September 9, 2005

Like Wine for Chocolate: Ze Round-Up!

As I write these lines, we have 52 56 contributions to this 13th edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday! I'm delighted that so many of you took part in the game and had fun playing. I won't lie to you, it does give me a little thrill to know that 52 56 of us -- and that's not even counting the friends and family we embarked on the adventure -- conducted this chocolate/wine tasting experiment, just a few days apart and each in our own little corner of the world.

So without further ado, let me direct you to their respective tasting notes. To try and make things somewhat organized, I ordered contributions by type of wine -- and not by type of chocolate confection, although the thought did cross my mind. Some participants experimented with different wines, and these you will find in the "multiple tastings" section. I realize that the "red" category could probably be broken down some more, maybe into dessert wines and non-dessert wines or by region, but I didn't always know enough to make that distinction. If you don't find your entry listed here or if I made a mistake in the description/classification, please email me and it will be promptly corrected!

Thank you so much for participating: it's been fun, I've learned a lot, and I have also added quite a few chocolate recipes on my to-try list!

Ports

The Corkdork from The Corkdork tasted a Zinfandel Port, and ended up preferring a good glass of cold milk.

Greg from Anapestic made a Perfect Chocolate Mousse and ate it with Port decanted in a vodka bottle!

Lou from One Whole Clove used a family recipe for her chocolate cake, and drank 10 year old Calem tawny port from the Haut Douro region of Portugal.

Jathan from Wine Expression went out for his chocolate soufflé, and ate it with a 20-year-old Grahams Tawny port.

Ladygoat from The Foodgoat eats a bar of Scharffen-Berger dark chocolate (pre-Hershey, she notes) with caramel sauce and Warre's Warrior Special Reserve Port.

Chas from Wine Taster nibbled on a coffee chocolate bar from Belgium while he drank Taylor’s Tawny Port.

Kieca from This heaven gives me migraine tasted Quinta do Noval "Raven" Port with a chocolate merlot cake.

Vins Doux Naturels

Shauna from Gluten-free Girl paired her flourless chocolate torte with a 2003 Banyuls (Domaine de la Rectorie).

Catherine from Purple Liquid tasted a 1988 Banyuls Grand Cru (Cave de l'Etoile).

Alyce from Mantia's Musings made the recipe I offered with two different kinds of chocolate, and tasted both with a 1995 Banyuls and a 1997 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

Brett from In Praise of Sardines bought chocolate friands and pots de crème, and ate them with a 2003 Banyuls (Domaine La Tour Vieille).

Viv from Seattle Bon Vivant tasted an assortment of chocolate goodies with a 2003 Banyuls (Domaine de la Rectorie).

Aude from Ma vie à table created her blog just for this event (welcome to the blogosphere!), and paired her dark chocolate mousse with Mas Amiel.

And yours truly also went the Mas Amiel way.

Reds

Pastilla from her Flickr account drank a Black Muscat Elysium from California.

Sue from Coffee AM Wine PM tasted an Italian wine, A-Mano (by hand) from Catellaneta in Puglia.

Jacques Garin from Cuisine & Vins de l'Oecuméne, who happens to be a friend of my father's, made a chocolate cake from a (French) mix and chose an aged Bordeaux, a 1991 Chateau Fourcas Hostein from the Haut Médoc.

Anne from Guru Chick took a trip around the world and tasted three red wines: a Little Penguin 2004 Shiraz from Australia, a Concha Y Toro 2004 Cabernet-Merlot blend from Chile, and a Chateau Ste. Michelle 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

Lindy from Lindy's Toast made bittersweet chocolate ice and an Italian mocha-almond torte, and tasted that with a red dessert wine, a Mavrodaphne of Patras, from Achala Clauss.

Adam from The Amateur Gourmet drank Beaujolais in a Nutella-coated glass. Yes dear Adam, you definitely have the prize for the most endearing (and funny) effort!

Beth from The Zen Foodist made her very first cake ever (I'm so honored that it's from a recipe I provided, this is a hugely important step in a human being's life!) and ate it with a 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon called “Screw Kappa Napa".

Pascale from C'est moi qui l'ai fait made her chocolate financiers to eat with chateau Maydie, a liquorish wine from the South West of France.

Andrew from Spittoon tasted a Marsala and added a splash of it to the recipe I'd provided.

Jen from Roast Chicken Seasoning made a Chocolate Framboise torte to eat with her sparkling Shiraz from Australia. She wasn't quite happy with it, so she tried again with more success, pairing it with a red wine from the Douro valley in Portugal.

Jennifer from The Domestic Goddess made her own flourless chocolate torte, and ate it with a Cotes du Ventoux.

