Chocolate
Chocolate and wine need to be equal in terms of intensity.
By Dave Anning
This year I’m looking at what we eat most at Easter. It’s not roast lamb. Nope, not hot cross buns. Chocolate!
It’s shocking how easy it is to take two such delicious things and end up going ‘Yuck!’ - so here’s a guide to which wines to enjoy with your chocolate, be it pudding, brownie or Easter egg!
Texture is important. Most chocolate is silky smooth, so soft, velvety wines are your friends! Also, there’s a ‘rule’ that wines should be sweeter than desserts, and so it is (mostly!) with chocolate. Ripe, full and fruity wine often gets described as sweet even when it’s not - we just perceive it that way. Real or perceived, sweetness offsets natural bitterness in chocolate.
Chocolate and wine need to be equal in terms of intensity. If you were doing a tasting with just chocolates and wines, you would start with light (white) chocolate, before milk chocolate and finally dark, bitter, high-cocoa-content stuff.
White chocolate is usually not ‘real’ chocolate as it doesn’t normally contain cocoa. Matches here are wines that are light in body and sweet - sweet Riesling for example. Slightly sweet Rose d’Anjou will work, as would White Zinfandel (it’s pink!) and notably sweeter. Fizz lovers will enjoy sparkling Moscato d’Asti. These work because sweet wines are balanced with acidity, which keeps your mouth fresh, cleaning away the sticky chocolate (as do bubbles).
Milk chocolate is creamier, with more mellow flavours. Proportionately, chocolate and cream are roughly 50/50, so a medium bodied wine with some ripe fruit character will balance this out. Ruby port is a favourite, but some Pinot Noir and lighter Merlot can be great. The adventurous amongst you might try a Gewurztraminer from Alsace or Chile!
Dark chocolate merits flavoursome, full-bodied wine - big Zinfandels (Primitivo in Italian), fruity Cabernet Sauvignon and the weightier Merlots. Choose wines with plenty of fruit though - very tannic wine will emphasise the bitterness in the cocoa and feel ‘hard’ in the mouth. Intensely sweet ‘PX’ (Pedro Ximinez), and Rutherglen Muscat - from Spain and Australia respectively - are some of the sweetest wines in the world, and bring nuttiness, rich fruit, caramel and coffee notes that complement the chocolate’s dark notes and offset the bitterness beautifully. These are wines for sipping!
Two last thoughts. If you’re a real fan of white chocolate, try it with a good Pinot Noir. It’s such an unexpected match it’ll make you look confused for a moment - but it’s worth it! The fat in the ‘chocolate’ does what the fat in rich meats does, releasing the wine’s intense fruitiness. Finally no, I can’t really help you with After Eights - you’re on your own! Happy Easter from all of us at SW Bottleshop!