Party with chocolate and wine

Hello I am back as promised with my chocolate and wine pairings

Life in Delhi is a whirlwind of hectic activity, it has become very difficult to catch up with friends, what with the long workdays, and traffic jams in the evenings. On Sundays, everyone is busy recouping from the frenzied week and many of my friends don't wish to take out their cars and navigate the traffic on their day off.  So we were going into a kind of disconnect and the only communication happening for months was restricted to a call or updates on the net.  I was wondering how to make fun evenings happen when I hit on the idea of having chocolate and wine evenings. 

Now we get together after dinner on weekdays at one persons house and have a drinks and chocolate party. No, don’t worry it’s not only chocolates we have savories too which go well with the wines and chocolates. All you have to do is select the chocolates that you wish to serve, find a  wine that goes well with it and add some savory snacks, fruits and cheeses that pair up well with the wine and chocolates. Don’t worry it’s not as difficult as it sounds and I am here to help you out with the pairings so don’t despair! 

Cheese pairs really well with dark chocolate. You can start by creating a cheese platter to go with your chocolates. With a dark chocolate you can add an aged Gouda (which is now easily available in supermarkets in Indian metros) along with Emmentaler (a Swiss cheese) and Blue cheeses. To that platter add   some figs, hazelnuts/pistachios (salted) and berries. You can also try a Monterey Jack with dark chocolate covered cherries. You can pair dark chocolate with a blue cheese and add pine nuts (chilgozas) and grapes. The wines that go well with dark chocolates would be Port, Cabernet, Merlot and Riesling

If you are serving an orange filled milk chocolate and want to pair a dessert with it then best would be a lavender flavoured mini cupcake with a cream cheese frosting. To drink you can serve a stout with it like Haywards Black which is a strong dark colored beer with 8% alcohol and a sweet malty taste.

For a more wholesome snack you can serve Paninis with your choice of fillings and a grate of  Parmesan cheese in it with your dark chocolates. Just cut up the paninis into bite sized wedges. Some ravioli in small ceramic bowls with a mascarpone and balsamic vinegar sauce topped with a sprig of parsley goes well too.

For chocolate with 60% cocoa content you can serve Vin Santo (an Italian dessert wine) with a platter of dried mango bits, coconut macaroons, caramel popcorn and pretzels

With a chocolate that contains 72% cocoa a Cabernet Sauvignon or a cognac would go well. With that you can serve some baguette, toasted almonds and dried fruits such as cherries, figs and raisins.

If you are serving a caramel/toffee filled chocolate then go with a Riesling (dry semi sweet white wine) or Drambui (a scotch whiskey based liqueur) you can pair this with salted peanuts, salt and vinegar chips or a mix of namkeens like Bhujia and Khatta meetha.

Any chocolate which contains sea salt or a hint of herbs and chilli would pair well with Tequila or Vodka. You can also try a stout (dark beer) . To nibble on serve some barbequed potato chips, bacon bits, candied orange peel and dried cherries

Nut chocolates like hazelnut or almond pair well with Port wine and coffee flavored liqueurs. Serve with dried sweet ginger, fresh figs (anjeer) if you can get or biscotti (twice baked almond biscuits)

If you are serving melted chocolate (fondue) then lay out a tray with fresh strawberries, mini cream puffs, small marshmallows and pineapple and banana bits. You can also keep an assortment of nuts with it. Don’t forget to keep lots of skewers for your guests to dip the food in chocolate! Whatever wine you serve with the fondue make sure it has the right acidity to counter the sweetness of the chocolate. A Bordeaux (red wine) would pair well here.

Here is a short list of Indian wines that pair well with chocolate:

Sula -late Harvest Chemin Blanc

Vallonne Vineyards- Vin de Passerillage

Fratelli- Santo

Yorks- late harvest 2013 Vintage

I have given you some ideas but there are no hard and fast rules. It’s fun to experiment and I am sure you and your friends will have fun doing so. Share your experience with me. Who knows we may come up with more pairings that work well!

Until next time Happy Partying and look out for my special cocktails using chocolate!

Chocolates from Rita’s Kitchen: Liquor:  rum, whiskey, vodka, Irish Cream

Summer collection:   Orange (with real orange marmalade and bits of orange) Caramel with rosemary and a hint of chilli Chunky peanut butter robed in dark chocolate Coconut

(Contains no artificial flavorings)

We take corporate orders in Delhi and Dehradun

Contact: 08447598100 email: ritav18@gmail.com ritakitchendehradun@gmail.com