What could be more attractive as a gastronomic combination than the food of the Aztec and Maya gods and the majestic and popular drink of Greek gods? What we are happily recommending is this joyful marriage of wine and chocolate. (We are not alone in this, more and more have fallen in love with this chocolate and wine combination everywhere.) Together they create something completely new, a higher quality in the harmony of flavours and an exciting experience. They are like a good marriage where the partners complement each other perfectly, allowing each other’s characters to fully blossom and enhance each other’s strong points.
How to Select and Taste Chocolate with Wine
One basic consideration is that the best result comes from combining the best possible chocolate and wine. Do not settle for less!
The wine should be a just a little sweeter than the chocolate. The combination will tend to be more sweet than bitter. This is easy to achieve even with dry wines because chocolates with a high cocoa content hjave a taste that is more bitter. Choose a fruity wine, regardless of whether it is white or red.
If the chocolate colour is the basis for pairing, white chocolate is usually recommended with white wines, especially those with a full body (such as scented and spicy Furmint or Muscatel).
To emphasise the softness of milk chocolate, sweet whites, such as Tokaj, are a good choice. Especially if the chocolate is combined with nuts, walnuts or almonds!
Dark chocolates are best paired with full-bodied reds such as Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Dark chocolates with a very high cocoa content (above 80%) are best paired with Mediterranean red wines, matured in oak barrels, with a mature body, ruby colour and softly rounded tannins.
Tasting Wine and Chocolate
You have to do this properly and spend due time on it! There are hundreds of aroma components in wine and in chocolate and they need to be allowed to flourish.
Tasting wine with chocolate always starts with the chocolate first. Put a small piece of chocolate in your mouth and allow the flavours to develop as the chocolate melts. The aromas gradually show themselves. Take some time to analyse the flavours, taking deep breaths in order to make the experience all the more intense. It is now time to take the wine in your hand and take a small sip, just as you started with the chocolate. Let the flavours develop in your mouth, and let the acids, tannins and fruity components take shape.
Some of the most popular combinations today also originate from the Mayas, when cocoa butter was used to create a mix that also contained honey, vanilla or chilli. Follow in their footsteps and try various other combinations, such as ginger, cinnamon and cloves. For further delicacies, try visiting some of the newly opened small shops and delis.
Positive Physiological Effects- We know why they taste good but they are beneficial.
The flavonoids included in cocoa are antioxidants that protect the body against free radicals. The potassium and magnesium contents in cocoa make it a supporter of the heart and circulatory system. Red wines also contain a group of antioxidants (polifenols) that play a special role in maintaining health by preventing the deposit of cholesterol.
The theobromine content in chocolate results in enlivening, refreshing and mood-imrovement effects. The polifenols in red grapes are also mood improving and reduce heart and circulatory problems.
Quite apart from that, they are both aphrodisiacs. They deserve to be loved!
Wine with chocolate is delicious and beneficial, an unforgettable experience that sooner or later everyone should try.
