…the pairing of this wine and the Brix Medium Dark Chocolate worked very well! 

As you may know if you follow this blog,  I’ve been contributing to Visit Lodi! Conference & Visitors Bureau blog.  Visit Lodi is the official travel website for Lodi, California.

One of my latest features on the Visit Lodi website is about pairing wine and chocolate .  It’s entitled Pairing Wine and Chocolate Lodi Style.

It’s features tips for optimizing palatable wine and chocolate pairings.  One of my tips is to  “look for a “target –rich environment”, such as the 22nd Annual Lodi Wine and Chocolate Weekend February 9th and 10th, 2019 where you can taste handcrafted Lodi wines and decadent chocolate treats from over 50 wineries in the Lodi appellation.  It’s a fun way to find out what suits your palate when it comes to wine and chocolate pairings!”  

Click here to check out the full article!

In addition to offering many wine and chocolate pairings, the Lodi Wine and Chocolate passport weekend also offers live music, delicious food  for sale from local vendors, and more!

As part of their ticket, attendees will receive one ounce 60% cocoa Medium Dark chocolate bar from event sponsor, BRIX Chocolate. Recommended pairings for BRIX Medium Dark chocolate include Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Red Rhone blends, Tempranillo, Primitivo, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese, and Carmenere – all of which are produced in the Lodi Wine Region from locally-grown winegrapes.

More information about the event can be found at lodiwineandchocolate.com. It’s not too late to buy tickets!

After recently receiving a sample of the 2011 LangeTwins Centennial Zinfandel and a Brix Medium Dark Chocolate bar, I decided to check out a Lodi wine and chocolate pairing for myself.

Disclosure: The wine and Brix chocolate were provided to me as a media samples. I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions presented are my own.

The Wine

Fruit sourced from the Lewis vineyard planted in 1903. The vines are “head-trained, spur-pruned”, where the vines have a central trunk with arms growing in all different directions. This goblet shape allows for uniform sun exposure and a distribution of grape bunches ideal for ripening.

Color – Opaque garnet
Aromas – Kirsch, licorice, and peppery spice with appealing hints of menthol and floral notes
Body – Full-bodied with a supple texture and medium-acidity
Taste – Macerated black cherries, black raspberry, licorice, vanilla, clove and pepper spice
Finish – Medium plus

15.6% abv | SRP – $60| 89pts

The Pairing

I love wine.  And I love chocolate.  But truth be told I’m not a big fan of non-dessert wine and chocolate together.  Pairing these two seems like an indulgent idea,  but it can be tricky. Most often than not, either the chocolate is too much like eating candy,  and too sweet for non-dessert wines or it so bitter and complex that it dominates the wine.

But I have to tell you, the pairing of this wine and the Brix Medium Dark Chocolate worked very well!  The chocolate added an appealing chocolate note to the flavors in the wine, while finding peaceful co-existence with the wine.

Just for kicks, I tried a piece of one of my favorite post-meal treats – a small piece of Green and Black’s 85% Cacao bar (I usually enjoy with Port if I have it with wine) with the Zinfandel.  That pairing didn’t work for me.  Despite the wine being sweeter than the chocolate, the chocolate was too bitter for the wine.

Lesson learned?

If I were to pair non-dessert wines with chocolate, I’d certainly look for Brix  to give myself the best chance for success.

About Brix Chocolate

After many years of trial and error, Dr. Nick Proia an Ohio-based pulmonologist, created four chocolate varieties that specifically pair with a variety of wine styles. BRIX is composed of a base of single origin Ghanaian chocolate which is known for its unique red fruit tones and is mixed with the highest quality confectionery chocolate to create each of four specific blends. The result is that BRIX works to evoke subtle flavors and nuances in the wines it is paired with, thus complementing them rather than competing against them.

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