Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Cultural Geography

Wine represents a sense of place, or what the French call terrior.  It is the climate, soil, and environment the grapes grow in.  Using terrior as a premise, we may look at a designated area in the realm of cultural geography.  This concept takes into account the culture of an area—people—architecture—economic environment—restaurants and foodstuffs its inhabitants consume—natural yeasts and smells in the air—and an infinite amount of virtue the area represents.  Most importantly, it looks beyond political boundaries to incorporate new ideas and culture.
Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco
Traveling to California’s Bay Area, this sommelier experienced many microclimates and cultural communities.  Why is the sourdough bread so good in San Francisco?  The natural yeasts from the salty bay air.  The fish tasted like the sea because I could see the sea from where I was eating!  The temperature would drop fifteen degrees because I drove down a 2000 foot mountain.  There are a lot of idealists in Berkeley and Techies in Silicon Valley. These are just a few components within the equation of cultural geography in the Bay Area.

Traditionally Chicago is known for steaks and potatoes.  There are too many steakhouses in Chicago, but there is a good reason for it.  The stockyards opened on Christmas Day in 1865 on Chicago's Southside.  With its central location, train tracks were built and Chicago became their hub for distribution.  Ranchers all over the Midwest and Great Plains herded their cattle to the train depots and sent them to Chicago to be butchered.  Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906 exposing the working conditions of America's meatpacking industry. He describes extensively the sanitary conditions of the Southside Stockyards and it led to many government regulations on sanitation.  So these are some reasons why Chicago loves steak representing its cultural geography.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Choking Confusion

Sunchokes are one of my favorite titillating tubers.  There is a lot of choking confusion on what they actually are.  Sunchokes are also called Jerusalem Artichokes. I think some religious heresy might have partial blame here.


Sunchokes are a tuber like a potato.  They grow in the ground and produce a flower that looks like a sunflower.  Indigenous to North America,  they are crunchy, white in flesh, and are excellent sauteed or in salad.  Explorers to the New World noticed that the Indians cultivated them and brought them back to Europe. 

There are several theories on how it became associated with artichokes and Jerusalem.    Sunchokes somehow migrated to the gardens of Cardinal Farnese in Rome around 1617, near the Vatican.  The Italian term for these tubers is girasole.  Its rough Italian translation is sunflower or "towards the sun."  Somehow the Cardinal translated them to Latin to English to Italian and back again.  They might have grown towards Jerusalem.  There seems to be something lost in translation...

Another theory is a gardner from Ter-Heusen, Holland distributed his "artichoke-apples" throughout Europe and the New World.  During the 17th century the Puritan-Pilgrims in their original-sin-theological tongue translated Ter-Heusen to Jerusalem...while in Salem???

This should unchoke some confusion into these crunchy delectable tubers. 

Saturday, August 27, 2011

10 Commandments of Nouvelle Cuisine

Prior to the Nouvelle Movement, cuisine was homogenized, lacked regionality, and utilized heavy cream and butter sauces.  A lot of this was based upon the codification of Escoffier's cooking.  America's food has been behind the curve for decades, but is about to catch up if not surpass France.

As an alternative to the Michelin Guide, Henri Gault and Christian Millau began publishing the Gault-Millau Guide in the early 1970's and christened Nouvelle Cuisine in 1973.  The following are the 10 Commandments of the Nouvelle Cuisine.

1. Avoid unnecessary complications.
2. Shorten cooking times
3. Shop regularly at markets
4. Shorten the menu
5. Don't hang or marinate game
6. Avoid too rich sauces
7. Return to regional cuisine
8. Investigate latest techniques
9. Consider diet and health
10. Invent constantly

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Orwell Once Washed Dishes

Down and Out in Paris and London is a great read to get an accurate account of what the labor conditions were like in a hotel/restaurant in the 1920's.  Eric Blair (Orwell's real name) worked as a porter in Parisian Hotels & Restaurants for a short time.  This book, literally, helped me get a grip on the stench and rats of the restaurant business.  Sanitation back then was gruesome!  If you don't want to wash , you've got to start at the bottom, constantly learn, work hard, and read this book. 
dishes anymore

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Prohibition Bibuli

Constantly researching the foundations of American Food & Drink, I rediscovered this article written by H.L. Mencken published under his pseudonym.  In typical Mencken fashion, he probably experienced much of the bibuli that he writes about, so you know it's authentic!   Check out www.oldmagazinearticles.com for other fun Prohibition stuff...

