Pinot Noir with Chocolate & Curry?

Robin & other "wine" folks,

We are going to a cocktail party this evening where you are supposed to bring a dish to match an assigned wine- in our case an "Oregon Pinot Noir" (don't know the label). We already have our dish planned: a smoked trout quiche that should pair very nicely ( I think) with a Pinot Noir. But I was thinking about also bringing some exotic chocolate to nibble on: what do you think about pairing more Pinot with the following from Vosges Chocolates?:
Naga Exotic Candy Bar

sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate


Named and inspired by the tribes of Northeast India, this bar strikes a beautiful balance between spiciness and sweetness. A must try for the adventurous sort.

Thanks,
Deb

[Robin Garr]

what do you think about pairing more Pinot with the following from Vosges Chocolates?:
Naga Exotic Candy Bar

sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate

Deb, I'm personally not crazy about matching dry wines with chocolate, period. But I don't have all that much of a sweet tooth.

I see where you're headed, thinking about the curry and coconut, and all I can say is that people who like red wine and chocolate will probably find that this one works.

Alternatively, take a Tawny Port (I know I saw a couple of reasonably affordable models at the Wine Rack the other day). That's a safe choice.

Banyuls.

[Robin Garr]

Banyuls.

An excellent wine-geek response, but extremely difficult to find in Louisville, in my experience. When Liquor Barn was Party Source, they used to have maybe one Banyuls - usually Dr. Parcé - but it's not going to be easy to pick up a Banyuls for dinner tonight.

(For lookers-on, Banyuls is a strong, sweet, funky, naturally strong red dessert wine based on the Grenache grape, made high in the French Pyrenees. It goes amazingly well with dark chocolate, as does its similar neighbor Maury. I'm not so sure that the milk chocolate and coconut thing would fare as well with it though, Ron.

Robin,
Thanks!

Glad you didn't say " what on the earth are you thinking!": I'm really good with food, love my wine, but not so up on the pairing of the two.

Great idea on the Tawny Port. We may do just that.

Only problem: Not sure how my head is going to feel after an entire evening matching foods with diiferent wines...

Deb

Wine pairings are a very personal thing. I liked Cabernet Sauvignon with chocolate. That's not a common or popular pairing and I experienced it simply by chance. But, rare, marbled steak pairs well with a tannic CS, so I thought maybe the chocolate-CS pairing worked because the tannins "cut through" the fat in the chocolate.

Jay,

I also like Cabernet with really fine dark chocolate or deep chocolate desserts. My challenge here was to match something with the Pinot I was assigned and the spicy of the Pinot got me to thinking about pairing it with the sweet-spiciness of this particular chocolate. I'm going to try it tonight with several different wines to see what goes best with this unusual dessert; should be interesting!

Deb

[Robin Garr]

I thought maybe the chocolate-CS pairing worked because the tannins "cut through" the fat in the chocolate.

That's very perceptive, Jay, and yes, Cabernet-chocolate is one of the standard recommendations in the difficult area of dry wine with chocolate. Again, though, in my experience it's best with dark, bittersweet chocolate. Deb's pick, with milk chocolate and curry-coconut flavors, is going to be really tough with wine (although the chocolate sounds incredible to me).

The more I think about this, the more I keep going back to Tawny Port with this specific match.

what do you think about pairing more Pinot with the following from Vosges Chocolates?:
Naga Exotic Candy Bar

sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate

Deb, I'm personally not crazy about matching dry wines with chocolate, period. But I don't have all that much of a sweet tooth.

I see where you're headed, thinking about the curry and coconut, and all I can say is that people who like red wine and chocolate will probably find that this one works.

Alternatively, take a Tawny Port (I know I saw a couple of reasonably affordable models at the Wine Rack the other day). That's a safe choice.

OK, I guess this is hijacking the thread, but while you're on the subject of wine pairings, I have to ask you a question. I was at Asiatique recently. I really like Asiatique and August Moon, but based on the heat in most of their dishes, I don't think of either restaurant as wine friendly at all. Asiatique seems to take wine seriously, though, and they periodically host wine events.

At the recent Asiatique dinner, I decided to order the 5-course prix fixe dinner with the wine pairings selected by the house. I did this specifically to find out how they'd pair wines with some of the hotter dishes. It didn't work for me (at all). One appetizer course was two skewers of meat (beef and duck, I believe), which they paired with a sauvignon blanc. Neither skewer, including the accompanying sauce, was spicy hot, but the match didn't work for me.

The main course was a light white fish served over vegetables in a spicy hot red broth. This was served with a Spanish red blend (granacha and two other grapes). This match was a bust, too (for me anyway). The more I think about it I think they just botched the selections, and it confirmed my belief that, unless you select one of the few menu items that is low on the heat scale, you might as well skip the wine at both places. I still love the food, though. Comments???

Banyuls.

