Wine
Two-thirds of the cost of a bottle has nothing to do with the wine. Intrigued? Read on...
Great food matched with excellent wine is such a pleasure. And the good news is that most wines go reasonably well with many dishes. Terrible clashes are few and far between. That said, there are a few simple tricks for finding a winning combination. By Susy Atkins.
Susy Atkins, delicious. magazine's wine editor, gives us some tips for some of the best party wines.
Broaden your wine horizons, says Susy Atkins.
There are no hard and fast rules in food and wine matching these days but there are some useful general guidelines that help hugely in making perfect partnerships between dish and bottle.
Where you live in the UK may determine how you order wine in restaurants. Plus a useful guide to food and wine matching.
Wines to go with chocolate
It’s not especially easy to match wine with chocolate, but you can certainly have fun working out the best matches for your sweet treats.
Avoid anything very dry, whether it’s fizz, or white, or rosé, as it will taste stripped-down and tart next to the creamy richness of anything chocolatey. The only exception is sweetly-ripe (as opposed to sugary) red wine which can work with chocolate cakes and tarts. Try an Argentinian Malbec, for example.
Honeyed pudding wine remains the best bet, though. Rich golden styles such as sweet Muscat or orange Muscat, Australian sweet Semillon, and Tokaji from Hungary are all sublime with chocolate desserts. But to accompany an after-dinner snack of bitter plain chocolate, I recommend a small glass of tawny port. Tawny (as opposed to red) port is aged for many years in oak barrels, emerging soft, mellow and amber-coloured, with nutty, toffee notes. Buy a well-aged one for fullness of flavour and serve it lightly chilled. This adds a refreshing, succulent note to the port. Now bring out your very best, very darkest plain chocolate – delectable!
The wonderful sweet red wines of southern France are another quirky alternative to ‘normal’ dessert wines. Try a glass of lightly chilled sweet, purple Maury or Banyuls with chocolate, especially if you are usually a red wine lover.
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