Wine and Chocolate Pairings

[winedoc]

Hi everyone! I've been doing some research on wine and chocolate pairings. So far I've found a few tasty combinations, but I have some more unusual chocolates to pair with and I was hoping to get some suggestions!

 

I've been tasting chocolates with various fillings. So far, I've paired orange chocolate with 2015 J. Lohr Bay Mist Monterey County White Riesling, which is slightly sweet with subtle effervescence with notes of fresh pear and orange zest and was bright enough to pair with citrus. I paired smoked sea salt caramel, regular sea salt caramel, and almond toffee with Offley Tawny Port, which had spice and red fruit notes that paired well with buttery toffee and caramel.

 

Other chocolates I want to pair include coconut, mint, dark, milk, raspberry, peanut butter, and cheesecake. I was thinking of pairing the peanut butter with amontillado sherry, the cheesecake and coconut with a buttery chardonnay, the raspberry with pinot noir, and the milk and dark chocolates with ruby port. 

 

Any favorite pairings out there? Thanks!

Edited October 11, 2016 by winedoc (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Methode rotuts with Lindt milk for starters.

[Alex]

With bittersweet chocolate: 1) a good California cabernet sauvignon; 2) Banyuls

[winedoc]

13 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Methode rotuts with Lindt milk for starters.

I'm not familiar with methode rotuts. Is that a sparkling wine method different than the traditional?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Indeed.

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/149804-methode-rotuts/

 

[winedoc]

1 minute ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Indeed.

 

https://forums.egullet.org/topic/149804-methode-rotuts/

 

I feel motivated to buy a soda stream now!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I like the one liter iSi myself.  The wine I typically use for carbonation is Folonari Soave.  And now I have several bars of Lindt in house, but none of the milk.

 

[gulfporter]

For me, any dark chocolate pairs well with an old vine tempranillo.   I only buy dark chocolate as a rule, though we enjoy variations such as: salt; orange; chili.  I will try to expand my horizons based on your original post, though the few times I paired a port or sherry with dark chocolate, I didn't care for it.  Though with chocolate desserts such as cookies or cheescakes, I prefer them with port or sherry.  Maybe it has to do with the added sweetness of the baked good.  

[winedoc]

21 minutes ago, gulfporter said:

For me, any dark chocolate pairs well with an old vine tempranillo.   I only buy dark chocolate as a rule, though we enjoy variations such as: salt; orange; chili.  I will try to expand my horizons based on your original post, though the few times I paired a port or sherry with dark chocolate, I didn't care for it.  Though with chocolate desserts such as cookies or cheescakes, I prefer them with port or sherry.  Maybe it has to do with the added sweetness of the baked good.  

 

I like dark chocolate baked goods with port, but a dark chocolate truffle may not be a good match. It will be a fun experiment, though. I love tempranillo, so I will have to try that. I bought Cline Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel in the hopes it will pair with something. Maybe it will go with dark chocolate. Cheesecake has been a tough one to match because it's a little tangy. I'll have to get sherry. What kind of sherry do you like?

[gulfporter]

12 hours ago, winedoc said:

 

I like dark chocolate baked goods with port, but a dark chocolate truffle may not be a good match. It will be a fun experiment, though. I love tempranillo, so I will have to try that. I bought Cline Cellars Old Vine Zinfandel in the hopes it will pair with something. Maybe it will go with dark chocolate. Cheesecake has been a tough one to match because it's a little tangy. I'll have to get sherry. What kind of sherry do you like?

I goofed...I meant old vine zinfandel (not tempranillo).  Though we also enjoy tempranillo with dark chocolate.  

 

For sherry with dessert or snacks, I prefer a dry with a sweet treat, but something sweet if the treat is salty.   And while we love port (especially in cooler weather), we don't find that it complements chocolate and usually serve port with cheeses.  

[winedoc]

Update on some successful pairings:

 

2015 Menage a Trois Gold Chardonnay with coconut filled chocolate and cheesecake filled chocolate. The Chardonnay has enough fresh notes to cut through the richness of the fillings but still creamy enough to pair well.

 

2014 The White Ribbon Hunter Valley Shiraz with mocha, mint chocolate, and milk chocolate! This one was a total surprise to pair with so many flavors. I was looking for an Australia Shiraz because I thought the eucalyptus/menthol aromas that come through would pair well with the mint. This Shiraz isn't as much of a fruit bomb as others. It makes the milk chocolate seem more velvety, pairs with earthiness of the coffee, and doesn't cut short the mint flavor at the finish.

 

Still looking for an amontillado sherry to go with peanut butter chocolate.