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Squashing Summer to Fall


As summer harvest is at its peak, I start to think and calibrate my senses for fall. I stop thinking summer squash and start thinking winter squash.

One of my favorite pairings I have been playing with over the last several years is heirloom Squash Soup. Every chef has their own take on this soup. The classic heirloom squash most chefs use is butternut squash, but now we see many heirloom varietals. Pairing squash soup can be tricky. How much cream or butter is added? How much spice? Is the squash roasted of boiled? How refined is the soup—is it chunky or pureed smooth? Is it garnished with crème fraiche, sour cream, or crab? All these variables are considered when choosing a wine.

With a rich creamy style of squash soup, I prefer a full bodied chardonnay that has undergone a good amount of malo, but still has good acidity. When the soup becomes spicy with cinnamon, nutmeg, and curries I lean towards an off-dry gewürztraminer or Vouvray which counteracts the spice. I also like a dry fortified Madeira with a bright acidity, served slightly chilled. (Rare Wine Co. “Charleston Sercial,” Available at Binny’s Beverage Depot if you are in the Chicago area) When the squashes are roasted or grilled, I start thinking about reds and pinot noirs are perfect. A pinot noir from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley has the fruit, earth, and weightiness to compliment any squash soup. (I like some of the single vineyard pinots from Martinelli Winery)

Monday, August 22, 2011

Sauvignon Blanc Styles

Sauvignon blanc’s origin is western France.  It is a acidic white varietal that displays herbaceous, grassy, and citrus aromas.  It pairs well with oysters, shellfish, seafood, green vegetables, tomatoes, cured meats, and goat cheese.  Sauvignon rarely takes well to oak and is generally meant to be consumed young.

The two major sauvignon blanc communes of the Loire Valley in northwest France are Sancerre and Pouilly Fume.  Sancerre is a grassy and steely style that became fashionable as a Central Park picnic wine in the 80’s.  Pouilly Fume is a style that is a hint  richer and is sometimes aged shortly in neutral oak for a fuller bodied sauvignon blanc. 

In Bordeaux, France, sauvignon blanc is often blended with a white varietal called semillon which gives it a round finish.  In the commune of Graves it has a good balance of texture, citrus, and minerality.  In some of the northerly communes it can actually age for a decade or more. Sauvignon Blanc is also a blending grape in the famous dessert wine Sauternes. 

In the new world these traditional styles are often mimicked.  California’s style is powerful and citrusy often displaying qualities of lemon and grapefruit.  Robert Mondavi coined the term fume blanc in reference to a California sauvignon blanc made in a style of Pouilly fume. 
Sauvignon Blanc was first planted in New Zealand in the late 70’s.  The style their pushed the envelope with acidity, and hence, the term racing acidity. New Zealand sauvignon blanc is often an incredible value.  They have distinctively green and steely notes, with a nose of passion fruit and kiwi.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Wine Alphabet

If a sommelier was to write the alphabet for Sesame Street, the following is what it might look like.  It is also good training for kids to get on the fast track for the food and wine world.  I would gladly sing this with Cookie Monster...


Happy L-M-N-O-Pzzzzzz...

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Picking Grapes


Cabernet Franc Cluster Ripening
Grapes ripen at different rates depending on the climate & their physiology.  Pinot Noir in Monterey County may begin to ripen in August due to its warm Mediterranean influenced climate.  Pinot Noir from Burgundy may not ripen till the end of September where there is a cool continental climate.  Pinot noir’s physiology is such that it has a thin skin and is very sensitive to sunlight, humidity, rain, wind, and temperature.  The grapes do not always ripen in cooler terriors.  For instance, the Willamette Valley had an ideal growing season in 2008 with a good balance of rain, sun, and wind. The grapes ripened all at once and the entire valley was picked in about 4 days.
 
