Matching Chocolate with Wine You may remember my brief look at the best wines to drink with chocolate as part of my Matching Easter Foods & Wine blog. In this post I delve deeper into which wines pair well with chocolate but mainly with chocolate-based desserts. Whilst wine and chocolate sound as if they ought to go together – after all they are both products with which many of us reward ourselves or in which we seek comfort – I find it hard to imagine sitting down with a glass of wine and a bar of my favourite chocolate or a box of pralines. Perhaps this is because chocolate can a challenge (something I didn’t think I would ever say). Whilst chocolate is a difficult food to pair perfectly with wine, there are some matches that are made in heaven!   Why is chocolate so hard to match with wine? Generally speaking chocolate is sweet and wine is naturally acidic which makes it difficult to start pairing the two up. Particularly sweet chocolate will make your wine taste more alcoholic, more acidic and even bitter. And if the wine is red, there is the potential for another almighty clash – with the tannins. Sweet food generally can make tannins in wine seem more prominent and even harsh. Dark cocoa-dominant chocolate which has been becoming more popular in the UK in recent years is a little easier to match but even with that there is a problem. Dark chocolate can be very intensely flavoured and that can simply overwhelm the flavours in the wine you are drinking. And I am only talking about plain chocolate here, not the whole gamut of flavours added to chocolate these days like salted caramel, ginger, nuts etc as these bring a whole host of other pairing challenges with them. There is also white chocolate of course though many would argue that this is not in fact chocolate – but if you are a fan of this type, don’t worry, I give a couple of wine pairing suggestions for that below. Different types of chocolate and wines to drink with them Here are a few suggestions for wines (and other drinks) to that would work with the three main types of our much-loved cocoa-based treat:  Milk chocolate and wine The milk-dominant chocolate that is especially popular in the UK (and thought of by some as an imposter) is sweet – and the sweeter something is, the more difficult it can be to match with wine. My tip for all sweet foods is always to pair them with wine that is sweeter. This advice applies here too. So for milk chocolate or lighter but sweet chocolate desserts look to wines like Moscato d’Asti which is sparkling and slightly sweet but also very refreshing. Moscato d’Asti’s acidity helps cut through the sweetness of milk chocolate and creamy chocolate-based desserts. Other wines that could also work well include still wines made from grapes that have been dried and are therefore sweeter like Recioto della Valpolicella or Amarone, a dessert wine like Sauternes or a sweet fortified wine like Vin Doux Naturel or a vin santo. Some say Pedro Ximénez sherry works well but personally – and here’s a hot tip – I prefer a drizzle of PX on a good vanilla ice-cream. Delicious! White chocolate and wine White chocolate is usually even sweeter than milk chocolate so follow the same guidance and find a wine sweeter than the food like the light, slightly sweet but crisp, sparkling wine, Moscato d’Asti already mentioned (also perfect with fruit-based and creamy desserts) or a slightly off-dry Prosecco.   Dark chocolate and wine For a good dark chocolate (with minimum 70% cocoa) or a heavier dark chocolate dessert like a ganache, serve port. My tip is always to match heavier, richer dishes with wines with more body so the weight of a good port is perfect. The sweet, fruity and velvety character of a ruby port will work especially well. And if you like nutty & toffee flavours, a tawny port will fit the bill and even enhance the chocolate flavours. You might get away with some still red wines for example a wine produced from Touriga Nacional grapes, one of the main port grapes, or other wines known for their chocolate-like flavours such as a Zinfandel or a Barossa Valley Shiraz. A few other chocolate & wine suggestions Chocolate soufflé, though often made with dark chocolate, is usually lighter and less sweet than some chocolate-based desserts so would match well with champagne, white or rosé, or a sparkling wine like Crémant de Bourgogne made by the champagne method.   For chocolate dishes that include alcohol such as rum, brandy or orange-flavoured liqueurs, serve a glass of that same alcohol to complement the dish.   For chocolate with dried fruit and nuts tawny port or Pedro Ximénez sherry make a great match.   For chocolate with salt e.g. a salted caramel brownie, beware because salt will reduce the acidity of your wine and make it seem quite flat and even flavourless so make sure that you have a wine with good acidity whether a dessert wine, a Prosecco or a Moscato d’Asti.   Chocolate desserts with lots of cream also need wines with good acidity to cut through the fatty cream. For lighter chocolate puddings with fresh fruits such as raspberries, cherries or strawberries, a light dessert wine or Moscato d’Asti will complement the fruit  as well as the sweetness of the pudding.   If the Easter Bunny visits me on Easter Sunday, I’ll stick to a soft drink or a cup of tea with my egg and save the wine till later – I’ll be opening a bottle of good Pinot Noir to have with my leg of lamb. Bon appetit! Cheers! I am passionate about good quality wine and set up Wines With Attitude to share that passion with other wine lovers. If you’re feeling sociable why not follow me on

