What kind of wine?!
What kind of wine?
I'm having a chocolate themed party next month, and I was wanting to have some wine to serve. What kind would be best for this occation? I don't know much about wine and would like to keep it relatively inexpensive. Thanks!
Answers: I could see going in a few different ways on this. You might try more than one - all are relatively inexpensive.
REDS - some people will tell you to go "dry" to contrast with the chocolate, but I say NO, go with fruity or spicy reds...
* Shiraz (or syrah) - Australians do shiraz quite well. It's sort of sharp, spicy, would go well with a rich chocolate.
* Red zinfandel - should be able to find a fruity tone.
* Barberra - an unusual varietal, a little rare, but getting more popular, and affordable. Rabbit Ridge in California, or a real Italian one.
WHITES - Unlike the reds, you could go with dry if you want, but I still recommend a sweeter wine, though something light-bodied...
* Reisling - classic fruity flavor, would be great with chocolate
* Gerwurtztraminer - also very sweet, though more so for German than for California/U.S. German is very sweet, US is more peppery - I really do like gerwurtz from either place, though. (Pronouce it "gerVERTZtrameener")
* Gavi di gavi - this is an Italian wine, has a citrus-y flavor, very light but very distinctive, would be a nice contrast to chocolate on the palate.
ENJOY! (Drop my a note on my profile e-mail link and let me know how it went.) Definitely a red, something "big," warm, and velvety (the liquor store employee will know what you mean) with chocolate or fruity undertones. A California zinfandel? try these wines, they are sweeter than normal.
gewurztraminer (spelling?)
port or dessert wine
go to a wine shop and ask the same question. Well what food are you serving? Just traditional chocolate things like desserts? If so, you'll want dessert wines! They tend to be much sweeter, and rather nice actually. . . .
If you want to veer away from "tradition" you may want to have a basic red and a nice dry white as well if people may want to have something slightly less sweet than an all chocolate party! LOL it depends on the kind of choc you want your wine to be as sweet if not sweeter then your choc.
White choc-go with a sherry
Milk choc- go with a light bodied merlot (concannon puts out a good cheap merlot)
Dark- go with a cab (concannon also has a cheap cab. this is a CA wine I lived in Ca but now in TX and they have it here it is about 9 a bottle) Burgandy, Merlot or maybe even a Spanish Rioja or anyother hearty red. Ask the person at your liquor store and tell'em your budget per bottle - 5 to 8 dollars each. If you want to try something specific for chocolate, you may go for a Barolo Chinato, a fortified wine from Piedmont, Italy based on famous Barolo wine spiced with quinine bark, rhubarb, gentiane and cardamom. If your wine merchant is big enough, he should have some (brand suggestion: Cocchi or Cappellano). Most wines don't match chocolate too well or at all, so I'd go for aged (dark) rhum otherwise - if possible of course! :) sauvignon blanc Go with a PORT!!!!!!! For fun, I would go with two kinds of chocolate, and two kinds of wine.
Champagne (sparkling wine) goes well with milk chocolate - particularly chocolate macadamia nuts, by the way. I understand wanting to keep the cost down but do try to get a real sparking wine (methode champenoise), not one of those nasty ones where they pump the bubbles in the bottle. Get a Brut - Gloria Ferrer is a good lower cost one - if you can afford a little more, Roderer Estate (California) is excellent.
For dark chocolate, Zinfandel (that's the dark red one) is the BEST - and the good news is than Zins generally are less expensive wines. Ravenswood makes some very nice low cost Zinfandels starting at less than $10 a bottle (at least here in CA). Or you can go with a nice full bodied Cabernet, if you prefer.
