Chocolate is the confectionery match to wine. Perhaps this is because the process of making chocolate is very simliar to wine. Both cocoa beans and wine are fermented with the very same type of yeast. No wonder there are so many wine and chocolate lovers! Chocolate is the confectionery match to wine. Despite the affinity for one another, many wine and chocolate pairings fight for the same ‘palate space’ making the whole experience taste like crap. Fortunately for you, there are wine and chocolate pairings that will induce a standing orgasm… Let’s take a look at the very best wine and chocolate pairings imaginable. If you’re into technicalities, white chocolate isn’t really ‘chocolate’ because it doesn’t include cocoa, just cocoa fat. This little fact makes it one of the more versatile pairings with wine. Recommended Wines Rosé Port, Ice Wine, Muscat, Orange Muscat, Moscato d’Asti, Sweet Tokaji, Vintage Port, Lambrusco (Dolce or Amabile), Brachetto d’Acqui

Tastes Like Strawberries The new style of Port, Rosé Port, adds nuances of strawberries. Good with Macadamia Nuts A Muscat such as Muscat de Frontignan will add tropical fruit flavors–a great fit for white chocolate macadamia nut cookies! Blueberries and Cream A bottle of 2000 Vintage Graham’s Port makes a white chocolate pairing taste like blueberries and cream. A truly great milk chocolate will appease even the most ardent dark chocolate lover. For instance, did you know the ethereal ganache on the inside of truffles is usually half cream and chocolate? The cream adds a little extra fat so you will find it working better with more wines than dark chocolate. Recommended Wines Moscatel de Setubal, Montilla-Moriles, PX Sherry, Creamy Sherry, Rasteau, Aged Vintage Port, Rutherglen Muscat Simulating Caramel A well-aged Montilla-Morales like Bodegas Toro Albalá will make you think you just popped a caramel in your mouth. The Chocolate Cake Effect I’ve served several diners who were drinking a Shiraz with chocolate cake.

It’s possible that the addition of starches and fat to a chocolate cake may work with more dry-style red wines. (What do you think?) What is the best way to enjoy Chocolate? TCHO Chocolate recommends that you break your chocolate bar into small bitesize pieces. Listen for the ‘snap.’ –the crisper the break, the better tempered your chocolate is. Don’t chew your chocolate, just place it on your tongue and let it melt in. 53% Milk Chocolate by Tcho Chocolates in SF. Caramel adds sweet salinity to chocolate. Caramel chocolates are the perfect harmony of sweet, salty, fat and bitter. Pairing wine with caramel chocolate can either be congruent or complimentary. Congruent Wine Pairing PX Sherry, Vin Santo, Cream Sherry, 20 year Tawny Port, Moscatel de Setubal, Madeira, Amontillado Sherry Complimentary Wine Pairing Moscato d’Asti, Demi-Sec Champagne (a sweet champagne), Brachetto d’Acqui, Asti-Spumante, Lambrusco (Dolce or Amabile) Sometimes the perfect flavor combination is found in the strangest place.

A wine that’s usually disregarded as a simple cooking wine, like Cream Sherry, does wonders with salty sweet flavors. Cream Sherry is actually an Oloroso Sherry that has been sweetened, usually with the Pedro Ximénez (PX) grape. good food show wine glassLustau offers a cream sherry that’s worth drinking straight.wine station to buy Pink Salt Caramel Dark Chocolate by Theo Chocolates in Seattle.best online wine sales australia A true dark chocolate has a minimum of 35% cocoa solids, but the numbers get even higher than that. best wine bars at seaThere are 99% dark chocolate bars out there that will dominate you. good books for wine lovers

Dark chocolates typically don’t like to share ‘palate space’ with other bitter, non-sweet things like a high tannin Mourvedre. Recommended Wines Vin Santo, Port, Late Harvest Zinfandel, Banyuls, Maury and believe it or not: Chinatobest wine list formatPeanut butter cups are serious business. top selling wine brand in the worldWith all nutty chocolates, such as almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts, look for a wine that accentuates the nutty flavors. best wine stocks 2015Amontillado Sherry with a Reeses is unforgettable.best wines to age for 20 years Amontillado Sherry, Oloroso Sherry and Madeira What about flavored Chocolates? There are many chocolate flavorings out there like mint, cherry, and even spices like chile or ginger.