Best wines to drink with Chinese Food What are the best wines to drink with Chinese food? There are so many flavours in Chinese dishes – and so many wines to choose from – that it can be daunting. People often just grab the nearest bottle of dry white but that is not always the best choice as this guide to wines that pair best with Chinese food will reveal. Note: I’m talking about Chinese food that we tend to see in Chinese restaurants here in the UK rather than in China itself as that is the extent of my experience – to date.   Dry white wine and Chinese food? Traditionally as a nation we Brits tend to veer towards crisp white wines when eating Chinese food perhaps thinking that it will quench our thirst as we eat but lighter wines can be swamped by the numerous, complex flavours. Sometimes a heavier more complex white wine is required to face up to the complexity. There is no reason why we shouldn’t drink red wines with Chinese food but make sure it’s the right sort of red wine. Bear in mind that red wines with higher tannins such as some French Cabernet Sauvignons, will clash with salty food, spicy flavours, vinegary sauces and fatty meat all of which feature in Chinese cuisine. So choose carefully. If you are serving one specific Chinese dish, my first suggestion as with every type of food is to look at the most dominant ingredient in the dish (usually the sauce) and aim to balance its weight or richness with the body of the wine:   Wine For lighter Chinese dishes For Dim Sum, scallops, steamed fish and vegetable dishes (without heavy sauces), dry sparkling wine or champagne is one of the best pairings. But, if you prefer not to open the bubbles, look at serving either Sancerre Pouilly Fumé or  Chablis.   All these suggestions lean more to the mineral end of the flavour spectrum rather than towards the fruity or herbaceous flavours of say a New World Sauvignon Blanc which could overpower lighter dishes. Wine for Sweet & Sour dishes   The classic combination of sweet and sour with an off-dry Riesling really does work. One of my other food and wine matching tips is that sweet food should always be served with wine that is sweeter. You could also try a beautiful sparkling Moscato d’Asti which is slightly sweet but also refreshing given its high acidity. But if you really don’t want to go down the off-dry route look at an aromatic dry white such as Austrian Grüner Veltliner Pinot Gris or a fruity rosé    Choose aromatic white wines or a fruity rosé rather than crisp dry white wines which would clash with the vinegar in the sweet and sour sauce. Wine for crispy duck & other duck dishes Either  New World Pinot Noir or a fruity Merlot    will complement duck perfectly and generally will have sufficient body to match the rich plum sauce. More delicate Pinot Noirs like Burgundy however whilst usually a great match for duck in general may be overpowered by the sauce. If you prefer to stick to white wine however try an off-dry Riesling or something with a bit of body like the lovely Reyneke Chenin Blanc which is served at Hakkasan in Hanway Place, London.   Wine for strong flavours in Chinese food   GingerA particularly strong flavour which might overpower a delicate wine so again I would suggest an off-dry Riesling or an aromatic dry white such as an Austrian Grüner Veltliner, a Pinot Gris or a Chenin Blanc to stand up to and complement the food.   SatayNot originally a Chinese dish I know but it features on a lot of Chinese menus these days… Satay also needs strong flavoured wine. A Sémillon would go particularly well with the rich texture and the nutty flavours of the peanut sauce.   Strong saucesWhilst heavier red wines can balance stronger sauces such as black bean sauce or dishes such as barbecued spare ribs with sticky sauce, make sure not to choose a red wine with too much tannin. Stick to a fruitier red like a Merlot (as long as it’s low in tannins) or a Syrah or Syrah blend from the New World such as this beautiful Chilean Syrah blend.   Wine for hot & spicy Chinese dishes   Very hot spicy foods can dull the taste buds and heat up the body so spicy, slightly sweet wines with good acidity are required. Off-dry Riesling or a sparkling Moscato d’Asti would be ideal.   The heat in the food reduces the wine’s sweetness, the acidity tones down the heat of the food and the weight of the wine balances well with the spicy flavours. But if of course you chose hot, spicy dishes especially for their heat and spice, steer clear of off-dry Riesling and try a  Pinot Gris or Chenin Blanc or a fruity red or New World Pinot Noir. Fail-safe wines to match most Chinese food   Of course there are many different types of cuisine under the umbrella of Chinese food – spicy Sichuan, more delicate Cantonese and hot Hunan to name just a few – and so it is difficult to make generalisations about the types of wine to drink with it. However if the range of foods being served for your Chinese feast is wide or you just want to make life easy, here are my five fail-safe options:     a sparkling fruity wine like Manoir du Carra’s Crémant de Bourgogne   a non-vintage champagne like my long-time favourite, de Castellane Brut   Reyneke Chenin Blanc as it has the body, aromatics and acidity to deal with richer dishes   (don’t dismiss this one automatically as it really does go well) an off-dry Riesling like Andreas Bender’s Dajoar Zenit Riesling and   for the red wine option a fruity number with low tannins like Main Divide Merlot Cabernet blend.  

