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Chocolates work with wine, but select carefully
By Elin McCoy |
February 8, 2009, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE heart-shaped, shiny red satin box with gooey-centered chocolates has been the classic gift on Valentine's Day for as long as I can remember. The urge to pair it with a bottle of wine is a recent phenomenon.
On one side of the conundrum over what wine goes with chocolate are those who still believe that it's a notorious killer of fine wine, as deadly as artichokes or as tricky as asparagus.
On the other are the growing number of wine-drinking hedonists who'd like to combine two sexy pleasures at one go - certainly on Valentine's Day, which is all about romance and perfect matches.
The quest for the right bottle to add a seductive touch to the traditional sweet gesture has gained momentum in the United States, thanks to a sharp rise of artisan chocolate makers and an influx of shops of great European chocolatiers.
One key pairing rule is to make sure the wine is sweeter than the chocolate. Otherwise, the chocolate sucks up the wine's fruit and the wine tastes thin and sharp.
Skip sweet whites like Sauternes and late harvest riesling which have too much acidity to be good matches. Reds are almost always more satisfying.
With chocolate-dipped strawberries, pick fizzy, sweet, fresh-berry-flavored 2005 Coppo Brachetto d'Acqui (US$30) from Italy's Piedmont region. The bubbles contrast with the chocolate's texture.
Unctuous, scented and seductive muscats from Australia are a great choice. Try the non-vintage Yalumba Museum Reserve Muscat (US$18 for a half-bottle) with its spicy, raisiny flavors, or powerful, velvety-textured non-vintage Quady Elysium black muscat from California (US$12 for a half-bottle).
On to the dry reds, the lavish, youthful cherry-berry fruit in the 2003 Girard Artistry California cab blend (US$45) is pure delight.
On one side of the conundrum over what wine goes with chocolate are those who still believe that it's a notorious killer of fine wine, as deadly as artichokes or as tricky as asparagus.
On the other are the growing number of wine-drinking hedonists who'd like to combine two sexy pleasures at one go - certainly on Valentine's Day, which is all about romance and perfect matches.
The quest for the right bottle to add a seductive touch to the traditional sweet gesture has gained momentum in the United States, thanks to a sharp rise of artisan chocolate makers and an influx of shops of great European chocolatiers.
One key pairing rule is to make sure the wine is sweeter than the chocolate. Otherwise, the chocolate sucks up the wine's fruit and the wine tastes thin and sharp.
Skip sweet whites like Sauternes and late harvest riesling which have too much acidity to be good matches. Reds are almost always more satisfying.
With chocolate-dipped strawberries, pick fizzy, sweet, fresh-berry-flavored 2005 Coppo Brachetto d'Acqui (US$30) from Italy's Piedmont region. The bubbles contrast with the chocolate's texture.
Unctuous, scented and seductive muscats from Australia are a great choice. Try the non-vintage Yalumba Museum Reserve Muscat (US$18 for a half-bottle) with its spicy, raisiny flavors, or powerful, velvety-textured non-vintage Quady Elysium black muscat from California (US$12 for a half-bottle).
On to the dry reds, the lavish, youthful cherry-berry fruit in the 2003 Girard Artistry California cab blend (US$45) is pure delight.
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