Hello!
Cats. Do you like cats? If not, this may not be the post for you, because that’s kind of the theme. I bought a cat recently and yes, she took a lot of my money and my heart too. I am pretty smitten and of course I will show you a picture. Her name is Karou she’s sweet as a button.
Oh Hello. Rub my belly?
The jump off point for the pairing was the Ecuadorian cranberry chocolate bar that my cousin gave me when I saw her play at the National Cathedral. I would link you to her website but you could probably find me through that and well, we’d never fall out of our drunken stupor. Suffice it to say she’s really talented. I mean, she played St. John’s Passion at the National Cathedral right?
I felt like one chocolate bar wasn’t enough, so I added Ghiradelli raspberry chocolate. Cranberry and raspberry work well together since they are both tart and sweet. And the wine..
But I don’t think I will say anymore…it’s a surprise…
The Wine: Gatao, Vinho Verde
The Candy: Pacari Organic Chocolate, Cranberry & Ghiradelli Raspberry Chocolate Squares
The Dream:
When I got the cranberry chocolate, I imagined frozen cranberries in a nice cool white wine. I could taste the cranberry bursting in my mouth and combining with a crisp chardonnay or pinot blanc.
But I couldn’t decide while I was at the market! I was fresh off the cat purchase and feeling pretty frisky, so I grabbed the cat wine thinking…well, this will be terrible.
I was wrong.
The Reality:
The wine is sweet, dry and slightly tart with bubbles that pop on your tongue. It is a nice wine and I am delighted it is so cheap.
The chocolate is rich with a chewy center of cranberry. It makes the wine soft and a bit sweeter but in a good way. The flavor and integrity of the wine isn’t dominated by the chocolate.
The raspberry chocolate squares area bit different. The wine gets more tart but it isn’t as crisp. I don’t like it quite as much.
The Take Away:
Cranberry chocolate with an ideal white is delicious and I can recommend it without any hesitations. It’s been awhile since I could give two thumbs up, but I guess Karou is my lucky charm.
My next post won’t be a pairing..something a bit different! I am just full of surprises aren’t I?
Uncorked, Unwrapped 