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Mexicano Chocolate & Shiraz (but not the one in Iran)

Posted on December 19, 2012 by lilliebette

Hello,

I have been on a chocolate kick lately and I am sorry but it’s staying that way for awhile. You can call it whatever you want and in regards to jokes about women and chocolate, let’s just say there is no amount of wine to make them funny. And I’m realizing that chocolate is not always that easy to pair. Chocolate has so many varieties and textures. It can be coated in candy, encased between graham crackers and put on top of ice cream. And although red wine and chocolate is a safe bet, it is not always going to be a slam dunk.

I am sorry chocolate, for thinking you were so easy to understand. Can we start over?

Before I begin, I have to do a shout-out to my friend who gave me some chocolate to pair. Not only is it delicious chocolate, it is coffee chocolate.  It was super nice of her and I encourage everyone to..uh..do that. Anyway, I also had left over Xmas M&Ms from making my gingerbread house. This splash of Christmas cheer is a bit of a warm up for next week’s pairing.

The Candy: Dark Chocolate Mexicano-Coffee

Delicious AND circular

Delicious AND Circular

AND Xmas M&Ms!

Tastes Like Christmas

Tastes Like Christmas

The Wine: Nugan, Third Generation Shiraz, 2011

Not to be confused with Nugat

Not to be confused with Nugat

The Dream:

Mmmm shiraz. A delectable fruity wine I don’t know too much about. I always associated it with being light, but that is because the name flies off the tongue. It sounds like a dance step. At any rate, I thought the distinct fruit flavors would liven up the coffee and chocolate.I knew the Mexicano chocolate had a subtle coffee flavor, so I worried the fruity shiraz would throw off the coffee flavor. I tossed in the M&Ms at a whim, because they were simply on hand.

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I know you guys can see my reflection in these photos. I can’t pretend otherwise.

Let’s see how it went.

The Reality: 

The first prominent taste in the Shiraz is the pleasant and familiar bitterness. It reminds me of the skin of an orange. The bitter flavor transitions into a bursting of rich pomegranate. It pops on your tongue.

The chocolate is flaky and dark with a slight crunch. It is rich and coats the mouth. The aftertaste is definitely coffee. After I take the sip of wine, the chocolate fairs pretty well and the bitterness decreases. It is still there, but faint instead of commanding the taste buds. The coffee flavor in the chocolate is weaker too. The pomegranate and chocolate flavors meld nicely, but it wasn’t quite the effect I wanted.

The M&Ms taste extremely sweet in comparison to the dark chocolate. The wine gets increasingly bitter with the M&Ms staying true to their very very sweet form. It is actually ok, but not amazing.

This pairing went well all things considered. The flavors were interesting and a little unpredictable. A coffee chocolate may be more suited with a port, but I could be wrong.

The Takeaway: I recommend a fruity wine with a darker chocolate, though you may not get all the initial flavors.

And as promised, my gingerbread house!

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Frankenpair: Wine & Cookies

Posted on October 27, 2012 by lilliebette

Ok, there is nothing “franken” about this pairing but I couldn’t resist riffing off the frankenstorm trend. It’s too tempting. Make sure you are prepared ok? I have two bags of candy and six bottles of wine. And that’s not a joke. I take preparedness VERY seriously. All else fails, I will have many, many pairings to share once we recovery from Sandy.

It has been awhile since I posted and today’s pairing is a bit different. Hold onto your glass stems because I am shaking things up today!

A few weeks ago, I bought a Living Social deal. It was a class taught by the owners of Cookies & Corks. As evidence by the blog title, this pairing matches cookies with wine. But not just any cookies-this business worked with sommeliers to create the best confections for various wines. The tasting wheel below lays out how each of their cookies matches with various wines.

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Amazing no?

We arrived to a table set with two of each cookie and a glass of wine already poured.

