Saturday, June 16, 2012

Weekend Cooking - Wine and Chocolate Pairings!!


I saw a romantic tweet the other day. A man was planning to bring his wife wine and chocolates. And, it got me to thinking...what kind of wine pairs with chocolate?

This post was written as part of Weekend Cooking over at BethFishReads.com.  Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to head over to Beth Fish Reads, grab the button, and link up anytime over the weekend.  (The button is on your right...)

I decided to do some research. Foodandwine.com seemed like a reliable source. And, sure enough they had an article on wine and chocolate pairs.

But, the article starts on a bit of a down note with the following words (my picture, above, is also from the article): "Everybody loves the idea of pairing chocolate and wine, and with good reason. But the flavors of chocolate and wine aren’t always that compatible. And the culprit is the chocolate."

The article goes on to talk about chocolate's strong flavor and recommends Ruby Port and/or Madeira to pair with it. Interesting... I decide to check a few more sources.

I found a Huffington Post article (also the source of this photo), and this is a paragraph from it that summarizes things nicely: "There is one standby that works wonders with most chocolate: the sweet red wine Banyuls from Southern France. Based on the Grenache grape, Banyuls seems to have the elusive balance of fruit, sugar, acidity and tannin that makes it chocolate’s perfect partner. Similar to Banyuls is Port -- in particular, the fruity style of port referred to as Ruby Port, which accounts for most of the branded port wines that the Port houses offer at very agreeable pricing."

Interesting, we now have Banyuls, and two votes for Ruby Port!

My final source was Godiva's website(!) They blew everything I had learned so far out of the water with a list of recommended pairings that included all sorts of different wines to go with the different Godiva flavors. You can click on the link if you would like to see the list. They also recommend a tasting party - fun!

I guess the bottom line is that wine and chocolate pairings - like beauty - may be in the eye, or palate, of the beholder. But, that the sweet wines, such as a Ruby Port, are a nice safe bet!


27 comments:

  1. Neuhaus Chocolates sells this sampler that gives you wine pairings to go with the candy. It's a wonderful gift for wine and chocolate lovers.

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    1. Wow! I will have to check that out! Thanks for the info :)

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  2. Very interesting. I wonder if Wine Spectator has thoughts on the wine/chocolate issue.

    I'll have to try a Ruby Port with chocolate one of these nights.

    On the other hand, I generally am fine with any dark chocolate eaten with any red wine ... but that's just me. LOL.

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    1. I will look at Wine Spectator's website. I think that there must be something to the Ruby Port recommendation because it keeps popping up! I am going to try it too!

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  3. I feel like you should be able to publish this somewhere. It's an interesting research kind of thing....

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    1. Oh, thanks!! I was thinking that too...I was wondering whether I should expand it(?) based on some of the other comments.

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  4. I have no clue about wine, but to me dark chocolate goes with anything :) I'd love to have a tasting party, sounds fun!

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    1. I thought the party idea sounded great too!

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  5. I like chilli chocolate and chocolate with salt - I wouldn't go for a sweet wine pairing - something fruitier like a Riesling or Gewurtztraminer would be better, I think. Have a great week.

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    1. Interesting.

      I LOVE chocolate with sea salt!

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  6. I am not a wine lover so I will go for the chocolate...good post Libby

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    1. Thanks Michelle! When I went to the Godiva website I surprised and delighted by all the kinds of chocolate!!

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  7. I've always been told it's champagne all the way with chocolate but that combination doesn't do it for me. Ruby port sounds good, but tawny port perhaps even more delicious?

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    1. Funny - I was thinking the exact same thing... For one thing, the tawny just LOOKS as though it would go with chocolate.

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  8. Oh my thanks for info. We don't know one wine from another and hubby has recently decided we should drink wine as it is good for us! I will be serving more chocolate I can see:)

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  9. Very interesting! I have been told at various points not to pair wine and chocolate, so it's good to find that there ARE solid choices out there if you decide to try it. Thanks for sharing your sources!

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    1. I thought it was interesting too. The pairings on the Godiva site are really varied...

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  10. Libby, what a fun article. I think a chocolate & wine sampling party sounds fabulous. It would make a fun girls night, don't you think?

    p.s. I love chocolate with sea salt, too. Trader Joe's has a bar that I absolutely LOVE. It is Beligian dark chocolate with a bit of caramel inside and sprinkled with Hawaiian sea salt. Mmmm.

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    1. I have to look for that at Trader Joe's!!

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    2. There's usually a small supply in the rack by the registers. I am going to induldge in one on my next visit. :)

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  11. Hmmm...will have to bookmark this post for next time I'm imbibing while snarfing down chocolate cake. I just figured that wine really shouldn't be had with sweets. Though every one in a while my grocery store has samples of chocolate covered wine (think that's the brand) and I always feel so lucky to have visited at just the right time. ;)

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    1. LOL! There is a Target by where we used to live that would have like ten free food and drink samples every Saturday. The kids would basically have lunch there for free!

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  12. Thanks for this information. Maybe a few bits of fruit to go along might even help the flavors mingle? Some 'research' could yield useful results!

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    1. My thoughts exactly! :) Taking one for the blog, Baby!

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  13. I agree, you have to go with what tastes good to you.

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  14. I thought that chocolate went with everything! Silly me!

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