Perfect Pairings For Wines And Chocolates
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Nothing completes a romantic evening like wine and chocolate, but how can you make this pair perfect?
Dave Kuiawa, of Fine Wine & Good Spirits, came into the Pittsburgh Today Live kitchen to talk about the pairings that will make a Valentine's Day evening complete.
"It's one of the most difficult pairings in the world because wine and chocolate have very similar elements; elements of sweetness and elements of dryness," said Kuiawa.
They tried five different wine and chocolate pairings.
The first wine was a Moscato D'Asti from Cascinetta Vietti. The sweetness of Moscato D'Asti paired well with a white chocolate truffle because of the white chocolate's lack of cacao, giving it a sweeter flavor.
The next wine they paired was a Heidsieck Champagne. The wine has an aroma comparable to freshly baked bread, as the wine is aged on dead yeast cells. The Heidsieck Champagne paired well with a chocolate-covered strawberry. The sweetness from the milk chocolate and the strawberry pops with the dryness of the Heidsieck.
The third wine was a Secoli Amarone della Valpolicella, a wine that comes from grapes that have been raisined in order to intensify the flavor. Kuiawa paired the Amarone with milk chocolate to compliment the creaminess of the Amarone.
The fourth wine Kuiawa paired was a Dow's Late Bottle Vintage Porto with a 60 percent cacao chocolate, or dark chocolate.
"It really is one of the classic pairings: port wine and dark chocolate," said Kuiawa.
The last wine the three paired was a Terlato and Chapoutier, a darker and richer wine, with chocolate containing 86 percent cacao. The dried-out chocolate brings down the wine to match them.
"Just make sure you don't over match your cacao as it goes up, and tannins in the wine, and keep sweet with sweet, and dry with dry," said Kuiawa.
Please drink responsibly.