The best wines to drink with hot chilli spice What are the best wines to drink with spicy hot food? I’m talking here about chilli-hot food. Your first thought might be to reach for the biggest, heartiest red wine on the wine rack to pair with a hot chilli con carne for example – after all I recommend in my general food and wine matching tips that you think about the matching the structure of the wine and the food aiming to balance the weight or richness of the most dominant ingredient in the dish (often the sauce) with the body of the wine. You would therefore think that a strong flavoured, fuller-bodied wine might be the best choice of wine to drink with chilli. But there are much better wines to drink with chilli, wines that won’t be drowned by or that won’t clash with the chilli as I’ll explain. What got me writing about wines and chilli is that I was recently thinking about which wine to serve with a particularly fiery tomato sauce. Many people, myself included, have been taking advantage of the ban on visiting restaurants and the extended time at home during lockdown in 2020 and 2021 to dig out long-abandoned recipe books and to look at the ever-increasing array of recipes online to produce meals that are a little different or more adventurous than we would produce in our usually time-poor weekday evenings. A new find was simple and very tasty pork mince burger recipe by Nigel Slater who is one of my favourite cooks, Pork burgers with lime leaves and coriander; burgers are not something I would usually choose to eat – but these are not normal times! The burgers themselves were delicious without any sauce as Nigel recommends them but I decided to add a hot tomato sauce and serve with pasta; the sauce was really very fiery, the chillies being hotter than I thought. Hence my wine choice dilemma… Chilli is one of those flavours that are notoriously difficult to have with wine. It’s not actually the flavour that is the problem but rather the heat of the chilli; a substance called capsaicin in chillies creates the hot sensation that can feel like it is actually burning the inside of your mouth, your tongue and lips. Quite simply very hot spicy foods can dull the taste buds. The heat of chilli makes many wines taste completely different and usually not very pleasant as subtle complexities and fruit flavours are masked. Wines can seem rather hollow and not at their best. Wines to drink with chilli Assuming that you want to enjoy the complexities of the wine with your spicy hot food, look for wines with one or more of the following characteristics: Wines with higher sugar This doesn’t mean that you need to drink a dessert wine with your chilli; that would be a little strange. But seek out a slightly sweeter wine than you might usually drink – an off dry white wine with a good slug of refreshing acidity, will make a huge difference because the sweetness of the wine tempers the heat of the chilli – and the heat in the food takes away some of the wine’s sweetness so you will not necessarily notice that the wine is off-dry.  The weight of the slightly sweeter wine also balances well with the chilli and with other spices which is why I also recommend an off-dry wine such as a Riesling or an aromatic white wine that is slightly sweeter like Pinot Gris or Gewürztraminer with your Chinese takeaway (even when it’s not a chilli hot meal). It’s difficult to find red wines that have higher residual sugar levels but as a general rule, lower alcohol wines will be slightly sweeter than wines with 15% ABV. Wines with lower alcohol High levels of alcohol in wine can make spicy hot foods seem even hotter so to mute the heat of chillies look for wines with 9 to 12% ABV. This will mean you have a much bigger choice of white wines than you will of red wines – look to the cool climate regions where grapes are slower to ripen and therefore to convert their sugars into alcohol. German reds and whites would usually fit the bill as would some Loire Valley wines like Chenin Blanc or a Portuguese Vinho Verde and most Proseccos. The slight sweetness and the spritz or bubbles of these latter two wines will also help dispel the heat – see above and below). Wines with low tannins One advantage of tannic wines is that the astringency of tannins can cut through rich or fatty food but the big disadvantage is that tannins accentuate the heat of spicy foods, masking all the flavours of the food and the wine. This is again why white wines, preferably off-dry but even dry white wines, are better partners for hot food than red wines. If it has to be a red wine, make it one that is naturally low in tannins like a Pinot Noir, Dolcetto and Gamay rather than a big tannic Cabernet Sauvignon from, say, Bordeaux. Unoaked Grenache, Zinfandel or Merlot will usually also fit the bill. Younger fruity wines As a general rule younger wines that are not intended to be kept long or have not yet developed huge complexity are better for more elaborate and hotter dishes. Older fine wines with their more complex flavours and texture and in the case of red wines softer tannins are best kept aside for more simple fare. The more fruit-forward nature and lighter body of younger wines, red or white or rosé, balance well with hot chilli flavours. And you could even serve the reds slightly cooler than normal to help with the taming effects of the wine on the heat. An off-dry Riesling or TWR’s Toru blend would be my top white wine recommendations with a complex slightly sweet Pinot Gris as a third option.

