March 31, 2008
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5
As I was nearing the final draft deadline for my book, Discover Chocolate, my editors asked me to rethink the content of the fourth major chapter of the book. Originally it was going to be a section on the health benefits of chocolate but as we got closer and closer to finishing the rest of the book, that topic began to seem less and less appropriate.
Since probably forever, there has been a connection in people's minds between chocolate and wine. From personal experience I knew that the conventional wisdom about pairing chocolate and wine (dark chocolate goes with red wine) was just about as useful as the advice about pairing wine and flesh (red wine goes with meat, white wine goes with fish). There are enough exceptions to that rule to fill a very large book.
So, the fourth chapter ended up being all about pairing various kinds of chocolates with various kinds of wines and spirits.
The first rule about pairing wine and chocolate is that there are no hard and fast rules.
Anyone who knows anything about wine can tell you that there is no one single flavor description for Syrah/Shiraz wines. Depending on where the grapes are grown, the weather in any particular year prior to harvest, and the individual sensibilities of the winemaker, there are huge differences between wines that are produced from grapes grown just a few miles apart.
However, like most rules, there are exceptions. The most versatile wine for pairing with chocolates I have found is the Italian sparkling wine, Prosecco. One of the reasons Prosecco works (and many Spanish Cavas, but not French Champagnes) is that Prosecco has a tendency to be less alcoholic and less sharp than Champagne and the texture of the bubbles tends to be very creamy. It is the creaminess of the texture of Prosecco, I am convinced, that is the key reason why it pairs so well with chocolate, which has a related textural quality in the mouth.
Comments
Jen wrote:
I have been interested in craft beers for a number of years and many of the local shows in upstate NY have been pairing Lambics with chocolate for a long time. Frambois with a few dark chocolate chips in the bottom of the glass is to die for.
I think this cuts to the heart of the conception that wine is on a higher plane than beer is. And that case can be clearly made if all you look at is the mass produced beers you find in the supermarkets, but just as Coors light is low brow, so is Beringer White Zin yet doesn't enjoy the same lowly reputation.
American microbrews and many imports can be excellent substitutes for wine in most situations, and I am going to go out and get some chocolate to pair with mine!
posted on April 4, 2008 at 3:13 PM
Dottieb wrote:
I've alwas loved beer with tollhouse cookies!
posted on April 9, 2008 at 11:36 PM
Amy wrote:
Clay,
You mentioned Askinosie chocolates. Can I suggest that anyone hankerin' to experiment with chocolate try some of Askinosie's cocoa nibs? I bought some at Christmas and haven't stopped experimenting with them yet!
They may look like little bits of bark but they are crisp and not overly woody. Best of all, they have the UR-chocolate taste; the very base of the flavor we define as chocolate, minus the sweeteners, but with a surprisingly velvet-y mouth feel. Lots of fun to be had!
posted on April 16, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Kyle Nabilcy wrote:
Weak sauce if you think that chocolate and beer is an icky pairing, and give the readers some credit. If we're watching Top Chef, we probably know that there are innumerable chocolate porters and stouts out there. Jeez.
posted on June 3, 2008 at 11:28 PM