I’m not ashamed to admit it … chocolate is one of my guilty pleasures. Actually, it doesn’t make me feel guilty at all to eat chocolate — should I be ashamed of that? Let’s take my addiction one notch higher … chocolate and wine is divine.
Have you ever savored the luscious bitterness of dark chocolate with a fruit-forward Shiraz? How about the creamy sweetness of white chocolate with an oak-y Chardonnay? If you haven’t, you don’t know what you are missing, and I can help you along.
For some people, it’s probably intimidating to figure out which wines compliment which chocolates. I’ve put together a handy list, with a few caveats. First of all, we really like wine, but I wouldn’t say we’re even close to connoisseurs. We tend to drink affordable wines, around $10-15 a bottle (although you can find a Charles Shaw on our wine rack, and also a Ferrari-Carano), and gourmet chocolate. You won’t find Hershey Kisses on my list, but peruse it, find a combination you’d like to try, and share some with someone you love.
1. Dagoba eclipse (87% dark) chocolate bar paired with Merryvale Cabernet Sauvignon
If you’re a dark chocolate sissy, you can opt for the slightly-less-bitter New Moon chocolate bar, at 74% cacao. This full-bodied, well-balanced dry cab brings out everything you love about dark chocolate: the bitter, rich goodness.
2. Green and Black’s Dark chocolate (85%) paired with Ferrari-Carano Syrah
I wish I could tell you what it is about this combination that is so perfect to me. I think it is the fruit-forwardness of the Syrah that counterbalances the dark chocolate. This chocolate is smoother than the Dagoba, though, because it does have vanilla in it, and those vanilla undertones are complimented by the vanilla undertones of the wine.
3. Any dark or milk chocolate paired with almost any tawny port
Fonseca will do, but milk your budget for all it’s worth if you want something really special. Why tawny? Because it is aged in wood instead of the bottle, and the nuttiness that imparts plays off the chocolate so perfectly.
4. Ghiradelli white chocolate chips paired with strawberries and champagne
Nothing says romance like … yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s the bubbles that really say romance, I suppose, so enjoy any good, dry champagne with chocolate and strawberries. You can even opt for dark chocolate, just because it’s better.
5. Green and Black’s Organic White Chocolate bar paired with Toasted Head Chardonnay
I’m really a dark chocolate fan, but there’s nothing like mixing it up once in a while, right? This is a smooth and sweet white chocolate that is perfectly complimented by this oak-y chardonnay. So have some fish for dinner so you can kill the bottle with your white chocolate tonight.
These are just a few of my favorite chocolate and wine pairings — what are yours?
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Feb 09, 2009 @ 14:35 EST5EDT
I myself had some green and black 85% with a bottle of Cline Zin last night.
Oh heavenly yum! Cline Zin is one of our faves!
$10-15 a bottle?!?! Ouch! Living in Portugal has made me cheap, I guess…I couldn’t imagine paying more than a few euros for a less than special occasion. Of course that’s only for Portuguese wine…
Life’s too short to drink cheap wine.
Believe me, it’s not because its sub-par, its because it’s local.
I’ve seen bottles in the states marked at twice the price of what we pay here for the same stuff.