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From Left to Right: White Cheddar Rosemary, Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter, Apricot Sage, Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal, Zesty Lemon

We started with a quick lesson on pairing. Our teachers reminded us that we should:

1- Look at our wine, observe its color

2-Swirl and smell

3-Taste food

4-With a little food in your mouth, sip and notice the flavors.

And with that instruction, we were off.

First up, Prosecco:

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Wine #1-Prosecco

The wine is tart and very acidic with a citrusy flavor. A lovely, light wine.

Zesty Lemon Cookie (LMC): This lemon cookie makes the wine pop and fizz in your mouth. Suddenly the wine becomes sweet and smooth on your pallet. It changes enough while maintaining its character.

Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal (SCO): An extremely salty cookie, this confection is delicious but startling. The wine is a bit sharper against the sweet. It’s an enjoyable contrast.

Apricot Sage (AS): Sam and I agreed this cookie was our favorite. The wine is only sweet at first, but as it leaves your tongue the sage blooms in your mouth. It is surprising and frankly, MAGICAL.

Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter (ECPB): This cookies is extremely hearty and the difference between the bitter chocolate and sharp wine is unpleasant. Not a great pairing, but that’s exactly the point of the experience. Not every wine goes with every cookie.

White Cheddar Rosemary (WCR): This cookie is heavy and forms a thick, cheddary paste in your mouth. I found this cookie very difficult because I’m lactose intolerant and just not used to the taste. I defer to my boyfriend’s notes which say the “wine mellows out the cookie and tastes lighter.”

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Wine #2-Sauvignon Blanc

The sauvignon blanc is slightly green in hue. It’s extremely ripe and has a slight lime flavor.

ZLC: The wine gets extremely rich and buttery. As it melts in your mouth the tartness evens on your tongue. Delightful.

SCO: The only notes I have on this (it was a week ago, ok?) is that the wine is soft. So, there you go.

AS: This cookie emphasizes the tartness of the wine, although Sam’s notes say the wine became sweeter. Everyone’s palate is different! Again, the sage bursts into your mouth like a little garden of eden. Amazing.

ECPB: The wine softens initially and the espresso somehow compliments the wine. At the finish, the flavor becomes tart again. Overall, not bad and an improvement from the last pairing.

WCR: Acidity still very present but the cheesy paste softens things a little bit.

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Wine #3: Pinot Noir

This photo is really embarrassing because it is just terribly out of focus. And I warn you, there isn’t even a photo for the next glass. Overall, I think I drank only 2 glasses since they gave us very little portions. Yet, I was drunk enough to slack. Sorry.

The wine is ruby red with a lovely smokiness and a touch of spice. It’s light and has a clean finish.

ZLC: Unlike the other pairings, this cookie clashes with the wine. It’s zest knocks the flavor off center.

SCO: A sweet and smooth ride and the wine’s richness deepens. A very indulgent experience.

AS: This pairing is smooth and sweet, but the sage is not the best compliment to pinot.

ECPB: The chocolate comes out very prominently against the light and clean wine.

WCR: The wine becomes very acidic and the cheesy paste lays thick on your mouth.

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Wine #4: Oops Cabernet Franc

A very dark wine and Sam said it tasted like resin, which I found interesting. It has leathery undertones.

SLC: Delicious and smooth with the pop of lemon. Sam said it was bittersweet. Again, different palates are amazing.

SCO: The salt lessons with this pair but I thought the flavor of the wine went a bit off.

AS: A sweet and smooth delight…just how I would like to end with Apricot Sage, by far my favorite cookie.

ECPB: The peanut butter is reinforced with this wine but the wine gets really harsh and unpleasant at the finish.

WCR: I LIKED the white cheddar with this one. The salty, savory cookie enhanced the wines deep and rich flavors. A great way to end the pairing.

Overall, this was a great way to spend an hour and I can’t wait to explore these cookies with more wine. In fact, I hope to crack open our box tomorrow and snack away. You can buy these cookies if you live in the DC Metro area (specifically VA). But they are also available online!

