WGBH - Champagne RSS http://www.wgbh.org/ WGBH Content Relevant to the Topic of: Champagne RSS en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 EST Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:32 PM +0000 <![CDATA[We Heart Wine AND Chocolate!]]> http://www.wgbh.org//articles/We-Heart-Wine-AND-Chocolate-5557 http://www.wgbh.org//articles/We-Heart-Wine-AND-Chocolate-5557
Friends and Members of WGBH gathered at One Guest St. to celebrate Valentine's Day. They sampled wines paired with Chocolee Chocolates, located in Boston's South End. (Photos by Volunteer Phil DiPrima)

Yes, you CAN try this at home! Below is the list of wine and chocolate pairings our guests sampled. Give them a try:

Wine: Pacific Rim Organic Riesling **voted favorite pairing of the evening
Chocolate: Valrhona Ivorie “Feves” (35% cacao)
Chocolate: Valrhona Guanaja “Feves” (70% cacao)
Why: Lean and off-dry, this Riesling is refreshing and crisp and is often paired with spicy Asian dishes. Start the night with an experiment from one end of the chocolate spectrum to the other, and see which you find to be the better match!



Wine: 2009 Oveja Negra Sauvignon Blanc / Carménère blend
Chocolate: Hazelnut Bark with White Chocolate (70% cacao)
Chocolate: Valrhona Jivara “Feves” (40% cacao)
Why: This very unique wine blend – 85% white grape, 15% red grape! – offers citrus and minerality on the nose, followed by spice and earthiness on the palate. Try it with the Dark on Dark Truffle for a pleasurable match that’s just as unexpected! Then try it with our one milk chocolate of the night for – maybe? – a more middle-of-the-road experience…


Wine: Chilensis Carménère
Chocolate: Valrhona Manjari “Feves” (64% cacao)
Chocolate: Valrhona Guanaja “Feves” (70% cacao)
Why: The previous wine’s 15% Carménère is the perfect segway to the 100% Carménère of this Chilensis wine. The Chilensis, a deep ruby wine from Chile, offers lots of fruit (strawberry, plum, red cherry) to go along with more subtle notes of chocolate and spice. Try both Valrhona dark chocolates of the night – one with slightly more cacao than the other – and see which one captures the chocolate note of the wine.


Wine: 2010 Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon
Chocolate: Valrhona Jivara “Feves” (40% cacao)
Chocolate: Valrhona Guanaja “Feves” (70% cacao)
Why: This wine gives you bright cherry, dark, plum, and toasted oak. But it also serves as a perfect platform to repeat the same tasting of chocolates as the previous pairing, except this time with Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Carménère. Which of the two dark chocolates works better with Cab? And is it the same or different than with the Carménère?


Wine: H&G Cabernet Sauvignon Chalk Hill
Chocolate: Valrhona Guanaja “Feves” (70% cacao)
Chocolate: Valrhona Jivara “Feves” (40% cacao)
Why: The ripe, concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon from Sonoma offers black fruit and hints of mocha on the nose. Let the mocha of the wine go head-to-head with the espresso of the chocolate, then ease back into the Valrhona milk chocolate for a more subtle experience.


Wine: Calville Blend 2010 from Eden Vermont Ice Cider Company 
Chocolate: Milk Chocolate Bark with Assorted Nuts, Dried Fruits and Wasabi Peas (70% cacao)
Chocolate: Carmelia Valrhona
Why: This sophisticated dessert wine has a complex, balanced flavor and a long finish. It is made from 100% Vermont apples, concentrated before fermentation using natural winter cold weather. In addition to traditional New England favorites Macintosh and Empire, Russet apples provided full bodied sweetness, Calville Blanc apples provided acidity and citrus notes for balance, and Ashmead's Kernel apples provided natural tannins for structure. Pair the cider first with the heat of the Spiced Poblano Truffle, then contrast it with the smooth milkiness of the Carmelia Valrhona.


Wine: Noval Black Port
Chocolate: Dark Chocolate Almond Bark (70% cacao)
Chocolate: Carmelia Valrhona
Why: The Port offers juicy red fruits and sweet spice, a more-than-able partner to the unusual chocolate toasted almond bark. Then shift gears for a more traditional, end-of-evening pairing of Port with caramel.


You can find these romantic goods at Gordon’s Fine Wine & Liquors in Waltham, Whole Foods Markets in Cambridge and Dedhm, and Chocolee Chocolates in Boston.

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Thanks for attending! Thanks as always to our volunteers! Visit Cryptogram to make your own heart. Use #WGBHFoodie on Twitter to keep in touch!
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