Loving pairings of wine and chocolate(2)
By itself chocolate won't make you fall in love but it can certainly embellish amorous sensations. As I've covered in prior columns, wine also can embellish feeling of romance so it's no great leap of faith to believe that chocolate and wine properly paired will make any occasion more romantic.
Delectable duets
How to match chocolate with wine? First, I'll suggest ways that follow traditional wine and food pairing concepts, then suggest ways to deliciously break these rules. For centuries wine connoisseurs have counseled that a wine should be slightly sweeter than the dessert or sweet.
Beautifully feminine proof of this concept is when white chocolate meets Moscato d'Asti wines from Piedmont in northwest Italy. Made from the ancient Muscat variety, Moscato d'Asti wines are among the most delicate and perfumed sparkling wines in the world. The bubbles are fewer and less lively than in most other sparkling wines and the alcohol is also lower.
These gentle and perfumed wines are perfect with the subtle flavors and creamy texture of white chocolate. The sweet fruit and honey flavors of the wine adds flavor dimensions to the chocolate while the gentle acidity helps rinse the palate making the next bite even more delectable.
The most reliable way to pick a good Moscato wine it to make sure the full name of the wine is Moscato d'Asti as the best Muscat sparklers from Piedmont come from the vineyards around the town of Asti. Second, pick a top producer. Two of the best producers who have Moscato d'Asti wines readily available in Shanghai are Pio Cesare and Michele Chiarlo. Both producers make remarkably reasonably priced wines that reflect all the best qualities of Moscato d'Asti wines.
Following established rules may be a reliable way to get good results, but some of the most delicious combinations of chocolate and wine are realized when you break the rules. Two of my favorite examples of successfully breaking the rules are when dark chocolate meets big fruity red wines and chocolate-dipped strawberries embrace Prosecco sparkling wines.
Quality dark chocolate must have a high percentage of cocoa content with the highest examples being less sweet and slightly bitter like a good cup of coffee. These qualities make them perfect partners for a fruity and weighty red wine with abundant soft tannins.
One red wine that perfectly fits this description is Amarone from Veneto, Italy. The full name of this style of wine is Amarone della Valpolicella and it is predominately made of the Corvina red wine grape with some Rondinella and Molinara grapes added to the blend. The sweetness and weight of this wine are a result of the grapes being sun-dried before the winemaking process.
The ripe and elegantly juicy red and dark fruit flavors of this big red wine helps accentuate the richness of the dark chocolate while mitigating the bitterness and cleansing the palate.
Because of the relatively high alcohol of these red wines there's a sensation of sweetness in the mouth that complements the natural flavors of the chocolate. I suggest picking an Amarone from Masi, Zonin or other leading Veneto producer, buying top quality dark chocolate and choosing a romantic setting. The result is sure to be a harmonious and loving occasion.
Popular Hollywood movies often show couples enjoying champagne and strawberries together. Personally the intensity and acidity of champagne wines make them more suitable to other foods but not strawberries and especially strawberries dipped in chocolate.
Instead, I suggest enjoying these treats with a Prosecco sparkling wine as good Prosecco wines combine a friendly fruitiness and freshness that help harmonize the contrasting flavors and textures of the strawberry and chocolate in more gentle and accommodating manner than more acidic sparklers. There are an abundance of palate- and budget-pleasing Prosecco wines in Shanghai. Some of my favorites are Carpene Malvolti, Bisol and Tenuta S. Anna.