Happy sips.

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Not for the Faint of Tongue

Posted on September 13, 2012 by lilliebette

This weeks post is sure to sandblast your tongue, but in the best way possible. It is a bold pairing that surprisingly worked out very well. I took on two difficult mediums-gummy and sour. Yes, the contender this week was Sour Patch, otherwise known as those little people that you eat. This candy came recommended as a pairing with a white wine. But since I am fresh out (Chardonnay, I still miss you), I had to make do with what I had of my Groupon stash. I must say, it worked out for the better.

I can not say I came away with an expert way to pair sour with wine. Every ounce of me says this type of companionship will always end in tears. But instead it ended with me eating sour patch and drinking wine in front of the TV. It’s amazing what a good relationship can do.

The Wine: Viña Alarba, Old Vine Grenache (Product of Spain)

 

The Candy: Sour Patch

I always find this little guy disturbing

The Dream:

If I am honest with myself, I thought this would turn out terribly. I felt sure that the wine would sour and turn after my first sour patch. This candy played a huge role in my childhood of destroying my young taste buds. My tongue looked like the field after Antietam when I finished a bag. I didn’t go with the Malbec I had on hand, since I thought the stronge flavors of a Malbec could warp too easily. The wine I chose boasted of a finish of white pepper spice. Spice. That, I thought, could just maybe work out.

How do you like my book selection?

 

The Reality:

This wine lunges and bites you at first sip. I found myself taking a step back and needing several sips before I could make any sense of it. As the wine roles over your tongue it makes small nips, keeping your mouth alive for flavor. The wine is deceptively smooth at first before it ripples through you. There are notes of plum and well, it sure is spicy. After the initial snap there is a lingering of sweetness and fruit in your mouth. It is a fun wine because it keeps you awake.

Compared to this wine, the candy is a sweet surprise. It does not take me back by its sour flavor. Each flavor of candy is a bit different, but the lime flavor has the worst effect on the wine. Overall, the wine is mostly unaffected and the flavor does not bend or warp. The cherry candies are sweeter and bring a new note of fruitiness to the pallet.

I wrote down that I did not think this was a home run. But reflecting on this pairing, I am going to take that back. Considering the challenge of sour patch, I think this turned out well.

 

Next week we will have a guest post since I am taking an online class right now and I’m a bit busy!

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The Fruits of Labor

Posted on September 2, 2012 by lilliebette

Happy Labor Day weekend!

I will go against the grain here and labor a bit in order to make a new post. I am going to stop talking about how I get a bit behind on posting because I am sure that’s very boring.

Summer is officially over. I do not know how that will change my pallet. Hopefully the crisp Autumn, that won’t come to DC until late September, will bring exciting flavors. Today’s post is certainly something different, venturing into a type of sweet I usually don’t like: white chocolate. It’s not that white chocolate isn’t lovely; it’s perfectly fine. I consider it a lower chocolate. Although it doesn’t taste like it, white chocolate reminds me of hardened lard. It’s a solid white mass that is very fatty and usually pretty bland. That’s why I decided to take it on. What would this blog be if I didn’t step out of my comfort zone?

We continue to go through the bag of wine I got a few weeks ago. I have to say I was disappointed this time around. Unlike the stunning chardonnay I sampled last, this wine didn’t knock my socks off. It was fine but but I can’t say I will buy it again. As pairing goes, it was good which is saying  a lot considering I paired two things I don’t exactly like.

Enjoy the post and please, relax today. I know I slept in after a very busy week and tomorrow I start my online statistics class. Tonight I plan to work on another pairing and celebrate the end of a truly great summer. Thanks to you all for helping make it great.

