The pleasure principle: Chocolate and wine
She was squirming in her seat. Ever so delicately, but squirming nonetheless. Eyes closed. Head tilted back. Cheeks and jaw moving as it melted on her tongue, and more than just murmuring... she was groaning in ecstasy. It was vaguely embarrassing observing it – a bit like watching Meg Ryan fake an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally...
Photograph by Riehan Bakkes
Other than wanting to tell Sue van Wyk, Cape Wine Master, to get a room, in the tradition of American movies, I felt as though I was intruding on a private moment of gastro porn! But since she was sitting opposite and there were another eight people at the table and a further 120 or so in the room, it was difficult to give her a moment of privacy.
The occasion was a chocolate and wine dinner held in the slightly surreal surrounds of La Fonderie, a former bronze foundry and now a museum of industry and labour in Liège, Belgium, close on a decade ago. Sue van Wyk has never forgotten it – and nor have I because of her rhapsodic reaction.
The thing was, most of those in the room were also having personal moments of varying pleasure – perhaps not as publicly and quasi-orgasmically as Sue but there was a definite frisson of excitement in the room.
It was sublime – and probably ranks as one of the most interesting food and wine pairing experiences of my career. The maestro behind it all was Jean Galler, a master chocolatier and the holder of a Royal warrant. And if you’re the Royal chocolatier in Belgium that means you’re pretty much the top fairy on the ultimate Christmas tree with Belgian chocolate being the ne plus ultra of the world!
In a shallow bowl before the guests was chocolate soup – and with fine effervescent beads lazily rising in a pink hue alongside, was a flute of Rosé Champagne. A heavenly combination as Sue’s response testified. But are chocolate and wine natural matches?
It’s a question which is somewhat vexatious: proponents of it are avid fans while detractors pooh-pooh the notion. One thing is certain – it’s not a one-sizefits- all proposition. It is essential that the person doing the matching knows how to approach it.
Waterford wine estate on Stellenbosch’s Helderberg was the first to attempt this novel pairing. Co-owner and cellarmaster Kevin Arnold was the prime mover behind it. “The seed of the idea was planted when I read an article on a return flight from California in 2002. It was all about the antioxidant and health properties of the cocoa bean and chocolate. It struck a chord since I don’t have much of a sweet tooth and don’t really enjoy desserts but often, after a red wine tasting, I’d find myself craving just a little piece of dark chocolate.” Within two days of arriving home, Arnold found himself at a Constantia cheese festival – and tasting the handmade chocolates of Richard von Geusau.
The Greyton-based chocolatier took up the tale. “Kevin mentioned this idea to me – and I thought it was rather whacky but it sparked something in me. Cutting a long story short, we put our heads together and tried a whole host of things before settling on the three options that Waterford currently offers.”
The first successful wine and chocolate pairing was kicked off by the eponymous Kevin Arnold Shiraz. “This was a while before the whole mocha/chocolate thing became trendy and my Shiraz was one of the few that people described as having that coffee-chocolate flavour,” Arnold said.
“I like wine but find I don’t have the vocabulary for it,” Von Geusau said, “and that was where Kevin was so good. He was able to describe the qualities and characteristics of the wine which I then used as a guide in formulating the chocolate.”
Masala chai spices in dark chocolate and the Kevin Arnold Shiraz became the first fit, followed by the Waterford Cabernet Sauvignon and rock salt – again with dark chocolate. “Kevin’s advice on the wine was that it went well with lamb... but you can’t exactly make a lamb chocolate! With that savoury profile in mind I tried adding salt to the chocolate and it was utterly gross... We finally settled on sprinkling a few rock-salt crystals on top of each block which worked,” Von Geusau recalled. And not just any salt either... “We obviously tried Maldon salt flakes initially but they just melted. So we reverted to the local Khoisan salt from the West Coast.”
The final match was the pairing of Waterford’s natural sweet dessert wine with a rose geranium flavoured milk chocolate.
Purists are of the opinion that wine and chocolate are not natural bedfellows, citing the clash between acidity and tannin on wine with the creaminess and subtle flavour nuances of chocolate. Arnold disputes this: “I tell our tasting staff to stand back and listen to the response that people have. It breaks down barriers because people all taste different things and are happy to talk about what sort of reaction they’re having to the chocolate and to the wine. That gets them thinking about the nature of flavour and also gets them to appreciate that what one person likes in a wine isn’t necessarily what they will find.”
The second winery that has successfully gone the chocolate-pairing route is Creation Wines in Walker Bay’s Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. Carolyn Martin says they’re not trying to follow anyone’s lead since their focus has always been on food and wine pairing and getting people to appreciate flavour in all forms.
“We actually started at the behest of the Arabella Western Cape Hotel in Kleinmond. They approached us with the idea, looking for something special for their guests – and it’s been a success. We thought about it for a long time because we didn’t want to be perceived as copycatting. We embarked on a lengthy process with one chocolatier and went quite far down the road when they decided to pull out – I think because of the dirt road leading to our winery...” Martin quipped. Ultimately they settled on their éclat du chocolat pairing in which they use chocolate to highlight flavour in three of their wines – the Syrah/ Grenache blend, Viognier and Merlot.