Vignerons will pick grapes at different times depending on the style of wine they are trying to create.  Some use mechanized methods involving tractors where vine rows are set a certain distance apart to allow for the tractors to move through the vineyards.   Other traditional methods are done by hand, especially those vineyards that are planted on a steep hill or at the top of a mountain.  To pick riesling in the Mosel in Germany, they have to repel attached to a rope because it is really steep!
Row Spacing on a Gentle Slope
Some vintners use modern technology to pick.  They measure sugar levels and assess the PH of the grapes to determine when the grapes are ready to be picked.  The traditional method involves tasting the grapes while in the vineyard.   Different rows ripen at different rates within the same vineyard and, therefore, are picked at different times.  This just scratches the surface of the grape picker's art.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Jefferson's Wine

The following book is a great read on Jefferson's travels through France and Europe. It documents his food and wine experiences.

http://www.amazon.com/Passions-Wines-Travels-Thomas-Jefferson/dp/product-description/0961352531
Thomas Jefferson is often considered America’s first food & wine connoisseur.   He brought back many fine wines and vine clippings from his travels in France.  At Monticello he experimented constantly with viticulture and winemaking.  The most expensive bottles of wine ever sold at auction came from his private cellar. 
President Jefferson introduced French culinary technique to the Whitehouse. He had an oval table placed in the dining room—there were no heads at the formal dining room table.  He made it a point to pay for his gastronomic habit out of his own pocket. His guests were invited as Thomas Jefferson, not President Jefferson.  During the French Revolution, while in Paris, Jefferson witnessed many of the aristocracy’s top chefs and winemakers taken to the guillotine!
Jefferson is accredited with bringing many foodstuffs to light in American society.  These include Mac N' Cheese, eggplant, Parmesan Cheese, just to name of few. 

To see the effects of Jefferson's efforts, check out Virginia wines.  My favorite Virginia winery is Barboursville Vineyards.  It was designed by Jefferson for his good friend and neighbor James Barbour, the first Governor of Virginia.  Today, Italian born winemaker Luca Paschina does an extraordinary job of preserving the history and producing wines that are reflective of the Monticello Terrior.  Viognier and cabernet franc are the two varieties that are thriving in this region. 

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Euphoria & Wine

Umami foodstuffs creates an entirely new experience—it might teleport you to the next dimension. Unami, first discovered by a group of scientists at the University of Tokyo in the last 1960’s, is considered to be the fifth taste. Capsaicin (spice) could be argued to be the sixth, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…


Traditionally there are four tastes: Salty, sweet, bitter, and sour (acidity). Everyone’s palate is different, but generally salty and sweet is perceived on the front of the tongue, bitterness in the back, and sour (acidity) on the sides. Saltiness is prevalent in wines that are produced in vineyards close to the ocean and salty sea air like the Sherry wines produced in the village of Jerez in the south of Spain. Sweetness is a result of high residual sugar levels prevalent in many dessert wines. Bitterness is ubiquitous with tannins in grape skins. Acidity is particularly perceived in high acid varietals like sauvignon blanc and pinot noir.

Umami gets a bad rap sometimes due to MSG, but foodstuffs naturally high in glutamates bring higher levels of umami. Soy sauce, fermented fish and cured salty meats are just to name a few.

From a basic wine perspective, umami is created by the combination of acid and salt and is further accentuated by the alcohol in the wine. High acid wines make salty umami foodstuffs pop. (Simplistically put, it has to do with the tongue’s receptors perceiving glutamate) Sommeliers love high acid wines and well seasoned food. Umami delivers a euphoric like quality to the food and wine experience.

Watch This...
http://www.heavy.com/comedy/comedy-videos/the-simpsons/2010/12/the-simpsons-antacid-trip/

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

How to Taste Wine at a Local Wine Festival

If this Sommelier were to attend a local Wine Festival, the following is how I would approach tasting at such an event. (The Naperville Wine Festival is near…) http://www.napervillewinefestival.com/


Sommeliers taste wine to objectively assess wine for quality and faults. We are trained to put our personal tastes aside. Since this is a fun and entertaining tasting, I would taste the wines I enjoy. Observing several hundred wines in the program, I would first walk the entire event, discovering all of the offerings, styles, and wines represented. I would decide which wines I am really excited about. I always taste these first. Your tongue and mouth are mussels, and tasting many wines will make you mentally and physically exhausted. The reality is you’re not going to be able to taste all of the wines. Don’t rush, less is more!  Quality always over quantity.

