Author: Lucaris

Wine and chocolate share many characteristics as they both contain flavanols (antioxidants) and are consumed to reduce stress. Despite of these similarities, it’s hard to pair wine and chocolate together. For example if you try to pair a dry red wine with dark chocolate, the wine will taste bitter and sour due to the high levels of flavanols that clash against each other on your tongue. It’s not impossible, however, to pair wine and chocolate.

A good milk chocolate usually contains half chocolate and half cream and it’s the extra fat from the cream that makes milk chocolate easy to pair with wine. Sweet sparkling red wine like Brachetto d’Acqui from Italy or sweet ports like Banyuls and Maury from France work well with milk chocolate as the sweetness of the wine compliment and the sweetness of the chocolate.

White chocolate is fantastic to pair with wine as it’s one of the few chocolates that will match with dry red wine like Pinot Noir. The pairing works because the white chocolate provides the fat that delivers the sweet flavors of red cherries, strawberries, and raspberries. White chocolate can also pair with the Ice wine like Riesling and Vidal Blanc which will allow you to discover notes of pineapple, lemon meringue, and creamy candied oranges.

Polyphenols in dark chocolate give a somewhat bitter taste. Therefore it’s important to balance the bitterness of dark chocolate and a fruity, sweet or slightly spiced wine like a Vin Santo del Chianti or an original Portuguese Port.

What’s in the Shape of a Wine Glass?

If you don’t want to make wine drinking as intimidating as appreciating art, learn the most crucial wine commandments that can help you relish your glass of Bordeaux or Chardonnay without much ado.

Wine drinking is a sensory experience that invokes all five senses—vision, olfaction, gustation and perceptions. Savouring a fine wine and uncorking its full potential has a science that rests on several factors such as temperature, environment, and the type of glass.

In fact, it is not the shape of the glass that influences the taste and the aromas, but it’s the functionality of its build. The shape and the overall build of a glass impacts the sensations of wine which is why different wine glasses bring out different finishes and boutiques from the same wine. To solve this mystery, we decode the different types of wine glasses and what makes them the ideal choice for a specific type of wine.

Here’s raising a toast to Red wines

1.Bordeaux Glass: A Bordeaux wine glass is a typical standard wine glass. It is a tall glass with a full sized bowl which gradually tapers at the top which partly allows the aroma to collect and also allow a generous swirl. Ideal for highly tannic red wines of modest acidity, it is best suited for robust red to light red varietals.

2.Burgundy Glass: The Burgundy glass is not as tall, but typically has a wider bowl which flares towards the rim and allows the aroma to collect at the best. It enhances the intensity and acidity of a full bodied wine. It directs the wine to the tip of the tongue, thus highlighting the fruit and naturally balancing the high acidity. This glass type is apt for red wines with high acidity and moderate tannin like Pinot Noir, Dolcetto and Gamay.

3.Beaujolais Glass: This is an ultimate all round glass; versatile for a wide range of light styles of wines. Its straight sides allow ample contact with air for the wine to breathe, while dispersing the wine directly to the center of the palate which moderates the tannins. It is best suited for Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Tempranillo and other similar varietals