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Wine & spirits: Wine pairings -- wine and chocolate

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Wine & spirits: Wine pairings -- wine and chocolate

By
Konrad Ejbich

Wine and chocolate form the perfect pairing for your holiday get-together this season.

Noir de Noir Mignonnette, 54% cacao. Most sweet wines work with chocolate -- provided the former is sweeter than the latter. Port is a no-brainer, but the fruitier Taylor Fladgate First Estate Reserve ($16) and Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001 ($18) fare better than a nutty 10-year-old tawny. Another great match worth trying is Southbrook Vineyards Framboise ($16/375 mL), a delicious fruit wine that's made from Ontario raspberries.

Noir 70% cacao. Look for New World wines aged in American oak, such as the jammy Rosemount Diamond Label Shiraz ($16) from Australia or the spicy Rosenblum Zinfandel ($20) from California. Avoid the tart, lighter reds of France's Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, as well as the Tuscany region of Italy -- those reds tear the heart out of chocolate, leaving only a bitter bite.

Noir 86% cacao. The smoky, tobacco flavours of this extra-dark chocolate play beautifully in concert with a well-aged cognac like the profoundly complex Courvoisier XO ($200). Another spectacular match you may enjoy: Mort Subite Framboise ($4/372 mL), a Belgian fruit lambic beer.

Noir Orange, 70% cacao studded with candied orange peel. These tiny crunchy specks of candied orange zest embedded in dark chocolate would clash with most combinations, but here are two they sparkle with: Ice Bees ($40/375 mL), a vidal icewine produced by the 20 Bees winery in Ontario, whose sweet, peachy, apricot flavours accentuate the chocolate's citrus notes; the other perfect pairing is Grand Marnier ($46/750 mL), the ever-popular orange liqueur.

As with any food and wine combination, it pays to experiment on yourself before doing so with guests, so enjoy your wine and chocolate.

Read more in Food & Entertaining and Wine & Spirits

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