Trying something new

I happen to love chocolate. I also enjoy wine. But putting the two together? Until a few weeks ago I had never considered such a thing. Then my husband and I were invited to a wine and chocolate pairing party.

Guests were asked to bring chocolate and a wine that paired well it. Say what?

I needed help and information, but none of our friends knew anything about this kind of pairing. So I turned to the internet, where I found tons of information, including a nifty chart about which goes with what.

http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/chocolate/pairing-wine2.asp

I printed out the chart and brought it with me to my favorite grocery store. After selecting a small box of gourmet chocolates from the specialty chocolates section, I headed for the wine department. Using my chart and the chocolates, the helpful wine expert found just the right wine.

The other three couples who came to the party brought their own chocolate and wine, and our hosts supplied at least half a dozen types of chocolates and the appropriate wines. They set out small squares of each chocolate on separate little plates. (So many to sample! I was in heaven) Each plate was labeled with the brand of chocolate, the percentage of cacao and the spice content (If any). Our hosts supplied pen and paper for us to jot down any favorites we wanted to remember.

I not only thoroughly enjoyed myself, I also learned quite a bit about pairing chocolate with wine. Did you know that some wines greatly enhance the flavor of the chocolate, and vice versa.?

If you haven’t tried something new lately, maybe you should. After all, this is leap year and leap month! You might have fun and better yet, learn something.

If you have tried something new and different, please share your experience.

Until next month,

Ann

www.annroth.net