Matt from Sound and Fury paired the cake with a Zinfandel called Seven Deadly Zins.

Carrick from Mundell.org celebrated his birthday with the cake and a 2002 Black Label Claret from the Coppola winery.

Brenda from Culinary Fool baked a Chocolate Cabernet Torte and then drank the Cabernet that went in the torte, a Drop Dead Red by Kestrel Vintners.

Joanne and Jack from Fork & Bottle bought David Glass' Ultimate Chocolate Truffle Cake and paired it with a 1998 Turley Delinquent Zinfandel.

Alder from Vinography tasted a red wine called "The Prisoner" from the Orin Swift Cellars in California.

Johanna from The Passionate Cook made a chocolate soufflé and chestnut ice-cream (using the crème de marron I had sent her!), which she served with Piconera, a sweet sherry.

Mag from The Wine Offensive enjoyed her Boule chocolates with a Madeira.

Whites

Cindy from Cindy's Kitchen made a chocolate soufflé and served it with a sweet white wine Domaine de Rotier, Gaillac doux, year 2002.

Jens from Cincinnati Wine Garage paired M&Ms with a Rutherglen Muscadelle, a Tokay from Australia.

Cam from Appellation Australia tasted the cake with an Australian Chardonnay from the Tamburlaine Winery.

Champagne

Trish from The Countess baked a chocolate layer cake and ate it with Champagne, a Brut Dargent.

Multiple tastings

Fatemeh from Gastronomie SF teamed up with Derrick from An Obsession with Food to taste a 1993 Coheita Madeira and a young vintage port from 1999 with a flourless chocolate cake.

Pim from Chez Pim went out for a chocolate fonduta and tasted it with a vintage port, a 1977 Taylor Fladgate, and a pink 2004 Brachetto Birbert from Piemonte.

Barbara from Winos and Foodies tasted a sparkling Riccadonna Asti from Italy, a 2002 Nevis Bluff Pinot Gris, a 2003 Olssens Jackson Barry Pinot Noir and a 2003 Sileni Late Harvest Semillon.

Lisa from Restaurant Widow asked for help and advice from a professional wine buyer she knows, who had her taste no less than seven different wines (including a Château d'Yquem) with a moscato chocolate bombe.

Lenn from Lenndevours had his cake with a Jamesport Vineyards 1998 Semi-Glace, a Baldwin Vineyards 2004 Blueberry Wine and Raspberry Wine, and a Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Acqui D.O.C.G.

Serge from Serge the Concierge teamed up with a pastry chef who made Chocolate Crepes while he provided a Rancho Zabaco Zinfandel Port, a Rodney Strong Cabernet and a Bonny Doon Vin de Glaciere.

William from WLW-Winegeek tastes his wife's Confession Cake with a Bonny Doon Framboise, a Villa Maria's Noble Riesling Botrytis Selection, and a Banfi's Rosa Regale Brachetto d'Aqui.

Jay from The Wine Chicks paired a panforte with a Felsina Vin Santo, while her friend Kristin, also from The Wine Chicks, baked a chocolate-orange cake to eat with Lustau East India Sherry.

Tim from Winecast tasted a 2002 Old Vine Zinfandel from California and a 1998 Banyuls (M. Chapoutier).

Jennifer from Cookin' in the 'Cuse tasted an organic red table wine from the state of New York, an organic Muscat from California and a Port, also from California.

Kristina from Xtina Askew baked her "cheat cake" and paired it with a 2003 Firesteed Pinot Noir, a 2003 L'Crocodile Viognier, and a 2002 Toasted Head Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jarrett from Foodpornwatch tasted different chocolate confections (including Chocolate-Port Tortes) with a Bonny Doon Cinsault, a 2001 Jewel zinfandel, a Predroncelli four-grape vintage port and finally a Zinfandel Port from the winery down the road.

Erich from Erichian played matchmaker (lovely metaphor) for an assortment of chocolate bites and a 2001 Gundlach Bundschu Zinfandel, a Tedeschi Vineyards Framboise de Maui, and a 1999 Los Olivos Vintners Zinfandel Port.

Other kinds of wine

Carolyn from 18th Century Cuisine baked a French Chocolate Cake and ate it with Frambosia Raspberry wine from Oregon.

Beth from Kitchen Mage tells us about a fascinating Chocolate Orange wine from Astoria, Oregon.

Other drinks

David Lebovitz from David Lebovitz doesn't like chocolate and wine together, so he paired his Gâteaux Bastille with an eau-de-vie, a Spiritueux de Cacao.

Ed from Tomato made a Chocolate & Zucchini cake (how sweet!) and drank Chimay beer with it.

Inna from Forever Hungry, baked a Dark Wave Chocolate Cake and ate it while drinking vodka.

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