Chocolate University Online Blog
Although wine is pleasurable all its own, most people pair it with an array of different foods as it magnifies the tastes of those food. But did you know that wine and chocolate make a good pair? When the combination is created correctly, it gives a divine blast of taste in the mouth.
First and foremost, you need to make an appropriate choice of chocolate. Grabbing any chocolate bar available won’t be enough as they don’t hold distinctive flavors. Gourmet chocolates are your best bet, be it dark, white, or milk chocolate.
With regard to the wine you’ll be pairing the chocolate with, you need to find one that is at least as sweet as the chocolate, maybe even slightly sweeter. One of the main rules in pairing them is that the distance between wine and chocolate sweetness should always be short because if the wine isn’t sweet enough, the sour notes of wine will make it appear hollow, which makes it a horrible combination.
Red wines generally pair with chocolate easier than white wines. The acidity of Champagne and sparkling wines reacts with chocolate causing a bitter taste, but that doesn’t mean they can’t go along well together. Like I said, correct combination is key.
One main rule in this pairing is light chocolate tastes better with lighter-bodied wines. Simply put, the stronger the flavor of the chocolate, the more full-bodied wine you need for that perfect combination. Another thing to consider is the quality of wine as bad wine only gets worse when paired with chocolate.
Always taste the wine first! Only then should you start enjoying your chocolate. Drinking the wine before eating chocolate will allow you to assess the flavor and taste of the wine itself. Otherwise, your mouth and taste buds will be covered with a thin layer of cocoa butter, preventing you from tasting the wine.
It was once taboo, but pairing wine with chocolate is now becoming commonplace that some people have this particular pair as their comfort food!
If you would like to dig in deeper, consider enrolling as a student of Chocolate University Online. There are several lessons included to help you master wine and chocolate pairings.
Categories: chocolate education, chocolate pairings
Tags: champagne, chocolate pairings, food pairings, Red wine, white wine, wine
Over the last couple of centuries, the cacao bean been has been used in many different ways such as medicine, as money, etc. But today, we eat it almost exclusively for pleasure.
There are different varieties of cacao beans and it has been said that each strain has been significantly changed due to its tree’s ability to naturally cross-pollinate, not to mention all the intended hybridization of the cacao bean for the past centuries.
Cacao beans go through a lot of processing to produce the chocolate we all love. They are harvested, fermented, dried, roasted, and ground to make chocolate liquor, which is then further processed into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
Chocolatiers or the chocolate makers use these cacao beans or the cocoa mass to produce pure chocolate, which they call “couverture”. This is what they make their confections from.
To make the chocolate, the chocolate liquor is incorporated into cocoa butter and sugar. And these chocolates are categorized based on the amount of the chocolate liquor that was put into it.
The categories said are the following: Dark chocolate, which is known for its bittersweet taste, contains the highest quantity of chocolate liquor. Milk chocolates, which are made with milk ingredients, contain less chocolate liquor. While white chocolate, which is technically not real chocolate since cocoa solid content is zero, is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk.
A few years back, Scharffen Berger started the style listing the percentage of cocoa mass on labels so people would determine how dark is dark. And within each category, characteristics are all laid down such as the type of cacao beans used, the maker and chocolatier, etc.
Chocolate and wine are known to be a perfect combination. Dark chocolates typically go well with stronger fruity red wines. Milk and white chocolates are often best with white and rosé wines. Just see to it that the chocolate is not as sweet as the wine.
Ports (sweet dark red dessert wine) are also known to be a good partner of chocolate. Tawny ports are preferred over vintage ones as the latter overwhelms the chocolate rather than complementing it.
Beer and chocolate can go superbly together as well. Think of any beer and pair it with practically any chocolate, keeping in mind that the darker the chocolate is, the better.
You can search this blog for more specific pairings of wine and chocolate as well as beer and chocolate.
Categories: chocolate education, chocolate pairings
Tags: beer, chocolate liqueur, chocolate liquor, chocolate pairings, Scharffen Berger, wine
Like most people, I crave a sweet treat at the end of a meal. In the summer, when food is generally on the lighter side, I like something sweet but not TOO sweet.
 After you‘ve eaten your grilled chicken breasts and pasta salad, try this pairing between Ghirardelli LUXE MILK™ Toffee and Round Hill Chardonnay.
The Milk Chocolate with Toffee has bold buttery and crunchy toffee bits that blend very well with the subtle chocolaty notes and intense creamy flavors of the milk chocolate. The Chardonnay adds more butter and toffee notes with hints of vanilla, apricot, and spice.
I bought both these items at my local grocery store. The 2009 Round Hill Chardonnay was a bargain at $6.49 (on their website it still sells for a reasonable $8.00). I liked the wine by itself, too!
