Wine & Chocolate – a popular pairing!
When I was looking for articles to help me break down how to pair wine and chocolate, most of the information I found felt – strangely enough – outdated. It was a lot of “sweeter chocolate with sweeter wines” and “dark chocolate with red wine only,” neither of which I completely agree with.
Chocolate is a very specific kind of sweet. It’s smooth and creamy, no matter what else is in it and no matter what kind of chocolate it is. It can be an overpowering flavor, but it also has the ability to be infused with almost any other flavor, whether savory, citrusy, floral, etc. It can be difficult to work with despite being one of the most popular dessert options in the world.
When we first started offering a Wine & Chocolate Tasting here at Silver Thread, it was a very unusual flight for a tasting room. We had great luck partnering with Hedonist Chocolate out of Rochester. As the years have gone by, more and more wineries in the Finger Lakes are offering chocolate experiences, or at least chocolate that guests can purchase in their retail shop. Often, that chocolate is Hedonist’s popular bark. They create unusual flavors like orange & nutmeg, dried cherry & sea salt, and curry & candied ginger.
This year, we’re featuring a different chocolatier and we hope you’re as excited as we are! Sweet on Chocolate, owned by Adam Mazzoni, is located just up the road in Syracuse, NY. They make truffles, turtles, caramels, bars, and more, and they do so with an infectious enthusiasm!
As you can guess from their fun logo, they have a unique take on making chocolate. Yes, they use premium ingredients and produce some traditional sweets, but they also have contemporary treats like frozen hot chocolate, fruit creams, and chocolate-dipped potato chips. They use local, seasonal ingredients to create fresh flavors like orange cardamom, dirty chai, and maple cream.
We did a tasting with owner Adam to decide which chocolates to feature this summer and came up with three, one of which he created just for us: Lemon Shortbread White Chocolate (paired with our brand new 2023 Dry Riesling). We’re also pairing Thai Ginger Dark Chocolate with our 2023 Semi-dry Riesling and Cherry Almond Dark Chocolate with 2021 Good Earth Red.
Guests can take their favorite chocolate home with them in bar form too!
We hope you’ll choose the Wine & Chocolate Flight the next time you visit us for a Premium Wine Tasting. We accept walk-ins whenever possible but reservations can be made here, and they are always appreciated!
