Indulgence | Wine | Chocolate | Heaven

As promised yesterday, we will dip a bit deeper into the chocolates today.  Since you are reading this blog, you must have a passion for chocolate and with that love chocolate soufflés.  I mean who doesn't like that warm, melting in your mouth, chocolate cake deliciousness?  Add a raspberry sauce and now marry that soufflé with nice late-harvest sauvignon blanc such as a Sauternes  and you will know what a “match in heaven” is all about.  Sauternes is very famous for its sweet dessert style white wines and is situated in the Bordeaux region of France.  California also produces some great late harvest wines, Hall and Honig winery to name a couple of examples.

For everybody that likes sparkling wine with chocolate, try a sweet,

Wine and Chocolate Pairing - Any wine, any chocolate?

First of all, this "research" certainly was great fun, however thanks to this blog, I gained about 4 to 5 pounds do to all the sampling of different chocolates and wines.   Very joyful task, I have to admit :)

But enough of that, let me dive into chocolate and red wine.  Very important to know is that not every kind of chocolate goes with every style of wine.  So when you hear somebody talking about a chocolate and wine pairing, don't think of immediate satisfaction, as the wrong chocolate will make your wine taste awful!  So what do I need to know?   

Is steak and red wine a good food and wine pairing? It's a good start, but...

Red wine and food is similar to the white wine and food.  Lighter style wines such as Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or Gamay, go better with meats that are often less fatty and are lighter in texture. 

For your pork and veal dishes, stay with Pinot Noir, Merlot, Gamay (Beaujolais) or Barbera.  For the red meats you would want to pair Zinfandel (NO - not white zinfandel!), Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and for gamey meats use Barolo, Sangiovese made as Brunello de Montalcino, Pinot Noir and Mourvedre.

White wine pairing simplefied

When you have light dishes such as seared scallops, a crisp white wine will be your best bet.  I would suggest a nice Sauvignon Blanc from either New Zealand for its grassy, citrus like flavors or a French version from the Loire Valley for its more mineral, herbal notes. 

If you have a dish with a creamy sauce such as a pasta Alfredo you can either compliment the richness of the dish by enjoying a nice glass of California Chardonnay or by “cutting” the richness of the sauce with a bone dry Riesling or a Gewuerztraminer.  Both are known for their high acidity and I would look for to the Alsace for some great examples of these grape varietals.   Besides the kind of meat or Fish you have, sauces play a great role in selection of the proper wine selection.  Below is a guideline for things to

What is the truth behind white wine with fish and red wine with steaks?

Since I work in the restaurant industry for some time now, there are certain questions that keep reoccurring.  One of them is the ultimate question “Should I have a white wine or a red wine with my dinner”.  I hear lots of guests still holding on to an old rule of white wine with fish and red wine with red meat, but is that rule actually still valid?  Not really!  That rule is called a traditional pairing of food and wine.  However this would mean that you shouldn’t have a nice Pinot Noir with a broiled Salmon although this a beautiful pairing, just as it is nice to have a Chardonnay with Veal.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  As mentioned above, there are certainly wines which compliment a dish better than others, but at the end of the day, drink what you like! 

Traditional pairing or bearing?

Just found this online.  It fits with our subject and was just to funny not to post here.
Thanks to Dr. Pike who seems to be the artist behind this picture.

Food and Wine

Starting with this wine blog, we will cover the Top 10 frequent asked questions about wine, wine pairings and food and wine. 
Some of them will be short and to the point while others, by nature of the subject, will be longer.  If you have a question, or would like to add to the subject, please do so.  General comments or feedback are welcome as well.

The idea for this blog to offer wine education while having fun at the same time, so I hope you will join for this journey.  Tomorrow I will write about the first FAQ about wine.

Tipos, if any, are intentional :)