Oh, one more thing. Just recently, a friend of mine asked me how to pronounce Ghirardelli as she had heard at least two different variations. Since I also have had that experience, I went to the ultimate authority. The Ghirardelli website.
According to the company, you should say Gear-ar-delly!
Now go and enjoy your Toffee Gear-ar-delly with the Round Hill Shar-doe-nay!
Categories: chocolate pairings, chocolate review
Tags: Ghirardelli, grocery product, milk chocolate, Round Hill, white wine, wine
Chocolates are one of the most popular sweets, definitely loved by a lot of people. Research has shown that chocolates tend to stimulate mental attentiveness, and it also helps in regulating good mood. As a chocolate lover you probably know this.
But have you thought about wine? It has a lot in common with chocolate.
 A glass of red wine is not only yummy, but studies show that red wine lowers the risk of heart attack for middle-aged people. This luscious drink (in moderation of course) can also increase good cholesterol (HDL) and decrease bad cholesterol (LDL).
By combining chocolate and red wine, taking these two tasty treats together, will provide you with a bunch of brain benefits too. A chemical found in both dark chocolates and red wine can boost the ability of the brain to solve complex problems.
Research has demonstrated that a chemical substance called polyphenols has a dilating effect on the blood vessels, thus, improving the blood supply going to the brain. This mechanism increases the oxygen and sugar delivery to the brain, and it permits us to solve complex problems with ease. Pretty cool.
Indulging on foods that are rich in polyphenols can increase intelligence even in the younger generation who appears to have their brain already functioning at its full capability. (No, I’m not advocating wine for those under legal age, but chocolate has no such restrictions.)
Keep in mind though that these health benefits are only limited to modest quantities. Red wine should only be consumed in moderate amounts and not on a daily basis. Dark chocolates are also the preferred type of chocolate if you want to take advantage of these brain enhancing benefits.
Remember, the next time you crave for a glass of red wine, don’t forget to enjoy a bar of luscious dark chocolate with it. You might even discover a flavor match you want to share. Now that’s genius!
Categories: chocolate education, chocolate in the news, fine foods & beverages
Tags: cholesterol, dark chocolate, health benefits, increase intelligence, polyphenols, Red wine, wine
When you put a fresh strawberry into the bottom of a champagne glass and then pour the champagne, just watch the bubbles fly off the strawberry at a record rate of speed!
The strawberry gives more surface area from which to produce bubbles. For this reason alone, a strawberry in champagne is very romantic. And let’s not forget that a champagne soaked strawberry is oh-so-delicious!
 Personally, I prefer the strawberry on the side, covered in rich, dark chocolate!
What makes the combination of strawberry, chocolate, and champagne so heavenly?
Some say it’s the strawberry that glues it all together and I can agree with that. The strawberry makes a good vehicle for carrying flavor because it is a non-porous fruit so it does not get soggy.
Yet the texture of the strawberry allows both fruity flavors and chocolatey flavors to come together in the mouth at the same rate of release. Also, the balance of acidity and sweetness are kept at a short distance between the chocolate and strawberry.
Now, let’s look at the champagne, or even a sparkling wine. If you follow the chocolate-covered strawberry with your choice of bubbly beverage, it cleanses the palate with a light, crisp, slightly fruity and yes, tingling sensation that enhances the flavors previously in the mouth.
Although you could never come up with a really scientific explanation as to why it works, it just does.
Sometimes you gotta accept the mysterious!
Categories: chocolate education
Tags: champagne, chocolate covered fruit, dark chocolate, strawberries, wine
It’s after 9 pm, the kids are in bed, and I am in the mood to r-e-l-a-x. I decide to try a chocolate bar I have not had before, Moser Roth premium dark 85%. This bar is intensely nutty, soft on fruit and earth. The snap is hard and the melt is slow to release its flavors.
I can sense that the bar lacks a little something, and then the light goes on. I need to pair this bar with wine. Since I don’t have time to pick and choose, I reach for the malbec I have on hand. It is a 2008 Reserve from Alma Andina vineyard, Mendoza region Argentina. The label set me up to be hopeful as it describes the tasting notes concentrated in red and black fruit flavors, hints of toasted vanilla with a long cherry finish.
The chocolate and wine do indeed go well together in spite of an oaky bitterness that tries to poke through. I made a good call because the wine adds some much needed oomph to the chocolate. (Note that the wine stands well alone, it does not need the help of the chocolate.)
Now – this is relaxing!
Categories: chocolate review
Tags: dark chocolate, Moser Roth, wine
Good News! Lindt is expanding its Excellence chocolates with two new premium creations. Introducing…..
Excellence Roasted Almond and Excellence Black Currant
The roasted almond variety combines dark chocolate with slivered almonds, and the black currant variety combines dark chocolate with tart, dried black currants and roasted slivered almonds.
