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Tasting Chocolate with Wine
The Chocolate & Wine-Tasting Experience
Chocolate and wine are a difficult match, which is why we only recommend wines that complement chocolate, rather than conflict with it. Below are two of our favourite dessert wines.
Mas Amiel Maury
Made from 100% grenache grapes, this wonderful red dessert wine is initially kept for a year in glass demi-johns in the open air, exposing it to extreme fluctuations in temperature. It is then aged for another year in oak casks, resulting in a bouquet of red fruits dominated by cherries and blackberries. Opulent on the palate, it has an excellent balance of sugar and alcohol that is perfectly suited to enjoying with chocolate whilst still young. Serve slightly chilled.
Chateau Haut Roquefort
The fact that this wine is produced by Michel Pion is, in itself, a guarantee of exceptional quality. Its golden colour and complex bouquet of honey, tropical, crystallised fruits and hazelnuts makes it an ideal complement to gourmet chocolate. Serve chilled.
How To Taste Chocolates: Five Senses
All of our senses are engaged in the tasting and enjoyment of fine quality chocolate, although some are more active than others. Recognising this will enhance the sensual pleasure and joy of discovery that may be achieved during the tasting activity.
| Sight | A chocolate's surface colour should be clear; if it is marbled or carries white patches the quality will be diminished. |
| Sound | Before eating solid chocolate we recommend you break it close to your ear. A clear, crisp ‘snap’ is an indicator of fine quality. | Smell | Fine chocolate should smell of cocoa and the aromas of any infusions or blends mixed with it, such as vanilla pod, coffee or cassis. | Touch | Fine chocolate has a smooth, even texture in comparison to mass-produced chocolate, which is often rough to the touch. | Taste | For maximum enjoyment chocolate should be tasted at room temperature (18 - 20°C). Let the chocolate melt on the tip of your tongue and experience the texture of the filling and the complementary aromas that fill your palate whilst you breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Whether fruity, spicy or delicate and floral, the chocolatier’s skill is to create subtle infusions without interfering with the depth and length of the cocoa - the most important ingredient in gourmet chocolate. |
Enjoying Gourmet Chocolate With Wine
We recommend that the wine is tasted first. Then, take a bite of the chocolate piece, allowing it to melt on the tongue as explained above and breathe in and out through the nose to release the chocolate’s aromas.
It’s best not to drink wine whilst chocolate is in the mouth; rather, allow the different flavours and textures to complement each other, enhancing the overall tasting experience. Cleanse the palate with water before tasting the next wine.
If you would like any further advice on matching luxury chocolates with fine wines, or if you have any recommendations that you’d like to share, please email or call me at our Birmingham boutique store.
Pierre Soualah
© Chouchoute Chocolaterie
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