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Pairing chocolate with wine can sometimes be as tricky as pairing cheese with wine; you don’t want one to overpower the other.  The goal is to find wines and chocolates that compliment one another.

Bittersweet Chocolate – Intense dark chocolate with a cacao content ranging from 70% and up works great with strong red wines such as Bordeaux or Ruby Port that include concentrated fruit flavors.

Semisweet Chocolate – Cacao contents of 50% – 69% can be paired with an interesting array of wines, from Orange Muscat to Tawny Port to Zinfandel.  They often bring out the nutty and spicy sides of the chocolate.

Milk Chocolate – Sweeter wines are needed here in order to keep the wine from tasting tart due to the milk chocolate.  Hungarian Tokaji, Muscat, and Tawny Ports are all good choices for their fruity or nutty overtones.

White Chocolate – Because this is not a true chocolate (no chocolate liqueur involved), it is very creamy with vanillas, milks, and caramel tones.  Champagne, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat are a few wines that bring out all the right flavors with no worry about tartness.

Some wonderful chocolate to go with your wine can be found at http://www.barparts.com/Wine-Lovers-Gourmet-Chocolates-Individual-P372.aspx

There are times when choosing just the right wine can be confusing or just downright frustrating.  People who are serious about their wine know exactly what to look for, whereas the casual wine drinker may feel lost in a store full of various bottles.

If you aren’t sure what to drink, you can let someone else make the choice for you.  There are dozens of wine clubs available that choose great wines to send to members each month.  Most wine clubs, such as the one offered by Food & Wine, allow you to pay a flat fee for 6 or 12 bottles of high quality wine.  This also allows you to control how much wine you get and how much you pay, leaving you without any locked-in commitment.

By joining a wine club, you can discover great new wines and learn a little more about what you like in the process.

Located in the northeastern corner of France, the Alsace region is a little sliver of wine country that produces some lovely blends such as:

Riesling – Said to be the most elegant grape of the region, it offers up a dry and well-balanced wine that can be paired with shellfish, fish, and cold meats.

Gewurztraminer – Meaning “spicy” in German, it has a fruity taste with powerful aromas that may remind tasters of flowers.  It goes wonderfully with many traditional German dishes that include sausages and sauerkraut.

Pinot Blanc – A dry white wine, it has a faint fruity taste and aromas that will remind tasters of peaches or pears.

Tokay Pinot Gris – A rich white wine with a near-golden color that actually has the power to replace a red wine when eating a dish that features red meat.

Sylvaner – Originally from Australia, it is a fresh and fruity dry white wine with an interesting pale green color.  Best when served young and preferably with fish.

Crémant d’Alsace – A sparkling wine that is found in several other wine regions as well, though it is most popular when from Alsace.  Perfect with desserts when served young.

Wines and religion have had an interesting, intertwined relationship for centuries.  Many churches and monasteries during the Middle Ages – and often earlier – derived much of their income through the creation of wine.  Two of the most prolific winemakers were the Cistercians and Benedictines.  It is said that members from these two orders actually tasted the soil to find out how it differed from location to location.

Orthodox Jews can drink wine as well, but it must be kosher in order for them to do so.  This means that the wine cannot be touched at any time by someone who is a non-observant Jew or a “Gentile.”  This means from the grapevine to the bottle, wine can only be handled by certain members of the religion, and it must also contain only kosher ingredients.

The prophet Mohammed affected the way wine was handled in the Arabian areas; after his death, wine was banned from the majority of countries that listened to him.

Wine bottles were not always closed up with corks.  In fact, for centuries corks did not exist.  Corks were not invented until the late 17^th century.  This is why old paintings and artifacts from before that time will show wine bottles that have a very different shape from what we are used to today.

Wine bottles were originally bulbous and relatively short.  They sat upright at all times.  After the cork was invented and eventually used in stopping up bottles, wine makers realized its benefits.  Eventually, bottle shapes began to change, transforming into the longer, more slender version we are currently familiar with.  Wines were then laid down in order to age, which also gave makers more room and the ability to stack bottles safely on top of one another in cool cellars.  Also, by keeping the bottles on their sides, the wine could keep the cork moist, thus preventing it from drying out and allowing air to seep in.

Muscat grapes are white and have some interesting ranges.  Typically the wines they create are spicy and/or floral and while the majority of wines available do not actually taste like the grapes they are made of – or grapes at all, for that matter – Muscats do.  This makes them easy to identify during tastings.

Once Muscats have been harvested and transformed into their bottled form, they can be very dry and winningly fresh, or they can sit at the other end of the spectrum as syrupy and sweet.  Because of their range and sweet hints, Muscat wines are most often served with desserts, particularly puddings and various chocolate delicacies.

Muscat is widely grown in Portugal and Spain, but is also grown in certain areas of Italy and France, and as a minor variety in California.  There are many different varieties of the Muscat as well, from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains to Orange Muscat.

Ladies, put your skills to the test at your next wine tasting engagement. Studies have shown that women tend to be better wine tasters than men. This is because women, especially those in their reproductive ages, actually have a better sense of smell than men do. A big part of wine tasting is smelling the wine for a fuller experience, and with a heightened sense of smell, you will be able to better appreciate the wine and all its subtle flavors.
Men, that means the next time your lady informs you that the wine has a hint of lavender or vanilla and you can’t taste it, rest assured that it really is there!

Whether you plan on throwing a party or enjoying a romantic night out with your partner, sometimes wine just isn’t enough.  Enhancing wine with accessories adds to the experience of drinking a fine bottle, as well as enjoying the ambiance and food around it.

There are cheese and wine accessories for all occasions.  Need trivets?  Cheese carving boards?  Just the right knife for the right cheese?  Whatever you plan on enjoying with your wine, you can find ways and items that can increase your enjoyment of the moment.  Read up on good food pairings and take in your décor to decide which accessories would work best for the occasion.

Wine tasting, as you know is quite an art.

One of the problems at wine tastings is trying to describe to others what it is you smell and taste.

I have found a wonderful glossary which will give you the terminology that will help you describe the aromas and tastes so that even the most discriminating wine connoisseur will understand what you are talking about.

Go to http://zebra.sc.edu/smell/wine_glossary.html and read all about it.