Dubbed the Charisma, Passion and Resonance éclat du chocolat experience, Martin explained that the chocolates are purely of African origin. They’re made using couverture from Chocolate by Tomes, the only chocolate actually made in South Africa using cacao beans sourced from Africa. Most other chocolatiers source prepared chocolate from Belgium and France for their products.
Richard Tomes, the producer, said the only thing he imported for his chocolate was full-cream milk powder; everything else was sourced locally. “We make our own chocolate from scratch using beans from the Ivory Coast and Ghana and sugar from South Africa. There are other African sources of cacao beans but the regularity of supply can be problematic,” he said, referring to Cameroon and Madagascar.
His chocolate features both in Creation and Lourensford’s chocolate and wine pairing. “Their tastings differ according to what they want to highlight in their respective wines.”
“You won’t find that these chocolates will suit anything other than Creation’s Viognier, Merlot and Syrah/Grenache because we have worked to pair those wines specifically,” Martin reiterated.
Evidence of the lengths Creation goes to in their pairings is displayed in analysing the Passion chocolate. “It’s two-thirds 60% cacao from Callebaut, a combo of Criolla, Forestero and Trinaterio beans from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, with the rest 67% cacao from Madagascar. It’s about the fragrance and matching the Viognier’s creaminess. The different beans and origins give us lovely chocolate flavours with bright blueberry and citrus notes with natural bourbon vanilla echoing the wine’s creaminess.”
The Resonance chocolate is 72% chocolate by Tomes from the Ivory Coast and Ghana and is true to the full chocolaty, berry and nutty flavours of the couverture and the wine. Charisma contains freeze-dried raspberries (sourced from New Zealand!) and pink peppercorns highlighting the berry and spice elements of the Syrah/Grenache.
“We used éclat rather than a bar as it is created like thin sheets of bark. It is very light and when placed on the tongue melts immediately – so you get both the taste sensations as well as the aromas sweeping through, allowing you to breathe them in at the same time. You get immediate full flavours as opposed to almost having to chew on the chocolate.”
Martin and Creation’s take echoes that of Belgian maestro, M Galler. He’s on record as saying that his passion for wine comes second to his passion for chocolate – and he is a keen devotee of pairing his loves. “I tried lots of things – and each wine has its own particular attributes, depending on whether it’s fruity or less so; whether there’s any acidity or bitterness present.”
His advice is to choose a chocolate that either complements (the wine) – or else to layer the flavours. “For example, we have walnuts in our La Forêt praline. A wine such as Lorosso (white) has lots of walnutty hints and so if I combine the two, we get layers of flavour. Or else, I might – for example – contrast the liveliness of a sparkling wine with the soft smoothness of a white or praline chocolate.”
Another of Galler’s favoured matches is a Côte du Rhône village with a gingerbread praline...
Galler (www.galler.com) has a broad range of chocolates but offers one unique gift – a box set containing a 375ml bottle of Maury Pouderoux (a sweet fortified red from the Roussillon area of France, predominantly Grenache Noir), along with three miniature bottles of natural sweet wines and 500g of specially selected, handcrafted pralines with a leaflet explaining the association between the chocolate and the wines.
Bilton’s experience came about by chance. Marketing manager Margie Hoffe explains that Bilton couldn’t get into the V&A Waterfront festival’s main tent – but could get into the gourmet tent. “But we had to have something ‘foodie’ to offer – so we settled on chocolate, and it was a hit!”
Aida chocolates of Tokai makes up the product for matching with the winery’s Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Shiraz – a mocha/chocolate-flavoured one for the first, one which highlights cherry and blackcurrant flavour for the second and very mild chilli for the last wine.
Lourensford emphasises the African origins of their Chocolates by Tomes – as already highlighted – which also includes nougat as part of the pairing with Shiraz/ Mourvèdre/Grenache, Merlot and a Semillon noble late harvest. The latter match takes the form of a dark chocolate-dipped segment of preserved orange.
A word of caution: Waterford’s Arnold, Creation’s Martin, Richard Tomes and Richard von Geusau all counsel against simply taking chocolate off the shelf and trying it at home with any wine. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation – by all means try it – but the pairings have been skilfully worked out to suit specific wines. Arnold and Von Geusau both made the point separately that the chocolate changes with each vintage. “Each wine’s flavour and make-up changes with every vintage depending on the weather and growing conditions, so the chocolates have to be tweaked slightly to accommodate those changes in acidity, tannin and flavour,” was Arnold’s parting shot.
HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES AT HOME
CARAMEL TRUFFLE
INGREDIENTS
400g (400ml) cream (35% fat)
200g (200ml) milk
150g (100ml) glucose syrup
1.2kg extra au lait couverture 37%
300g (375ml) sugar (dry caramel)
1. Heat the cream, glucose and milk. Set aside. Form a dry caramel by gradually heating the sugar
in a pan.