According to the Lindt press release, “These Excellence bars combine Lindt’s exquisite premium chocolate with the finest ingredients, providing chocolate lovers with two entirely new taste experiences,” said Ann Czaja, Lindt Master Chocolatier. “Roasted Almond is a sophisticated, premium twist on a more traditional combination of ingredients, and Black Currant incorporates a unique, fruit flavor into Lindt’s acclaimed dark chocolate.”
Lindt mentions the ideal pairing of these chocolates with wine. They recommend the Excellence Roasted Almond with Merlot and the Excellence Black Currant with Cabernet Sauvignon.
These two chocolate bars are definitely on my list to try! As soon as I get my hands on them I’ll post a review. (Anyone from Lindt reading? hint, hint)
Categories: chocolate in the news
Tags: almonds, cabernet sauvignon, currants, dark chocolate, Lindt, merlot, wine
One of my favorite chocolate and wine pairings is merlot with a dark chocolate-covered raspberry cream.
Merlot, a red grape originating in France’s Bordeaux region, naturally produces tastes that are rich and round, loaded with raspberry and other red berry flavors, sometimes with hints of chocolate and sometimes vanilla.
Merlot is often overshadowed by a similar wine, the more popular cabernet sauvignon. The two share some similarities, but there differences, too. A merlot pairs very well with certain fruit creams and dark chocolates because it is typically softer and fruitier in both aroma and flavor than a cabernet.
Recently I enjoyed a Sonoma Vineyards 2007 Merlot. I paired it with a dark chocolate raspberry cream from a local chocolates shop that I adore. This wine was velvety smooth with mocha, raspberry, and cranberry notes coming through at the start and finishing with mocha and vanilla.
While I considered this a successful match up, the vanilla and oak flavors from the wine brought out some bitterness in the chocolate. Over the years, I have paired different merlot wines with chocolate raspberry creams and try to avoid wines that are aged in oak for this very reason.
Categories: chocolate pairings
Tags: dark chocolate, merlot, raspberries, wine
Pinot Gris, or Pinot Grigio wine is light, crisp, and dry. I make a point these days to pair chocolate with any wine I happen to be drinking. Since I have never put any chocolate together with a Pinot Grigio before, I had to dig into my chocolate stash and pull out things I had on hand.
My first choice was a mid-range dark, 60% cacao solids, sourced from Ghana. I knew that the Pinot Grigio was on the dry side and I was curious to see if the fruity notes in the chocolate would complement the wine.
Oops. Wrong!
To start, the chocolate actually had more coffee notes than fruity notes. It was also too bitter for the wine. At first, the flavor was tolerable but I could not distinguish any specific flavor notes, just a clashing of “stuff.” At the end, the aftertaste was terrible (that, too, was indescribable which is probably ok since I didn’t want anymore anyway!).
Thank goodness my next choice was much better. I chose a milk chocolate with an Ecuador cacao content of 42% – which really made it a “dark milk” chocolate. I love that term; it isn’t very fancy but it is descriptive! Many typical milk chocolates will have between 10% (the minimum according to U.S. FDA standards) and 20% chocolate.
This time the flavors of the wine, predominately floral and fruity, matched up very well with the slightly floral and elevated fruity notes in the Ecuadorian without overpowering the wine. The creamy and caramel notes tempered the bitterness of the chocolate so I avoided the previous disastrous aftertaste.
Now you know what to have with a Pinot Grigio, if you’re so inclined. Enjoy!
Categories: chocolate pairings
Tags: dark milk, Ecuadorian chocolate, pinot grigio, wine
I live in Wisconsin and, believe it or not, we have wineries and vineyards here! We are not as well known as California or Virginia but we do all right. If you haven’t had a Wisconsin wine recently, try a selection from Parallel 44 in Kewaunee, WI.
I have fallen in love with their Malbec/Cabernet Sauvignon blend called “44”. It is dry, bold, and intensely fruity up front. I am a fan of Malbec for many reasons, but the main reason is that it pairs so well with chocolate.
Malbec is a medium-bodied wine, with flavors of cherry, plum, raspberry, and most of the time, a hint of chocolate. If the Malbec is aged in oak, you’ll also taste vanilla.
This great combination of flavors naturally matches up with dark chocolates that carry similar flavors. Choose a mid to high range cocoa content dark chocolate, say 60% to 70%, that presents flavors of red berries or dried fruit (raisin) mixed with pronounced cocoa notes.
I enjoy the “44” with a 70% Lindt Excellence bar. The Valrhona Manjari 64% is also an excellent choice with Malbec.
Because of the robust tannins, Malbec wine also goes good with grilled steak. (OK, that’s not chocolate, but I do have to eat other things from time to time.)
This is making me hungry. I think I know what I’ll make for supper!
Categories: chocolate pairings
Tags: malbec, wine
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