The Wine: Cuvée de Peña, vin de pays des Pyrénénees-Orientales, 2009

Pretty label, but it rubs me the wrong way somehow

The Candy: Lindt, Lindor Vanilla White Chocolate

Little Scoops of Ice Cream

The Dream:

The reality is I bought these while on the phone so my mind was elsewhere. I also love vanilla and Lindt is relatively safe. I know it’s not too fancy, but it’s white chocolate, the trashiest of chocolates (sorry I’m not sorry if I offended you). I actually did not mean to have the packaging of the wine and chocolate match, but it turned out quite lovely right? White chocolate has this viscosity to it and is simple flavor wise.

Pairing the Lindt with a generic wine felt safe but still had the potential to pleasantly surprise me. Since white chocolate is relatively bland, the red could build on it’s flavors and provide the extra boost white chocolate usually lacks.

 

The Reality:

The chocolates are little scoops of vanilla ice cream. Each ball of chocolate is sprinkled with black vanilla flecks and the vanilla flavor is intense and rich. I froze them, because that is just how I prefer my chocolate. It also keeps them from overwhelming your mouth. When each chocolate unfrozen it sort of makes my mouth sweaty. They sort of make my lactose-intolerant mouth lurch at first taste, but that is ok. I like that just one is enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.

The wine has a leathery smell with notes of blackberry. It is smooth with an acidic finish, but lacks any outstanding flavors beyond the blackberry. I think this is a great table wine that would go with many dishes. It won’t overwhelm your food but certainly will not start any conversations.

The small truffles creates additional smoothness for the wine and gives it a softer finish. The sweet vanilla adds to the subtle blackberry notes and elongates the fruit flavors. It’s an indulgent treat and I could not eat too many. The pairing is good and I imagine it would go well with any generic red (sorry for the word generic, it’s not right). I imagine a nice rioja would also be pleasant.

 

Have a happy holiday and remember, it’s California wine month!

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Wining in the Desert

Posted on August 12, 2012 by lilliebette

As promised, here is this blog’s first guest post. It is by my great friend Dillon, an intelligent young man I have known for several years. You can explore his intellectual musings at www.dillonstonetatum.com.

The post is written very beautifully. He puts my silly musings to shame, but I should have known better…I did invite him to post right?

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“Wining in the Desert”

I’m a child of the desert. I grew up in southern Nevada, in a suburb of Las Vegas, and, essentially, studied deserts at the University of Arizona—located in Tucson, not too far from the Mexican border. The deadly Sonoran. As someone who lives in civilization now, it’s a mystery even to myself why I continue to be at least partly fascinated by the desolation, heat, and emptiness of the desert. And why I choose to spend most of my summers here, at my family’s home. As I’m writing this, I just received a text message from the national weather service: Warning—severe dust storm. Typical.

When Liz invited me to contribute to this blog, I really did not know where to begin. I know I love the blog (I don’t follow many blogs, but I read this one religiously). I like to drink; I’m from Vegas. I don’t know much about wine. But, I do know that my three month sabbatical in the wasteland is coming to a close, and it is with great pleasure (and, surely, a coming nostalgia) that I chose the following combination. One that, at least I hoped, would bring out both the best of the summer, and the mystery of the desert.

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The wine is from a local winery here in Nevada called the Pahrump Valley Winery. It is labeled as “Desert Blush.” I’m not sure exactly what that means, but I’m assuming it’s a white zinfandel type. Pahrump is maybe 60 miles outside of Las Vegas, and is famous for more than its liquor. I’ve always been a fan of blush wines. It always reminds me, for some reason, of a picnic in the summer rain. I was expecting a sort of light, almost white, taste to it. Something sweet—maybe too sweet—for a table wine.

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The candy is Wonka’s Laffy Taffy—Banana flavored. Something I’ve associated with summer. It must be the bananas. I don’t know. I had this idea in my head that anything would go well with Laffy Taffy. Surely, Pahrump Valley Winery took this into consideration when producing.

