Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Perfect Pairing

This past weekend I got invited to a friend's house and as gift I brought a few bottles of wine and chocolate to do a tasting and pairing. Everyone loved it and have to say that I had never done this myself before but felt a little adventurous.

I'm a big fan of wines made from grapes that don't age for too long like Grenache blends and Tempranillo because even though they are not fancy I've never had a bad experience with them and I can pair them with many foods. Of the other more traditional grapes I go for Cabenrnet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.

Image Credit 1 and 2

For this particular occasion I went for a wine from the Rioja region, another from Chile, and picked several chocolate bars that included a chile infused dark chocolate, an organic dark chocolate with pieces of dried cherry, a dark milk chocolate with sea salt, and a mint semi sweet bar.


This is a great way to end any dinner because you can have fun with the different chocolates and wine. The way I was taught to do the tasting/pairing {by a chef from Godiva} is to eat a piece of the chocolate and later take a sip of the wine and see how much the flavor of the wine and the experience changes with each bite.


If you decide to do something like this remember to have fun with the wines and chocolate. Best is to pair white wines with milk or white chocolates and red wines with dark-milk chocolate of just dark chocolate. Also, try to include sweeter wines like port or muscat and maybe even some fruit.

Have a great day and enjoy your dessert!

23 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite combinations... red wine and chocolate! Now I just have to organize a chocowine tasting;)


    http://fashion-gourmet.blogspot.com/

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  2. :( I don't drink wine! But I'm all about the choc.

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  3. Oh the tasting sounds really fun! I'm such a big fan of wine and cheese... and olives too. Okay now I'm getting hungry and thirsty

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  4. The perfect combination! Guess I have to do a wine tasting soon :)

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  5. Yu,. yum, YUM! This is a fairly regular occasion at my apartment. Nothing better than wine and chocolate. Wish I had some right now! :) xoxo

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  6. Kudos to your enjoyment moments!!:) That's the life!;)
    Happy Tuesday!!
    Jelena

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  7. Oh man.. all that chocolate is making me crave the good stuff... not the hersheys stuff. You are such a thoughtful guest- I'd invite you over anytime!

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  8. Lovely....This sounds like such an interesting and fun thing to do at a dinner party.

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  9. Sounds like a fun way to wind down an evening!

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  10. Mmmm, wine and chocolate! Glad you had an awesome time!
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  11. No joke, this sounds like my heaven!! Seriously... I love wine and chocolate equally as much - and what a great idea!

    xo everything-pretty.com

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  12. simple pleasures in life :)

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  13. What a delicious treat, and a fabulous idea for a party!

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  14. Fun idea, I hear this is common in Europe. I should try this sometime.

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  15. Sounds like a fun party with wine and chocolate, both delicious treats.
    When we were in France we tasted a wine that was actually blended with chocolate and this was delicious, especially to enjoy with dessert.

    Happy week
    Carolyn

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  16. I normally can't eat chocolate and drink wine at the same time, but I might give this a go! I love rioja wines myself.

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  17. i definately gonna try this!

    bisou
    catherine

    http://frlcatherine.com/

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  18. That sounds like a lot of fun! It's making me really hungry for some chocolate with sea salt though. I don't know much about wines but I did hear recently that even true wine people can't tell the difference between an expensive and cheap wine so it's all really personal taste and definitely best to go with what you love rather than what's fancy.

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  19. Oh yes please! Salted chocolate souffle, please!... Make that two.

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  20. Oh man. Wine AND chocolate. A woman after my own heart, I'm a big pinot noir fan. *looks for the follow/subscribe button*.

    xo
    Quiet Luxury


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  21. Chocolate and red wine. OMG. Yes.

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