In a restaurant or trade tasting, I always taste white wines first, reds second, and dessert wines last. Sommeliers are trained to speed taste. The reality of a wine festival is the wines are spread across a vast area and this is not pragmatic to taste in the aforementioned order. I make sure I have a bottle of water with me to cleanse my palate between tastes. This also comes in handy to rinse your tasting glass between wines. Utilize the spit buckets! You don’t want to alter your state of mind to effectively taste wine. I always carry a pen and note the wines that I enjoy in the program listings.  Take lots of notes to remember what you tasted.

Your tasting companions should be friends that are open minded and there to learn, enjoy, be in good conversation, and taste wine. Keep groups small if possible. If your companions are going because they want to get inebriated, tell them to stay home or go elsewhere. The romance, mystique, and pleasure of wine are destroyed with such dubious characters. They are going for the wrong reasons. (This is why many wineries and tasting rooms out west have started to post signs saying No Limos or Groups Above 6.)

Start conversations with winemakers and/or winery representatives. I am always curious about the back stories of the wines. How are they made? How did the winery get started? How are the vineyards managed? What is the terrior or climate like? I always ask the winemaker how the wine should be served…they all have a different answer! I always like to get firsthand accounts and usually extract some great stories.

At regional wine events, there are usually many regional wineries. A lot of these wines are fermented with local berries and hybrid grapes (vignoles, chardonel, norton, etc). Most of them are of poor quality. (Taste sugary sweet, like diesel fuel, etc.) I am always polite when tasting them, but am usually spitting them out immediately. I always go in with an open mind. Sometimes you do taste something good, but usually for every fifty wines you taste, only one is good. This is how I discover wines from off the beaten path. Some may find it strange, but I taste everything because I want to understand why it is not palatable. Maybe it’s too acidic, sweet, or bitter. It could be disjointed, flabby, flat, and not in balance. These elements need to sing in harmony.

Happy Tasting!

Monday, August 15, 2011

10 Realities of Restaurant Social Media

The following are 10 realities about restaurant social media in no particular order.  They are a collection of thoughts, strategies, and frustrations I have encountered over the past 2 years.

1. This is a conversation! One must understand the relationships of classical push and pull marketing. There is no substitution for word of mouth which is hands down the best type of getting the message out. If the content is poor, no one will listen. Tell a story! Create a Buzz!


2. Offer specials and coupons—get special and coupon seeking patrons. If this is the clientele type you want to attract, by all means do this. Once you start offering specials and coupons your clients will expect them. By offering $3 well drinks on Fridays, you are pushing clients to the venue. For craft and artisan restaurants this doesn’t attract good clientele. For college bars this is what you want. Pulling, is word of mouth and sparking curiosity of the clientele.

3. Take lots of pictures and post them. They don’t have to be high resolution either. I invested in a pair of photo umbrellas with lights and they really do the trick. You don’t need Photoshop—though it helps—it’s all about figuring out the different file formats and media platforms and getting them to sync…i.e. Flickr → Twitter → Blog → FB and back again. You can edit and manage the pictures in a program like Picasa by Google.

4. Write a posting schedule with frequency and content. This should be a script that is constantly evolving. Content should remain current. Though, there is no substitute for spontaneous creative content. This can easily be set up in an excel spreadsheet. It looks strange when a potential client goes on the FB page and the last post was 6 weeks ago. It makes it look like you are going out of business.  If you devise a strategy and it doesn't seem to be working, change the strategy.  If the conversation doesn't seem to be working, change the conversation.

5. Don’t spend money on special software or other management/training stuff. The technology moves too fast. By the time you may learn something, it may already be outdated. This goes for books and guides too. The best way to learn is trial and error. You will become extremely frustrated at times. Read blogs/google searches/recent articles to learn. Do your own research. See what other businesses are doing in the market and who/what/when/where/why is generating web traffic. Use this as a model. Distinguish yourself.

6. Have multiple peops have access to admin features and logins to accounts. The conversation should be attended to in real time. I use Seesmic Desktop to manage multiple accounts.

7. Social Media should not be the primary advertising/marketing medium. It is a support vehicle. It’s great to have a lot of fans on Facebook—but—if you have 1500 fans/likes on the restaurant page and your restaurant is in New York, and the FB insight page says that 900 of those fans have California addresses, what are the chances that those fans will regularly patronize your restaurant and spend money?