Best wines to drink with Beef Stroganoff Regular readers of my blog will know that I believe the main aim in pairing is to find wines and food that complement each other; one should not overpower the other. There are a number of foods that are notoriously difficult to pair well with food, usually because the food in question has a strong taste that can clash with the wine, making the wine seem bitter or even flat: asparagus, artichoke, vinaigrette, lemons and chilli spring to mind. But sometimes I am blind-sided by what you might think would be an easy dish to pair wine with: most recently this happened to me with beef stroganoff. You might think that the dish calls for a sturdy red since it’s beef, surely the predominant flavour, but the problem with stroganoff – and the same could apply to Mushroom Stroganoff for non-meat eaters and to any other beef dish cooked in a creamy sauce – is that there are several competing foods and flavours which require careful selection of the right wine. Let’s look at why it can be difficult to find a good wine to go with beef or mushroom stroganoff – and which seven wines will work well with them both. Wines for the components of a Beef Stroganoff Originating in Russia and thought to be named after an old wealthy Russian family named Stroganov, beef stroganoff became a popular item on the menu of many restaurants in Great Britain in the 1960s and 1970s and a dinner party staple of the middle classes. Since then its popularity has waned though many modern day chefs have written recipes for beef in cream sauce, a stroganoff by another name.  The main ingredients and the wines that you might normally choose with them individually are:  beef – this should be a good lean cut since the cooking time is relatively fast and the meat should be tender to eat. Some might be tempted by a bottle of Bordeaux but the tannins and oak are much better suited to fattier cuts of beef. In a stroganoff, there will be some umami flavour from the caramelisation of the meat; these and the lean beef would normally pair well with red wines with low tannins and little oak influence like a Cru Beaujolais. If you feel it has to be Bordeaux, it should be a mature wine where the tannins have softened and the oak influence is well integrated. mushrooms – these are usually added to a beef stroganoff and can be used as a substitute for beef in a vegan or vegetarian variation of the dish. As mushrooms are an earthy, savoury vegetable, they make some wines seem more acidic and less fruity so my usual instinct is to go for a savoury red wine with lower acidity for most mushroom dishes like a Pinot Noir, a Barolo or a Nebbiolo. Cream, often sour cream – the fat content of cream sauces can subdue mouth-watering acidity in wine so you need to make sure that you select a wine with good acidity to start with. This will also help cut through the fat and prevent the dish from seeming too rich. Wines that are notoriously good to drink with creamy sauces are rich white wines like white Burgundy, Semillon or a Chenin Blanc. Mustard is not always added to beef or mushroom stroganoff but it adds a bit of heat and spice and prevents the cream from taking over the dish. Wines that would work with a predominantly mustard-tasting dish would have good acidity to match the acidity in the mustard and relatively high tannins as the mustard will soften them. A wine that’s low in tannins can seem flat and lose its fruity flavours. For predominantly mustard-flavoured dishes you might consider a young Bordeaux, a Syrah or a Sangiovese. Aside from the above four basic ingredients, other additions may include nutmeg, brandy and also lemon that some people add to cut through the cream in the same way that an acidic wine would. These additional ingredients add further dimensions to the dish – and add further confusion to the wine choice. Which are the best wines to drink with Beef Stroganoff? Cru Beaujolais, young or mature red Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Barolo, Nebbiolo, white Burgundy, Semillon, Chenin Blanc, Syrah or Sangiovese??? With such a variety of wine suggestions for the main ingredients, where do you start with choosing a wine that will pair perfectly with the dish when the ingredients are all combined? The first thing to think about is the structure or richness of the most dominant ingredient of any dish and try to match that with the structure of the wine. In this instance the cream is the dominant characteristic of the dish, even if only a small amount is added. The cream will make a stroganoff fairly heavy which means that very light wines are not really going to work. The richness of the sauce needs a wine with good acidity as mentioned above – though not too high given the mushrooms. You might not consider drinking white wine with beef dishes but a rich, mature & full-bodied Chardonnay that has acquired a buttery taste and a creamy texture from fermentation and / or ageing in oak barrels really does work well. Semillon or Chenin Blanc would also work but they too must be fairly rich and full-bodied with good acidity as that will cut through the creamy sauce making it seem less fatty. These wines will also complement the umami and savoury flavours of the red meat and the mushrooms. If you have to have red wine, look to a young-ish fruity red Burgundy or Beaujolais, young because older fine wines with their more complex flavours and softer tannins are better with simple food. Younger wines that are not intended to develop or have not yet developed on the other hand are better for more complex dishes like a stroganoff. The