2. Once caramelised, add the cream slowly. (The mixture will bubble.)
3. Allow to cool to 85ºC. Pour the caramel-cream mixture over the couverture and mix well.
4. Allow to cool to piping consistency, pipe into log shapes.
5. Allow to set, cut, dry and then coat in tempered couverture and toss in couverture flakes.
Serve with Meerendal’s Chenin Blanc Natural Sweet 2006
ARTISAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE
INGREDIENTS
370g (375ml) cream (35% fat)
40g (30ml) glucose syrup
550g Surfin couverture 49%
1. Bring the cream and glucose to the boil before allowing to cool to 85ºC.
2. Mix from the centre to form a core until a smooth, shiny ganache forms. Pour into a shallow container and allow to set at room temperature.
3. Once at a soft butter-like consistency, agitate the ganache then spoon into portions. Allow to crystallise and dry.
4. Coat twice in tempered couverture and then roll in cocoa powder.
Serve with De Toren Fusion V 2004
All recipes supplied by Lindt Chocolate Studio and presented by Dimo Simatos. For more information on the various chocolate-making courses Lindt offers, visit www.chocolatestudio.co.za.
RULES OF THE GAME
1. High-quality chocolate for high-quality wines.
2. The higher the cocoa content, the drier the wine may be.
3. Bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate works best with red wine.
4. The higher the tannin content of a red wine, the stronger the chocolate should be.
5. Wine first on the tongue – and then the chocolate.
(Source: De Toren’s website – April 2007 newsletter. De Toren wine estate used to offer Lago chocolate and wine pairings, but sadly this is no longer on offer.)
DID YOU KNOW?
Three-quarters of the world’s cacao beans are produced in Africa – mainly West Africa. The Ivory Coast is the largest producer and has been linked to unsavoury child-labour practices.
The oldest evidence of cacao was discovered in Puerto Escondido, Honduras, by archaeologists in 2007. It was dated back to 1100 to 1400 BCE.
The presence of theobromine in chocolate makes it toxic for certain animals – especially cats and dogs.
Chocolate is considered a ‘superfood’ because of its antioxidant quality and its role in promoting good health when used in moderation.
American companies Hersheys and Mars produce chocolate sold for $13 billion annually – yet Europe still accounts for 45% of all the global revenue for chocolate.
According to Wikipedia, in April 2007 the BBC reported that a study found that brain activity and heart rate increased after melting chocolate in the mouth, at an intensity greater than that produced by passionate kissing – and that the effect lasted four times longer... (and men wonder
why chocolate is a woman’s best friend!).
WHERE TO TRY IT
Chocolate and wine pairings:
WATERFORD ESTATE, Stellenbosch R40 for three wines and three chocolates.
Tel 021 880 0496
www.waterfordestate.co.za
CREATION WINES, Hermanus
R80 a head, usually only for pre-booked groups.
Tel 028 212 1107
www.creationwines.com
BILTON WINES, Stellenbosch
R50 for three chocolates and wines.
Tel 021 881 3714
www.biltonwines.com
LOURENSFORD, Somerset West
R30 for three wines and chocolate.
Tel 021 847 2333
www.lourensford.com
LA CHOCOLATERIE ROCOCO, Oudtshoorn
R80 for a two-hour chocolate and wine show at the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees in April.
Pairings also by arrangement.
Tel 084 232 5991
www.ilovechocolate.co.za
ASARA, Stellenbosch
Although a chocolate and wine pairing is not available, guests can taste four chocolates for R25 at the deli and then move on to the tasting room where a tasting of five wines will cost R30.
Tel 021 888 8000
www.asara.co.za
Non-wine
chocolate-tasting options:
LINDT CHOCOLATE STUDIO,
De Waterkant, Cape Town
Tel 021 421 3107
www.chocolatestudio.co.za
LINDT CHOCOLATE STUDIO,
Fourways, Johannesburg
Tel 011 467 5730
www.chocolatestudio.co.za
GELDHOF CHOCOLATES,
Various branches around Joburg
www.geldhofchocolates.co.za
ARRIBA CHOCOLATES,
Stamfordhill, Durban
Tel 031 312 4059
www.arribachocolates.co.za
THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
Archaeological evidence shows that chocolate has been enjoyed since around 1400 BCE, both as a drink, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, and as an element of ceremonial rituals. It’s native to Central and South America and Mexico and its use has been documented and detailed in numerous hieroglyphs found on temples in these regions.
The Mayans enjoyed it as an essentially bitter drink while other civilisations such as the Aztecs used the beans as a form of currency for bartering. It was unknown in the New World until the Spanish conquistadors returned from the Americas with xocoatl and it took a hundred years to become popular throughout Europe, often flavoured with vanilla or even chilli. It was essentially a luxury item and its cultivation by the Spaniards in plantations in the Americas played a massive role in the enslavement of Africans who worked them.
London was the venue for the first chocolate house and in England, anyone who could afford it, could enjoy it. The original milky chocolate drink developed by physician Hans Sloan in Jamaica was sold to the Cadbury brothers in 1897.
The first-ever bar of chocolate was produced in 1847 when Joseph Fry & Son experimented with adding sugar and mixing cocoa butter into chocolate, creating a solid form. But it was the industrial revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries which brought about mass production.
