Wine. Chocolate. And 28 Days of It.

Wine makers latest temptation to lure local oenophiles off the ski slopes and down to Niagara on the Lake is a sweet one.

Days of Wine and Chocolate takes place every weekend in February with 28 participating wineries showcasing their wine paired to a creative chocolate dish. With touring passes only $35, it’s an indulgent excuse for a romantic weekend in Wine Country, or, more in line with The Wine Sisters’ style, a girls’ getaway (kids? What kids? Ooooh! Is that molten lava cake?!).

Now in its fourth popular year, if Days of Wine and Chocolate proves anything, it’s how wildly successful pairing wine and chocolate has become, possibly even ousting wine and cheese as oenophiles’ favourite match.

While we are happy to celebrate the successful marriage of our two favourite food groups … sometimes the relationship can fall flat, or even be downright awful, if you’re not committed to making both sides happy.

As Niagara on the Lake’s wineries prove, there’s more to a complimentary pairing than slapping down an Aero bar and a glass of red. Consider some of these mouthwatering matches: Château des Charmes 2009  Estate Bottles Cabernet Franc with bitter chocolate paté and pecan crunch, Peller Estates’ Andrew Peller Signature Series Ice Cuvée with candied bacon and chocolate sponge toffee, or Coyote’s Run 2011 Five Mile White with white chocolate dipped lemon shortbread.

Wine and chocolate pairings can be tricky, but with a little bit of patience and focus, and maybe a bit of (fun) trial and error, you can come up with something awesome.

Here’s How To Do It

Match the Intensity of the Chocolate to the Intensity of the Wine

Chocolate has a lot going on: sweet, bitter, fruity flavours and varying degrees of acid and even tannin.  A piece of dark chocolate with 70% or more cocoa, needs a hearty wine that can take that kind of weight and structure, otherwise your wine won’t taste like anything at all. For bars of dark or bitter chocolate consider a spicy red wine like Zinfandel or Syrah.

Pairing to try: Lindt Excellence 85% Dark Cocoa Bar with Storybook Mountain “Mayacamas Range” Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California 2009 $46.95 Vintages 682989

Your Wine Should be Sweeter than Your Food

Otherwise, your risk a flat or bitter tasting vino. If you’re serving decadent, rich and sweet desserts opt for a dessert wine – that’s what they’re there for. Port is a classic match to chocolate, but as proud Canadians, we’re opting for Icewine.

Pairing to Try: Chocolate Pots de Crème with Stratus Red Icewine VQA Niagara on the Lake, ON 2011 $39.95 Vintages 56689

Consider Flavours Other than the Chocolate

In other food and wine pairing blogs we’ve written, we discussed pairing the wine to the strongest flavour in the dish, which is often the sauce or the spices used. Same goes for pairing wine to chocolate. Currently chocolate with salted caramel is very popular which we think would be nice with Malmsey Madeira. Or chocolate sprinkled with cayenne pepper might be a nice pairing for Rioja or even the Zin we talked about earlier. If you have a beautiful piece of chocolate covering nuts or raisins, this may be an ideal time to break out the Amarone. We could go on, but the point is to zero in on the dominate flavours in the chocolate and match the wine accordingly.

Pairing to Try: Chocolate and peanut butter with Beringer “Nightingale” Private Reserve Botrytised Sémillion/Sauvignon Blanc 375 ml. Napa Valley, California 2006 $24.95 Vintages 743344

Chocolate Doesn’t Always Have to be Dessert

Remember our vegetarian chili recipe? The secret ingredient to creating its robust flavour was raw, dark chocolate. And Mexico’s signature condiment, Mole Sauce, takes advantage of the country’s exquisite spicy chocolate – flavoured with cinnamon, vanilla and almonds. When eating chocolate that’s a savoury component to a dish rather than the star of an indulgent dessert, take a cue from point #3 and go about your pairing as you would any other meal.

Pairing to Try:  Chicken Mole with Tawse “Sketches of Niagara” Riesling, VQA Niagara Peninsula 2010 $17.95 Vintages 89029

Looking for more wine and chocolate pairing ideas?

Check out our February column in Tonic magazine and be sure to let us know what pairings you’ve discovered in the comments below!