Skip to main content

Easter wines: Days of wine and chocolate

0

View comments

Seriously plummy, and very good with chocolate

One more week till Easter and, as the nation prepares to gorge itself on eggs and bunnies, I’m astonished by the number of emails I’ve received about matching wines with chocolate.

You might think it’s not the most obvious pairing in the world, due to the latter’s rich, intense flavours, ranging from very sweet to bitter – and it certainly presents some challenges.

But in fact there are all sorts of wines that pair well with the sweet stuff – luscious reds, whites, fortified and sparkling. So, where to start?

Well, a major factor in your choice is the type of chocolate you’ll be scoffing.

There’s a big difference between a very sweet white bar – as touted by the Milkybar Kid – and a square of bitter, 90 per cent cocoa dark chocolate such as Lindt’s Dark Supreme Noir (currently my nibble of choice).

Generally, the sweeter the chocolate, the sweeter your wine should be.

  More... Visit Olly on Twitter Visit Olly on Facebook Visit Olly's website

With sugary white chocolate, which is the trickiest to get right with wine, Moscato d’Asti isn’t a bad shout, or you could try a Muscat from the Greek island of Samos.

Milk chocolate is an interesting one.

At a recent dinner at Petrus in London, the sommelier Sylvain Gergeaux paired chef Sean Burbidge’s signature chocolate sphere – a glorious globe of milk ice cream and honeycomb – with a real wow wine.

Usually, he teams it with a Maury, a fortified French red made from Grenache that’s excellent with milk chocolate.

But on my visit, he went off-piste with a Madeira made by Henriques & Henriques from the year… wait for it… 1900.

Wine news

Could you be an ambassador for Japanese Koshu wine? If you’re linked to the UK wine trade, check out koshuofjapan.co.uk for your chance to support this unique style of wine and perhaps win the chance to visit Japan.

Yep, Victoria was still on the throne when those grapes were harvested, and what’s amazing about those old Madeira wines is just how tangy and fresh they remain.

Needless to say, the pairing was sublime.

But if you haven’t got a century-old Madeira knocking about in your cellar, the great news is that today there are 15-year-old examples that offer good value compared to other wines of a similar age – and you can still find the glorious work of Henriques & Henriques in Waitrose and elsewhere.

Wine rules: No 40

When pouring, never allow the bottle to touch the glass. Also, for top marks on etiquette, pour so that the label can be seen. To prevent drips, give your wrist a slight twist – or visit ollysmith.com/shop for one of my Hot Bottle Wine Pourers.

So milk chocolate and Madeira is well worth experimenting with; if in doubt, just make sure you go for a sweeter style like Malmsey or Bual.

Other milk-choc options include very sweet Californian Orange Muscat and Spanish Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro (15%, 50cl), £6.99 in Morrisons.

You could even try a chilled sparkling red with your Easter eggs, such as Brown Brothers Cienna Rosso from Australia (7.5%), available in a case of six for £57 from tesco.com/wine.

    More from Olly Smith...   OLLY SMITH: A grill's best friend: It's barbecue time... and these sizzlers will go with a banger! 29/05/13   OLLY SMITH: The name’s Blanc... Sauvignon Blanc: Bond star Roger finds it very Moore-ish. Here's why 22/05/13   OLLY SMITH: Try a suaver Italian... by sampling Italy's unusual suspects - and a smoother Soave 15/05/13   OLLY SMITH: My crafty pint cost £5,000 01/05/13   OLLY SMITH: Iconic, ever-changing, maturing gracefully - Riesling is the 'gloriously naked' Madonna of wines 24/04/13   OLLY SMITH: The surge in brilliant Bordeaux under £20 to cheer me up 17/04/13   OLLY SMITH: The Pink Floyd of pinot costs £1,800 a bottle, but I've found something else with two noughts knocked off 12/04/13   OLLY SMITH: Perfect pizza partners: How to make the right choice of wine 05/04/13   OLLY SMITH: Try some new wild flavours in the wine aisles this Spring 27/03/13   VIEW FULL ARCHIVE  

But for me, dark chocolate offers the best opportunities for wine pairing.

Thanks to its lower level of sweetness, you can combine it successfully with a red. For maximum dark-chocolate delight, some swear by Zinfandel from California, and others by Carménère from Chile. I prefer Amarone from Italy.

Better yet, though, is Port (see left, or buy one of the last bottles of the amazing Warre’s 2001 LBV Port, £16.99 at Waitrose).

The effect of this warming wine is to cleanse the rich coating of chocolate from the palate, as well as complement the flavour with its natural fruity sweetness.

It is to dark chocolate what sweet cherries are to Black Forest gateau.

Another fine dark-choc partner is sweet PX sherry, which is also great poured over vanilla ice cream.

Alternatively, go for a bottle of Liqueur Muscat from down under – De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat NV (50cl, 18%) is £15.99 in Majestic.

But if you really want to taste the best, book a table at Petrus and ask for Sylvain to serve his magical Maury with your chocolate sphere.

The number is 020 7592 1609 – just remember to tell him I sent you.

Ask Olly...

Is is safe to drink sherry after the ‘consume-by’ date? Generally sherry is best consumed fresh once the bottle is opened – ideally within a few days. But you can store opened bottles for several weeks longer by using a clever gadget called Wine Preserve that you can find at aroundwine.co.uk and use across all your wines to keep them fresh.



Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o