Cocoa Vino

This year I made the ridiculous decision to quit chocolate for Lent. Madness! So as we approach the Easter bank holiday weekend my cupboards are overflowing with cocoa-based products. Rather predictably I decided to write about the best wines to drink alongside your Easter treats. Any excuse, eh?

The most important rule when trying to match wine with any kind of sweet food is that you must pick a wine that is sweeter than the food. For example, if you are eating sweet milk chocolate a la Cadburys with a glass of dry red, the wine will taste even drier to the point of horrid bitterness. However, bitter chocolate (such as the stuff that contains 70% or more cocoa solids) can pair very well with dry reds, as I discovered on a wine tasting at the beautiful Waterford winery in South Africa’s Stellenbosch region (www.waterfordestate.co.za).
 
So which wines should I be taking home with me this Easter? Well, it depends on the type of chocolate you are indulging in…

 

White Chocolate

I will not apologise for my love of white chocolate which I’m constantly told is not real chocolate. So if you’re a fan like me, you need to find a wine that’s super sweet. Moscato d’Asti would be brilliant as it’s got the right level of sugar and a freshness that will help clean the palate. Also Pink Port is an excellent option as it’s full of sweet strawberry and raspberry fruit which works brilliantly (check out M&S’s Pink Port which comes in under £10 and is really tasty).

 

M&S Pink Port £8.99

Milk Chocolate & Dark Chocolate

I personally like to eat my milk and dark chocolate with nutty fortified wines, as this contributes lovely nutty nuances to every mouthful (much like the deliciousness of the purples chocolates in a box of Quality Street). If you like this idea, check out Bual or Malmsey Madeira, or sweet Oloroso sherry.

If however you’re more of a fan of chocolate-coated raisins, try a glass of Pedro Ximenez (PX) sherry which contributes the intense dried fruit notes you’re looking for.

Other fortified dessert wines worth checking out are Banyuls, Rivesaltes Ambré and Rutherglen Muscat from sunny Australia. All of them have the right level of sweetness, flavour intensity and alcohol to stand up to your chocolate addiction.

 

Bitter Chocolate (70%+ cocoa solids)

This is the interesting one, as I mentioned earlier, as this kind of chocolate is not sweet so actually it would be best to serve a dry wines alongside it so as not to enhance the bitterness too much. So I recommend you eat this alongside a big New World Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon - you’ll be fascinated by how well they compliment each other.

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Chateauneuf du Pape (LIDL £7.99)

My mother is a massive fan of LIDL. She bangs on about the wonders of this budget supermarket but I'm yet to be convinced (partly because I refuse to do my weekly shop anywhere other than the Internet). But today I found myself using the LIDL carpark and my typical middle-class guilt led me down the aisles, seeking out the super cheap wines everyone is talking about.

I struggled to find anything that appealed, the selection was pretty uninspiring, but finally decided upon a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape on offer at £7.99 (I'm sorry I can't remember the original price but it was definitely over my £10 budget). My husband, in the midst of a rubbish week, was pretty horrified when I told him where tonight's wine had come from, but after lots of face-pulling he had to admit it was pretty drinkable. Quite light-bodied, sweet red fruits, sweet spice and good acidity. In honesty, there's no way I would have guessed this was a Chateauneuf du Pape in a blind tasting, it tastes more like a Cotes du Rhone or similar, so I would have been disappointed to pay full price for it. However it looks pretty smart and it slipped down a treat with our sausage supper (no that's not a euphemism).

Happy Swigging!