Wine with the Basignanis: The Divine Combo

Being both human and a female, you’d be hard pressed to get me to admit that there is something in this world more divine than the mouth-watering combination of milk, sugar and cocoa commonly known as chocolate. Whether it’s a Hershey’s bar or a gourmet confection, I show no prejudice, no favoritism, and absolutely no compunction in eating the world’s most beloved decadence…in its entirety.

But then I turned 21.

Ladies and gentlemen, enter: Wine.

Yes, that’s right. Chocolate can get better.

But not just any chocolate. And not just any wine. A certain weekend last September comes to mind, when my friend Jen brought back a one-pound Reese’s Cup from a day jaunt to Hershey Park. We settled in on the blue standard-issue dorm couch in her apartment to devour the chocolate/peanut buttery goodness, watch a movie and drink some wine (red for her, white for me…), the labels of which I can no longer remember. 8 oz of chocolate each (to put this in perspective, 8 oz is the equivalent of an entire bag of chocolate chips) and a little more than a glass of wine later…well, gluttony is its own punishment.

Yes, that evening was an example of several wine-chocolate do-nots. Do not over-eat the chocolate. Do not drink just any wine. And, for goodness’ sake, do not blame either the wine or the chocolate if you do (I still cannot eat even a mini-Reese’s).

Which chocolate and which wine is really all about personal preference, but there are some general guidelines to follow: the lighter the chocolate, the lighter-bodied the wine, deep reds go best with the velvety, dark chocolates (Kim Rigby at Parfections—more about that later—makes, for example, a dark chocolate and Port wine truffle that is absolutely to die for), etc. Basically, you try to match flavor-weight with flavor-weight. You wouldn’t want your chocolate to over-power the wine, or vice-versa.

But as Cap’n Barbossa says…they’re more like guidelines anyway.

There is no cut and dry, this wine goes with this chocolate. Because, as we discussed previously in the post about terroir, no two Merlots or Sauvignon Blancs or Rieslings or (I could go on ad infinitum) taste the same. And as with wine, so with chocolate. There is also the added pitfall of personal taste: some wine and chocolate lovers pair sweet with sweet while others claim that a sweet wine makes the chocolate bitter. There’s really no way to find out but to taste for yourself (and what a deliciously trying ordeal that would be, no?).

My best suggestion is to find a wine you like and try different chocolates, or find a chocolate and try it with several different wines, then make a party of it! Buy several bottles of wine (or ask everyone to bring a favorite, making sure not to overlap grapes too much) and pair them with white, milk and dark chocolates (preferably from the same chocolatier) to see which combinations stand out.

But if you’re looking for a gift, or just don’t have time to taste all the hundreds of chocolate and wine combinations, stop by the winery April 30 and May 1 for Swing into Spring and the release of this year’s Vidal and Riesling. Kim from Parfections will be here with chocolates to pair with our wines and the answers to any of your lingering questions about which wine or which chocolate. Having spent one of my workdays here at the winery tasting Kim’s delectable chocolates (…don’t you just want to wrest my job out of my hands and into yours?), I do not hesitate in issuing the following imperative: you simply must come discover the magical combination of wine and chocolate for yourself.