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The first sip. Rather spicy, not too sweet, though with a taste reminiscent of watermelon. It finishes smooth, almost creamy. Though it’s a blush, it has the character of a full red. I have a feeling this bottle is going to go fast. The Laffy Taffy is delightful on its own. It, too, has a rather creamy, rich texture that compliments well the blush. I may not have gotten a sweet wine, but the taffy certainly made up for it.

This pairing was quite perplexing. It threw me off, was not at all what I expected, and rather mysteriously gave me a smile. It was warm and inviting, and despite the simplicity of a local wine and a popular candy, was fulfilling.

Perhaps I have discovered my fascination with the desert after all.

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No Michael Phelps

Posted on August 2, 2012 by lilliebette

Hello,

Lucky for all of you, I am home sick with strep throat. And I have enough energy to write a post. As promised, we have an Olympic themed post for you today. Unfortunately, I do not think this pairing gets the gold. Maybe a bronze…but that’s a stretch. Maybe I am just not cut out to be an Olympian.

In my defense, my materials are difficult. I chose peach gummy rings, which are the obvious choice. This blog proved many times that pairing gummy candies is nearly impossible. Just like training a dressage horse, pairing gummies with wine is simply not natural (all do respect to Rafalca).Fortunately for me though, it is a lot cheaper.

Let’s meet the contenders.

The Wine: Simply Naked, Unoaked Pinot Grigio. California 2011

Let’s face it…most Olympians are practically naked when competing

The Candy: Peach Gummy Rings, Giant Brand

Perfect Formation!

The Dream: 

You know, it’s not about winning. It is about the love of the game and the honor of being her….ok no wait, my goal was to delight you all. But gummy candy is a real thorn in my side. Honestly, I need to stop doing themed posts because they are exceedingly limiting. Although they are fun, they can be a drag. It forces me into corners that I don’t want to be in.

For a sweet gummy with a bit of a sour bite, I went with a pinot grigio. The unoaked was appealing (as well as it’s very cheap price) and I wanted something light and playful. It had to be flavorful and full, because the risk of the wine going sour after the candy is big. Let’s see how I faired.

 

The Reality: 

I loved this wine. It is crisp and ends smoothly with a silky finish. It tingles on the tongue. The flavor of grape comes in strongly along with a hint of pear. This wine tastes like sunshine. Unfortunately for this pairing, it is tart. Which means that our super sweet peaches are going to to turn this wine sour.

The peach rings are peach rings. Overly sweet and only a bit peachy. They are fantastic though and do their job very well. The first sip after the peaches has a sour flavor though, though it maintains its lush finish. The flavor does hold out but the slight sourness is extremely distracting. I gulp down the peaches and enjoy my wine as it should be….naked of all distractions.

 

Well, what can I say, gummies are tough! They are very sweet and about any beverage gives you a sour stomach after.

I will explore my next post after I recover from this strep. Happy Olympics everyone and how about those gymnasts!?!

 

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Do A Little Dance, Drink a Little Wine

Posted on July 9, 2012 by lilliebette

Sex therapist Dr Ruth will be producing her own love potions! You can check out the story here. At $6.99-$8.99, there’s no excuse to get down with the celebrated advice columnist’s latest business venture.

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Sip Down Nostalgia Lane

Posted on June 29, 2012 by lilliebette

I am on vacation right now and today is my last, sunny, happy day. I’ve enjoyed every minute of mojitos, skinny dipping, and bitter games of Monopoly. But I have not forgotten my duties.

Nostalgia hides itself in strange ways. While in a candy store, I came upon a candy called Zotz. It’s a fizzy, sour candy that I ate during the 90s. I forgot about it until I saw it in the store of candy memories. I had not done a challenge with a fizzy partner, so it met my loose criteria.

The wine also has a story behind it. Smith College, my old stomping grounds, started producing commencement wines in 2011. They weren’t half bad, so I picked up a red and a white. Needless to say, memories had a big influence over this pairing.

