Red Wine & Chocolate

Legend says the Greek gods drank fermented grape juice, and the great lover Casanova had a hankering for hot cocoa. With great influences come great products, which make the great pairing of wine and chocolate.

Both wine and chocolate have their anciently planted roots, and somewhere along the vine, they found each other. Wine production can be dated back to the Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C.), according to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The “Noah Hypothesis” suggests modern grape varieties were planted after the Great Flood on Mount Ararat by Noah, the biblical leader and “first vintner.”

Greek mythology credits the original production of wine to the god Dionysus, who elicited his power into the fermented juice drank by his followers. His godly influence was in his wine and its connection with sex and intoxication.

With the sway of Dionysus’ persuasive sexual prowess behind his wine, ancient Greeks may have thought the beverage to be an aphrodisiac. Studies (and practice) show how alcohol creates an intoxicating effect, allowing consumers to relax their inhibitions when initiating or engaging in sex.

Certified sexuality educator and author for About.com Cory Silverberg wrote that in controlled amounts, wine has been reported to have a positive impact on sexual desire and arousal. However, large amounts of wine, or alcohol, can cause sexual intercourse to be a struggle. Chocolate has a similar story once it was brought to Europe in the 17th century from both Mayan and Aztec culture. The cacao bean was thought to have mystical elements that nourished, healed and even aroused the body and soul.

Steven R. Carter, Ph.D. and Senior Director of Research and Development for Eharmony.com, wrote of three major components of chocolate: phenyl-ethylamine (PEA), tryptophan and anandamide. These substances can act as “love drugs,” PEA peaking during orgasm, tryptophan creating euphoria and anandamide releasing feelings of attraction, excitement, sensitivity and comfort.

Carter also reported that urologists in Italy found that “women who eat chocolate feel significantly more sexually fulfilled” than those who pass on the morsel.

It stands to reason these genetically engineered sexual enhancements would go together in more ways than the bedroom.

“Wine and chocolate is a marriage made in heaven,” said Arnie Millan, certified sommelier and master of the floor at Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle.

Millan warns it can be hazardous to pair just any wine with any chocolate. “A dry Cabernet is risky because if the match with chocolate isn’t perfect, it can make the wine taste sour.”

Always pick a wine that is sweet or sweeter than the dish and a chocolate that is medium to dark cacao, Millan suggested.

“A sparkling red can be paired with a chocolate ganache or some super rich dessert,” Millan said. “If you have a syrupy, sweet wine, it can be too much. With sparkling, it has just enough sweetness that it cuts through the richness.”

Dessert wines and ports are classic matches for chocolate according to Millan.

The Grenache-based dessert wine from the Banyuls region of Southern France is firmly recommended by sommeliers across the board, said Millan. “It’s a little sweeter than port and when you sip it with chocolate, it’s like: ‘Wow, chocolate cherry!’”

Kristen Burns, general manager for the new Dilettante Chocolates Mocha Café on Capitol Hill, said the pairing of chocolate with wine allows the taster to find different elements in the wine that might have not been there before or without it.

“I pick dark chocolates with a smooth, full-bodied wine,” Burns said. “It’s not too overwhelming and pulls out the dark fruit flavors.” Burns said she is a firm believer in dark chocolate as a wine enhancer.
“Milk chocolate is already so sweet and it almost clutters your palate so that it’s almost disturbing.”

Dilettante has been producing wine and alcohol-infused chocolates for the duration of their 30-year existence, like their Champagne truffles. “It’s a trend with local chocolatiers,” Burns said. “It’s all used in production, so it loses the alcohol content but leaves the flavor.”

Burns’ ideal pairing is the Dilettante Ephemere truffle and Kamiak 2005 Cellar Select Red Blend.

Dionysus, Noah and the ancient tribes of South American should be proud. The New World has done well with their gifts of wine and chocolate and continues to create, innovate and sexually stimulate lovers of both highly demanded products.