Christian: Allow me to give a Christmas wrap-up. It was evident this gift-giving season that Mom and Dad neglected to read our December “Gifts for Winos” column, as my gifts this year consisted of the usual. Gift one: A cook’s apron covered with grape clusters and the words merlot and chardonnay was a thrilling surprise to unwrap. And sure enough at the bottom of my stocking was one of those wine tasting books that is destined for my junk drawer. One of those books with boxes that read “paste wine label here.” I don’t mean to be ungrateful. I got a lot of very nice gifts, but I thought we spelled out our wine wish list in print! Oh well, I am just glad the holiday season is over and we can get back to life as usual.
David: Slow down there Christian. Just when you thought the coast was clear, Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, the “Lover’s Holiday.” It was easy in second grade when all you had to do was hand out a little card and the sweet-tart heart-shaped candies. Now we have to come up with creative ways to be romantic. Nothing says romance like chocolate and wine!
C: Chocolate and wine? Trust me, it works! You might think: this is Valentine’s Day. That box of chocolate is always accompanied by a bottle of Champagne, so that has to be the natural pairing. Well hang on a second. There are other wines that go with chocolate much better. I know I have had my fill of sparkling wines by now, considering the half a dozen holiday and New Year’s celebrations that filled my social calendar last month. Let’s break the mold today and come up with some different wines for Valentine’s that will make those expensive Vosges chocolates taste even more sinful.
D: Now, chocolate generally has a very sweet component, with a buttery rich texture that coats the entire palate. So naturally a powerful wine should make a great match. The first thing that comes to mind is port. Ports have three major styles: ruby, tawny, and vintage. All three styles will give the fortified richness, which will be a wonderful pairing with nearly any style of chocolate. Ruby ports are the most widely produced, most affordable style. Ruby is a blend of two to three years, and usually has strong fortified red fruits flavors. Tawny’s are aged in wood barrels for three to five years, have a golden-brown color, and often a nutty flavor. Vintage ports are made only in certain years in which the individual port house declares a “vintage year,” which usually occurs less than three times per decade. These wines have very special characteristics, with elegant finesse and complex rich flavors.
C: Well, Dave, we will differ on that recommendation. First of all I am not a huge sweet wine fan with chocolate, and second, isn’t this about Valentine’s Day? What’s so romantic about port? Port to me conjures up images of Winston Churchill, not lovers smooching in Paris. I think this is a great opportunity to go to your collection and pull out some of those big boys. You might find that, due to the chocolate pairing, you may not even need to decant these wines. Younger-style California cabernets, complex tannic Bordeaux’s, inky Australian shiraz’s—all can be tamed by the richness of chocolate. It could also be fun to use chocolate in your sauce over beef or rich gamey meats, like venison.
D: Now, the contrast of tannins and sweet does create a magical pairing, but what’s wrong with sweet and sweet? The world of dessert, or sweet wine, is enormous, so let’s just throw out a few favorite areas. Personally I find Hungarian Tokaji to be one of the most elegant sweet wines, with juicy tropical fruit tones and gorgeous honey notes. Numerous vineyards in California and elsewhere in the world are also making late-harvest bottlings that create the charming dessert-like flavors out of a wide variety of grapes, including zinfandel, Grenache, and others. These may go better with lighter style chocolates, yet will stand up to the darkest ones as well.
C: Many might ask, what about a famous Sauternes like Chateau d’Yquem, the greatest dessert wine in the world? Made from Semillion and sauvignon blanc, this wine is sweet nectar of the gods and can claim a price tag in the thousands of dollars. Then there are German white wines. As a generic rule, the later picked wines have smaller berries, with concentrated sugar levels, which in turn creates a mouthwatering juice. The later picked (sweeter) wines are categorized as Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese. However the real true sweet wines are called Eiswein. Here the grapes are actually picked and pressed frozen. To me both of these are not great chocolate matches. I truly believe that when it comes to dessert, the wine can almost match the color of the item served. Therefore while ports and rich red wines go great with chocolate, the lighter colored sweet wines are a better match with crème brulee, lighter style cakes, and fruity desserts.
D: I feel we have just scratched the surface of what wine goes with chocolate, and the holiday of love. But it’s time to make a recommendation. With my chocolate buffet I’d love to have a glass of Graham Vintage Porto 1991 or a Banyul, a full-bodied red dessert wine from France’s Languedoc region.
C: First of all, my New Year’s resolution was to watch the carbs. But if forced to, I would pull a nice bottle of Bordeaux to go with the sweets. How about Chateau Calon Segur complete with a heart on the label or the aptly named Terra Valentine Winery.
David and Christian manage the 650-bottle wine list and cellar at the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV. We wish you a loving, chocolaty, Valentine’s Season!