The Wine: Smith College Cayuga White, 2012

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The Candy: Zotz! (watermelon, cherry, apple)

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The Dream:

The white wine seemed like an ideal pairing for the sour candy. It’s usually refreshing and with a touch of sweetness. Naively, I imagined that the sourness would play delicately with the sweetness of the wine. And I imagined the fizziness could create a neat champagne effect. Makes sense, right?

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The Reality:

It wasn’t exactly bad. I just wouldn’t repeat or recommend it.

The Cayuga has a fruity, sweet and silky flavor. It slides of the tongue like a milk chocolate. The lasting flavor is tart, a sharp and surprising contrast to the syrupy quality.

The candy is an 8-yr olds dream. At first, it’s a sweet hard candy. After a few dances on the tongue, the insides begin to fizz slowly out with a strong, sour taste. Once you bite in, you find the remaining bubbles hiding inside. All of the flavors taste the same, as most 50 cent candies do.

But these two do not play well together. The wine is unpleasant and bitter after the Zotz. My stomach churns, rather perturbed by the acid attack. I think sour candies are tough, but maybe there are other sour mediums more suited to this challenge.

Get excited for an account of the winery Sam and I visited while on vacation. It was a fun tasting session and a beautiful location.

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Rollin’ with a Cab

Posted on May 13, 2012 by lilliebette

I’m patting myself on the back right now since I am working on yet another post. But I shouldn’t get too confident. I got a few new likes and followers so I have an audience to impress now. No more funny business! (errr..lots more funny business if we are realistic)

After my Chinese disaster I decided to pick the “low hanging fruit”, to borrow a phrase that everyone at works says. My inspiration is fairly basic. At work, we have a treat table and someone brought in Tootsie Rolls. I knew instantly this was my next challenge. I love Tootsie Rolls. They are unique and a brand unto themselves. Unlike candy bars which are merely new combinations of basic components, a Tootsie Roll is its own entity. You have to respect that, even if you don’t like them.

And I think I may have done it justice.

The Wine: Raven Wood, Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

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The Smithies will know why I picked this wine: Raven’s Used Books.

The Candy: Tootsie Roll, Midgees

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Chewy, Chocolate Perfection

The Dream:

A Tootsie Roll is intensely chewy and chocolate (chewcolate?), so a red felt more practical. A smokey Pinot was the initial choice, but I chose this Cab instead. The label claimed it was fruity with a touch of spice, which I thought could bring out some interesting flavors from the Tootsie Roll. I’ve never thought Tootsie Rolls had one flavor. They are very deceitful in that they surprise you with a lemon, tangy flavor at the end. To be honest, I hoped the spiciness of this cab would be more pronounced than it was, but it worked out for the better.

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The Reality: 

The wine smells like cherries and a slight blueberry scent. I did not detect any spice, which initially disappointed me. The first taste gave me hope. It’s light and tart. The wine has a bite but it goes down extremely smooth and then dries out the tongue. The flavors flirt with you. All teasing and no commitment. Tootsie Rolls are the exact opposite. You chew one and you think, “This is chocolate” but suddenly this almost soapy taste is left in your mouth. And both flavors are extremely intense. You’re left thinking, what happened here? It isn’t bad, but it was not how you started. This wine cleanses the palet and flies off your tongue, washing away the thick Tootsie Roll.

 Coming up next: I’ve been challenged to pair a Rose from Spain (Cava), so that will be the next pairing. I think it will come at the right time as the DC/Maryland summer creeps upon us.

Welcome and a hearty thank you to my new followers/likers. Cheers!

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A Wedding, Some Wine and Gummy Bears

Posted on May 10, 2012 by lilliebette

Friends,

This is a post purely in honor of my friend Sarah who got married in Portland, Maine. It was a small wedding and I had the privilege of helping her get ready. As a reward, she provides some wine and candy.

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It was tangy, chilled and perfect for the occasion I thought the gummy bears went alright since they were so tiny. This isn’t a proper review but more a gift to the lovely couple.

I couldn’t imagine a sweeter pairing.

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