or fresh fruit.
• Next time you’re in St. Louis, enjoy a wine and chocolate pairing at the dine-in location of one of the forerunners in the chocolate biz, Bissinger’s Handcrafted Chocolatier. Culinary and wine experts Margaret Kelly and Dave Owens are responsible for pairing their decadent chocolate confections with various varietals at Bissinger’s: A Chocolate Experience.

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Hope you enjoy the post! Now stop salivating and go buy yourself some chocolate and a bottle of wine to go with it!

In Vino Veritas (and chocolate!)

May your glass always be full of wine that tickles your fancy and may your spirit be full of passion to keep discovering all that is wine!


Cheers! Salud! Sante! Hope to hear about your wine & chocolate pairings!
Until the next post!


Ceci to the Americans & Veronique to the French

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