An excellent wine-geek response, but extremely difficult to find in Louisville, in my experience. When Liquor Barn was Party Source, they used to have maybe one Banyuls - usually Dr. Parcé - but it's not going to be easy to pick up a Banyuls for dinner tonight.

(For lookers-on, Banyuls is a strong, sweet, funky, naturally strong red dessert wine based on the Grenache grape, made high in the French Pyrenees. It goes amazingly well with dark chocolate, as does its similar neighbor Maury. I'm not so sure that the milk chocolate and coconut thing would fare as well with it though, Ron.

You could be right, as I've never had it with chocolate/coconut, but I have had banyuls with a wide array of chocolates, and it hasn't let me down yet.

what do you think about pairing more Pinot with the following from Vosges Chocolates?:
Naga Exotic Candy Bar

sweet Indian curry powder + coconut flakes + deep milk chocolate

Deb, I'm personally not crazy about matching dry wines with chocolate, period. But I don't have all that much of a sweet tooth.

I see where you're headed, thinking about the curry and coconut, and all I can say is that people who like red wine and chocolate will probably find that this one works.

Alternatively, take a Tawny Port (I know I saw a couple of reasonably affordable models at the Wine Rack the other day). That's a safe choice.

OK, I guess this is hijacking the thread, but while you're on the subject of wine pairings, I have to ask you a question. I was at Asiatique recently. I really like Asiatique and August Moon, but based on the heat in most of their dishes, I don't think of either restaurant as wine friendly at all. Asiatique seems to take wine seriously, though, and they periodically host wine events.

At the recent Asiatique dinner, I decided to order the 5-course prix fixe dinner with the wine pairings selected by the house. I did this specifically to find out how they'd pair wines with some of the hotter dishes. It didn't work for me (at all). One appetizer course was two skewers of meat (beef and duck, I believe), which they paired with a sauvignon blanc. Neither skewer, including the accompanying sauce, was spicy hot, but the match didn't work for me.

The main course was a light white fish served over vegetables in a spicy hot red broth. This was served with a Spanish red blend (granacha and two other grapes). This match was a bust, too (for me anyway). The more I think about it I think they just botched the selections, and it confirmed my belief that, unless you select one of the few menu items that is low on the heat scale, you might as well skip the wine at both places. I still love the food, though. Comments???

Jay, you make a great point. A lot of folks say that when it comes to hot, spicy, salty, bitter asian food you are better off to skip the wine and go with a beer. I tend to disagree, but pairing wine is not easy. Most reds are a bust when paired with aggressively flavored asian cuisine. I do see Spanish reds being pushed a lot, but I don't think they work most of the time. In my humble opinion you need real food wines. Nothing high in alcohol, and forget about all that lush fruit. For reds I like the simpler end of the spectrum: cab francs and gamay. But, I really tend to stick with high acid white wines, and a litte residual sugar doesn't hurt either. Rieslings from Germany and Alsace are brilliant food wines, and while asian food may not be their most natural partner, they stand up to it better than most others. Gewurtztraminer is often touted as a natural companion to these foods, but I am not always so thrilled with it. It can work, but it can also be variable wine as well.
I am convinced thart asian food is an area of cuisine that is ripe for being paired with well-crafted cocktails, much in the same way that Mexican cuisine can be so satisfying with a well made margarita.

...But, I really tend to stick with high acid white wines, and a litte residual sugar doesn't hurt either. Rieslings from Germany and Alsace are brilliant food wines, and while asian food may not be their most natural partner, they stand up to it better than most others. Gewurtztraminer is often touted as a natural companion to these foods, but I am not always so thrilled with it. It can work, but it can also be variable wine as well.

Agreed. Not a big Gewurtz fan here either. I was expecting to be served an off-dry white with the spicy dishes. I don't recall seeing them on the menu at Asiatique. August Moon has a California or Washington Riesling and used to have the Finger Lakes Salmon Run Riesling. How about chenin blanc - maybe a demi-sec Vouvray with the spicy dishes???

Jay,

I also like Cabernet with really fine dark chocolate or deep chocolate desserts. My challenge here was to match something with the Pinot I was assigned and the spicy of the Pinot got me to thinking about pairing it with the sweet-spiciness of this particular chocolate. I'm going to try it tonight with several different wines to see what goes best with this unusual dessert; should be interesting!

How'd it go, Deb - with both the smoked trout quiche and the chocolate? Which OR PN did you pick?

No, surprise- Robin was right.

We tried it with both the Pinot Noir and a Tawny port. The pinot was okay with it, but the Tawny port really complemented the sweetness of the chocolate, and accented the unique sweet-spicy of this particular chocolate. Which, by the way, is outstanding....

Deb

Deb
Where did you find the Vosges?..... I know they have a couple of bars (which I could go for right now) at Liquor barn, is there somewhere else I missed, or did you get it from their website?

I love the combinations that they produce!

Food affinities class at CIA.... mentioned Reds/and dark chocolate (can't help it I'm a girl), chef looked at me like I had blurted jibberish or something, he thought I was crazy... I don't care... I still like it.!