8. Even if you have a budget to have a firm manage and devise a social media strategy, you will still need to participate and have access to it. The strategy needs to be a team effort.

9. The main platform to use is Facebook. You’ll notice that at the bottom of TV commercials they no longer say the company’s website but FB address. The format of electronic media is evolving faster and faster. Who knows, FB may be obsolete in three years. Don’t invest too much money in a standalone website! You can essentially design and start a blog for free and host it for a minimal monthly cost.

10. Damned if you do damned of you don’t! If you are starting a new business, you need a stronger presence in social media. If you have a client base, don’t invest too much time in it. If your market segment is older, older people statistically don’t use FB as much as the younger market segment. The social media bubble will eventually burst!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fermenting Forward

After nearly three years, I have resigned my post as Sommelier at SugarToad and Hotel Arista. It has been a journey with many challenges and successes.  I am looking forward to pursue more “fermentation focused” creative projects and opportunities. The team at SugarToad and Hotel Arista has accomplished many great things since its inception in 2008. They have been committed to the general welfare of employees, sustainable business practices, and supporting the local business community. It is truly one of the great amenities in Chicago’s Western Suburbs.



Some distinctions that display SugarToad and Hotel Arista’s commitment to sustainability & excellence include:

First Leed “green” Certified Hotel and Restaurant in the State of Illinois


Green Seal Certification


4 Diamond Award from AAA


Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence


3-Stars From Phil Vettel & Chicago Tribune


Best Hotel in Naperville 3 Years Running


I wish the team much success in the future. I have great affection and gratitude for the learning experiences and knowledge I received at SugarToad. It was a true privilege and honor to serve.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Going Beyond Napa

Before the 1970’s, California wine was considered table wine and of poor quality. The famous Judgment of Paris in 1976 changed the wine paradigm elevating California wines to world class quality. Now, Napa Valley is America’s most celebrated wine region and often referred to “Disneyland for Adults,” and California’s Tourism Bureau promotes California as the “Land of Food and Wine.” Frankly, there are just too many limos in Napa for me.

Vineyard land in Napa Valley can easily cost a hundred thousand dollars an acre, which makes wine from this region increasingly more expensive. Most of Napa’s wine is full-bodied, rich, and one-dimensional. A drive through Napa Valley nets an observation of every slope being smothered in vines. The economics of producing wine make winemakers look for a new frontier to plant their vineyards—the Central Coast, Mendocino, and Lake County are just a few California wine regions that have emerged over the last few decades.

Oregon and Washington wines have exploded over the past decade. Oregon’s Willamette Valley offers earthy and powerful pinot noirs, while eastern Washington offers a vast wine growing dynamic where one can find everything from chardonnay to cabernet and full-bodied syrah. The Cascade Range helps divide the Pacific Northwest with the western side influenced with rain from the Pacific and the eastern side dry and dessert like. The values the Pacific Northwest offers are immense.

My challenge is to be forward thinking and try wines from emerging American regions that don’t have any Pacific coastline. Wines from the mountain regions of Arizona are ripe, yet opulent—The high altitude vineyards actually don’t have heat problems, but frost ones. Viognier and Cabernet Franc from Virginia are refined and food friendly—Viognier is argued to be Thomas Jefferson’s favorite white variety. A short drive from Chicago to Lake Michigan’s Eastern Shore offers an immense potential for future winemaking—The distinct terrior from the lake effect offers loamy soil and curious winds. I am excited about the Alsatian varietals being vinified in Michigan. Always be open minded to the evolving American wine paradigm!

Friday, August 12, 2011

How to Taste & Describe Wine

The following are brief analytic instructions on how I taste wine.  There are also desciptors I like to use on how to descibe the color of wine as well as descriptors to describe the smells and flavors.

(1) SITE Hold the wine against a white backdrop and look at the wine assessing the color and clarity. Swirl the wine to observe the viscosity or “legs” (aka tears) as they form down the side of the glass. Fast, slow, clear, or colorful— legs do not mean anything in regards to the quality of the wine it just helps to determine the weight and body!

(2) SMELL Swirl the wine to release the aromas and smell in small sniffs. (Just like a police dog!) Repeat several times. FEW! Fruit, Earth, Wood! First think of fruit smells, then earthy (floral) smells, then wood (baking spice) smells.

