Until recently, I played my wine and food pairing cards conservatively. Rarely did I attempt to pair a red wine with poultry, for example. As for chocolate, which I love nearly as much as wine, I avoided pairing the two in fear sweetness in the chocolate would cause my dry wine to taste bitter. I stayed true to the mantra: make sure the wine’s as sweet as or sweeter than the dessert.
These rules constitute time-honored advice. But… there are creative ways to marry flavors between food and wine to surprisingly good results. I was reminded of the power of imaginative pairing from my friends at L’Ecole No. 41, a leading Walla Walla, Washington, winery. If you’ve been reading my blog regularly, you know that L’Ecole partnered this year with a group of wine bloggers. I was lucky to be a part of this group and receive monthly samples of their consistently high-quality wines.
Please note that while the wines and chocolates for this post were provided, opinions are my own.
Each month, the L’Ecole staff held a Zoom chat with its blogging partners. These hour-long sessions were learning opportunities, not only about this third-generation winery, but also about growing grapes and making wine in what USA Today readers voted their favorite wine region in the country for two consecutive years.
On the December call, Ben Dimitri, L’Ecole’s new marketing manager, talked about the content of holiday gift boxes they sent to us. Each box held two bottles of L’Ecole wine. Some boxes contained locally roasted coffee, which, by the way, is also in the top three on my greatest foods hit parade; other boxes, including mine, had two artfully wrapped sets of four chocolate tiles each from Petits Noirs, a Walla Walla Valley boutique chocolatier.
Petits Noirs was founded by Lan Wong and James Boulanger. Their business concept began in New York City and took root in the Walla Walla Valley in 2006. They make their chocolate by hand using traditional French techniques, French-imported chocolate and ingredients sourced mainly from Washington and Oregon.
“Heaven – I’m in heaven,” I sang to myself when I opened my box.
Here’s the brilliant thing Ben explained to us: Toppings on each chocolate tile add flavors complementary to certain kinds of wine. For example,
- Rosemary and peppercorn to pair with Bordeaux blends, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
- Tart cherry and anise that marries well with Merlot (and, I would add, Cabernet Franc)
- Blueberry and cardamom to bring out the flavors of Syrah
- Fig Pistachio Fennel – OK, readers, what would you pair with this one?
But wait, there’s more – pairings for white wines, too. Try these with Chenin Blanc or your favorite white varietal or blend:
- Pear and Bergamot biscuit
- Almond and sea salt
- Coconut and coriander
- Apricot and lavender
I haven’t explored the possibilities yet, but to me it’s ingenious to add these ingredients to chocolate. Apparently, the chocolatiers tested their combinations at local wineries, including L’Ecole.
“The goal of a great wine pairing is to balance the tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, etc) in the food and wine so that the subtle flavors can beautifully emerge.”
Madeline Puckette, Wine Folly
A box of wine and chocolate is sure to delight certain people on your holiday gift list. You could put one together yourself or check out L’Ecole’s gift options. Already got this holiday season covered? Valentine’s Day is just around the corner!
Read more about L’Ecole in these posts from the past year: