Art of Chocolate and Wine: Inspire your Desires

On Sunday, January 24th from 1-4 PM we joined our friends Stanley and Arlene Browne at their restaurant,Robust Wine Bar at the MX in Downtown St. Louis, for The Art of Chocolate and Wine, an interactive event dedicated to educating people about chocolate and wine pairings. We are honored to have been able to support our friends at this wildly successful, sold-out event!

Not only did event attendees have the pleasure of enjoying a glass of wine from Chaumette and other area wine producers, they were also able to enjoy the best chocolate St. Louis has to offer. From decadent fig and goat cheese truffles to delicious chocolate covered wine grapes, there was no shortage of variety at this event. Best of all, the event allowed participants to eat and drink well while doing good- a portion of all proceeds benefited Pedal the Cause, a charity dedicated to accelerating cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

Didn’t get to attend this awesome event? Don’t fret! We have some tips and recommendations that will help you to throw your own chocolate and wine tasting party at home.

As a general rule, pair lighter, more elegant-flavored chocolate with lighter bodied wines.

Chocolate is sweet, bitter acidic & fruity, so pair with a wine that has a similar profile to these components.

Consider starting with lighter chocolates first, then taste darker chocolates, so that the mouth isn’t overpowered by the dark chocolate tannins.

O.k., now forget the rules ~ there are so many flavors to consider. Just taste & discover what you like!

White Chocolate Pairings:

Made without chocolate liquor, white chocolate is a rich blend of cocoa butter, sugar and mild solids,

with flavors reminiscent of cream, milk, fruit, honey, vanilla and caramel.

Buttery, full-bodied white wines

sparkling wine

white dessert wines

German whites

White chocolate can be paired with Chaumette’s 2014 Chardonel Reserve and our Bouvet Blanc, N.V.

Milk Chocolate Pairings:

Milk chocolate’s sugar content outweighs the amount of chocolate liquor. Added milk solids produce a milder,

sweeter product than dark chocolate, with fewer flavors and aromas.

You might find cocoa, vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, honey, milk, cream, nuttiness and malt in its flavor profile.

Sparkling wines

semi-dry to sweet whites

Fruit-forward, medium bodied reds

port

Milk chocolate can be paired with our 2014 Semi-dry Chardonel and our Mosaic, N.V.

Semi-sweet Chocolate and Dark Chocolate / Bittersweet Chocolate

Semi-sweet chocolate has bold, complex flavors, with flavors of nuts, spice, flowers, earth, fruit and caramel, that typically taste less sweet than a milk chocolate.

Bitter-sweet chocolate can have bitter, roasted, fruity, earthy, woodsy, ashy and nutty flavors.

Ports with cocoa or chocolate aromas and full bodied wines with concentrated fruit flavors pair well with these.

sparkling wines, semi-dry to sweet

fortified red wines

full-bodied dry red wines

Cabernet Sauvignon (fruit forward version)

port

Sherry & Madeira

Madeira ~ a great wine pairing, with its citrus & caramel notes