(3) TASTE Take a small taste of the wine letting it coat your tongue. Repeat if necessary. What is the body of the wine—LIGHT, MEDIUM, FULL? FEW! Fruit, Earth, Wood! First think of fruit tastes, then earthy tastes, then wood tastes, if any.


SITE & COLOR SPECTRUM

WHITE WINE: PALE YELLOW-GREEN →YELLOW-STRAW→YELLOW-GOLD→GOLD→YELLOW-BROWN→BROWN
RED WINE: PURPLE→RUBY→RED→GARNET-RUST→BROWN
(I believe this is stolen from Kevin Zraly's great read...)

WINE DESCRIPTORS words & verbs to descibe wine



FRUIT

ORCHARD-APPLE, PEAR, QUINCE

CITRUS-LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, POMELO, GRAPEFRUIT, TANGERINE, CLEMENTINE

STONE-PEACH, APRICOT, NECTARINE

TROPICAL-PINEAPPLE, GUAVA, BANANA, STAR FRUIT, LYCHEE, MANGO, PAPAYA, KIWI, PASSION FRUIT

RED/BERRY-STRAWBERRY, RASPBERRY, BLUEBERRY, BLACKBERRY, GOOSEBERRY, CRANBERRY, POMEGRANATE

BLACK/DARK-PLUM, CHERRY, CURRANT, FIG, CASSIS, DATES



EARTH

HERBS-ROSEMARY, SAGE, THYME, PARSLEY, EUCALYPTUS, CILANTRO, LAVENDER, FENNEL, GREEN PEPPER, OLIVE, ASPARAGUS, TOBACCO, BLACK PEPPER, WHITE PEPPER, CUCUMBER, BLACK TEA, WHITE TEA, LEMONGRASS

FLORAL (FLOWERS)-ORANGE BLOSSOM, VIOLET, ROSE, LILAC, TULIP, HIBISCUS, GRASS, HONEYSUCKLE, BEES NEST, BEES WAX, CHAMOMILE, YEASTY, BREAD DOUGH, BISCUITY

EARTHINESS-MUSHROOM, FOREST FLOOR, CEDAR, PINE, MULCH, CHANTERELLE, MOREL, COMPOST, TRUFFLE, PETROL, DIESEL

ANIMAL-BACON FAT, LEATHER, BARNYARD, SWINE, CAT



WOOD

(OAK INFLUENCE IN WINE)

VANILLA-VANILLA BEAN, VANILLA EXTRACT

NUTS-HAZELNUT, ALMOND, MACADAMIA NUT, COCONUT, WALNUT, PECAN

BAKING SPICE-CINNAMON, NUTMEG, ALLSPICE, CLOVE, ANISE

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Chocolate & Wine

Chocolate—Its Latin name is theobroma cocoa—”food of the gods”. Chocolate may be refined into many different styles, degrees of sweetness, and bitterness. Having the privilege to work with some great chocolatiers, I learned of an argument that white chocolate is not chocolate—It contains no cocoa solids. When pairing desserts and chocolate, I try to avoid overly sweet desserts, and use the rule of thumb that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert.


My favorite pairing with chocolate is Port wine. There is a magical symmetry of a sweet Port that compliments the bitterness of chocolate. If the chocolate has fruit elements like cherries or raspberries, I lean towards a Ruby or 10 Year Tawny Port. If the chocolate has a higher percent of cocoa, I lean towards a more complex Vintage Port. With caramel and nut elements with chocolate, I recommend a sweet Cream Sherry or sweet pedro ximenez from Montilla-Moriles in the south of Spain that have nutty and maple syrup qualities.

For a domestic option I like late harvest zinfandel. At the time of this writing I am pairing a late harvest zinfandel from Dashe Cellars (http://www.dashecellars.com/) from Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley with a chocolate cake and toffee ice cream. It has jammy raisin qualities with subtle notes of baking spice that are perfect for chocolate.

Red Wine and chocolate? I prefer not to pair red wine with chocolate because the bitterness of the chocolate can throw off the complexity of the red wine--but, many palates prefer it. If red wine is preferred over sweet wine, a fruit forward full bodied jammy red will stand up to the chocolate. Reds that pair well with chocolate include fruit forward Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and ripe jammy California Zinfandels. Red wines with massive tannin structure should be avoided.

Chocolate Theme Music—Click Below...