When attempting flavored chocolate wine pairing, focus on the accenting the flavor. 70% Dark Chocolate Mint by Theo Chocolate in Seattle A Syrah Port often has nuanced notes of eucalyptus that will bring out the mint taste. Basic Wine Guide Poster Supercharge your wine smarts with a beautiful (and useful) poster. Tactile information you can put to use the next time you pop a bottle. A special thank you to Ashleigh @TCHOchocolate for all the help with chocolate! for all the sommelier food pairings. Thank you to expert Rina BussellEdit ArticleHow to Pair Wine and Chocolate Pairing wine and chocolate is a match made in heaven for the foodie and wine connoisseur wrapped in one. Just as with wine, chocolate presents a complexity of flavors and textures, with the potential for subtle changes with each new batch of chocolate. Learning how to appreciate the subtlety and complexity of flavors that both wine and chocolate have, as well as being able to pair them well, is a most enjoyable hobby.

This article explores the method for pairing them successfully. Obey the first rule of pairing wine and food. You do not have to have the chocolate sweeter than the wine you're pairing it with; the opposite is actually true. If you decide to pair chocolate with merlot or syrah, for example, just ensure that the wine is essentially as sweet as the chocolate. This means you must do a little nibbling and tasting to find out in advance of the event, but that's usually not a hardship. You'll find the wine tastes bitter if you have it less sweet than the chocolate. Aim to purchase quality chocolate for the purposes of wine and chocolate pairing. Pair chocolate and wine according to the darkness of the chocolate. As with food, the general rule is that the darker the chocolate, the darker the wine. So, reds are ideal for dark chocolate. If pairing with white wine, look for fruity and intense varieties, to match the eclectic mix of bitter and sweetness, fruitiness, sometimes nuttiness, and occasional acidity to be found in chocolate.

Look for wines with soft, rounded tannins to pair with chocolate. The smoothness of the wine is an important element when pairing with the smoothness of chocolate. Look for full-bodied wines to match to strong, intense, and heavy chocolates and chocolate desserts. If tasting chocolate and wine together, obey the wine rule of tasting from light to dark. Select wines according to the flavors of the chocolate. The following list indicates good chocolate and wine matches. As with all wine and food pairing suggestions, they are only guidelines and it is important to do your own experimenting since palates respond differently: White chocolate: Match with Sherry, Muscat, a fruity Chardonnay, or a Moscato d'Asti. These wines will pick up on the buttery, fatty tones of what isn't always considered to be a "real" chocolate. For those who don't mind a risk, a contrasting wine heavy in tannins might just work to cut through the fattiness of white chocolate. Milk chocolate: Try Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Muscat, and dessert wines.

Champagne is also a natural match for milk chocolate. The crisp, dry flavour of the bubbly contrasts perfectly with the creaminess of a simple milk chocolate tablet. Be careful of the higher sugar levels in milk chocolate, as these may cancel out any fruitiness in dry red wines, leaving them tasting bitter. Dark chocolate (50% to 70%): Pair this with more robust wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, and Port. A Chianti can match well with chocolate around 65 percent cocoa content. Bittersweet chocolate (70% to 100%): This chocolate type enters the bitter range with deep intensity. Chocolate gourmands adore this range of taste, so the wine should live up to it. Good choices include Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Shiraz, Orange Muscat, Port, Malbec, and Zinfandel. Try champagne or sparkling wine with all chocolate types. It is a variety that compliments many flavors. Many fortified dessert wines work well across the chocolate spectrum as well.The guidelines in this article are nothing more than guidance;

make up your own mind as to what matches well and what does not when marrying wine and chocolate. The flavorings and cremes inside chocolate will impact the wine. When you are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy boutique chocolate in a range of flavors, do your best to match with boutique wines that match and enhance the flavors represented in the chocolate. Nature's dynamics need to be taken into account. As wine styles and preferences change, the pairings will change too. Seasonal effects on the wine can impact the suitability of a matching. Give yourself many taste testings to develop your preferences. Keep track of what works and doesn't work, and make a list or chart to refer to in the future. And why not share your thoughts on a blog? The guidelines here also apply to chocolate desserts. You have many excuses! As with any suggestions on pairing food and wine, the ideas presented here are a guidance, not an absolute. There will be many personal preferences as your own palate picks up different flavors, textures, nuances, etc., that work best for you.