Shreveport’s Guide to Experiencing Sophisticated Decadence in Wine Pairing

Looking for a little treat with your glass of wine?

Most focus on certain entrée or cheese choices to create a tasty and complementary combination of wine and food. But instead of the norm, why not reach for a sweeter piece for wine pairing?

Pairing chocolate with wine can be a tricky task. Flavors often tend to clash with many wines, therefore, the concept remains easy to mess up. However, when matched correctly, wine and chocolate can become a delectable indulgence and frequent guilty pleasure, especially for a dessert wino.

To sweeten your next homebody happy hour or neighborhood dinner party, try adding a little chocolate to the mix when it’s time to pull out the corkscrew.

Red wine with a bar of milk chocolate.

When pairing wine with chocolate, complement drier wines with more intense choices, like milk or medium-dark chocolate.

Pairing Wine with Chocolate Well

When pairing wine and chocolate, most would urge you to tread carefully. Because the boldness of both wine and chocolate tend to launch a relentless battle for taste bud attention, sometimes it’s essentially pointless to put them anywhere near one another on a spread.

To carry out a smooth wine and chocolate pairing, About Food suggests allowing the chocolate to take the lead in regards to flavor. Always choose a wine sweeter than the chocolate. Wine-chocolate combinations usually include a very sweet wine, yet some wines with a slightly drier taste work with darker chocolates.

Also, mind the intensity of the chocolate when choosing a complementary wine. The stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. Holding a wine tasting session with chocolate? Try the lighter, sweeter wine and chocolate pairs first before taking on the more robust duos. Check out several wines to match when you’ve got a hankering for something sweet.

 

  • Port: For the drinker who wants to keep the options open. Wine Folly recommends white chocolate to go with a rosé port while milk chocolate pairs better with an aged vintage port. For a subtle twist of saltiness and bitterness, keep a few chunks of caramel chocolate next to your glass of 20-year-old Tawny port. Wine Enthusiast suggests the older the Tawny port, the darker you can take the chocolate.

 

  • Muscat: Dig chocolate with added flavor? Wine Enthusiast pairs late-harvest Muscat with citrus-infused dark chocolate. Muscat also goes with an array of other chocolate types, according to Wine Folly. Complementing white chocolate with a tropical-flavored Muscat will allow you to easily taste the flavors of the wine. Try throwing in some milk chocolate or maybe even a few truffles with your glass as well.  

 

  • Sherry: If you’re into all chocolate types, Sherry’s your best bet. Wine Enthusiast recommends eating dates dipped in chocolate or roasted nuts covered in chocolate with Sherry. For chocolate chunks, try milk chocolate with creamy Sherry, as well as caramel chocolate and salted chocolate. Even peanut butter cups go well with Sherry, according to Wine Folly. For the sweetest Sherry, eat white chocolate, which will allow you to taste the wine’s flavors.

 

  • Lambrusco: For a sweet Lambrusco, pair it with white chocolate. Wine Folly suggests caramel chocolate as an appealing Lambrusco complement as well.

 

  • Zinfandel: The best of both worlds. If you want to taste the intense fruit notes of Zinfandel, About Food recommends matching it with white chocolate. However, if you’re feeling dark, Zinfandel drinkers can often take dark chocolate as a side due to the wine’s higher alcohol levels and spicy undertones.

 

  • Merlot: For those who want to stay sweet but take a walk on the dark side. Milk and dark chocolate go well with Merlot, according to About Food. While the smoothness of milk chocolate makes it a safe bet for Merlot, be cautious with the dark. About Food recommends going only as strong as 55% cacao.

 

  • Pinot Noir: When it comes to chocolate pairings, treat Pinot Noir similar to Merlot as a guide. Pinot Noir, even one that contains fruity notes, is heavy enough to handle medium-dark chocolate, according to Oprah.com. Also, About Food considers milk chocolate a compatible partner of Pinot Noir.

 

Thrifty Liquor in Shreveport and Bossier City Can Help You Reveal Your Sweet Side

Not into dry wines? Don’t let the snobs one-up you. You get to pair your wine with chocolate. Stop by Thrifty Liquor in Shreveport or Bossier City to choose the perfect wine to pair with a delicious treat.  

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