Many say that wine and chocolate pairings can’t be done. This is mainly due to the fact that both wine and chocolate carry their own inherent intensities – which could cause a powerplay on the palate, leading to an amalgamation of flavours that either overwhelm or neutralise each other. With some experimentation and the careful matching of sweetness, texture, style and weight, however, Constantia Glen has engineered a partnership between certain chocolates and their red wines that will seriously stir up your senses.
First pairing:
60% Dark chocolate with the Constantia Saddle
Constantia Glen pairs this lighter, more elegant flavoured chocolate with their lighter-bodied wine, as a clever play on levels of sweetness and the minute influence of toast. The milk chocolate in this pairing does away with simple perceptions of straight forward, ripe, sweet fruit, and brings to the surface a completely different, fascinating dimension of lively lime zest and violets, and an extended, refreshingly long acidity.
Second pairing:
70% Dark chocolate with the Constantia Glen THREE
As the intensity of the chocolate increases along this flight, so does the wine. Here the THREE’s elegant, silky tannins and earthy, old world core becomes slightly softened by the chocolate’s plump profile, leading to an explosion of fresh, ripe fruit – almost tricking your senses into imagining you are taking a bite from a strawberry or cherry covered in chocolate.
Third pairing:
80% Dark chocolate with the Constantia Glen FIVE
The bold structure and full bodied profile of the FIVE, all wrapped in a lace of juicy black fruit and refined tannin, makes a natural pairing for the drier, dark chocolate. On its own, the darker the chocolate, the drier it’s tannin texture will display, but when paired with the FIVE, which also boasts a bolder tannin structure, the chocolate can have the tendency to almost withdraw the wine’s gripping tannins on the palate – allowing for more vinous fruit to shine through.
This pairing is available at the Constantia Glen tasting room at R100 pp.
CONSTANTIA GLEN WINES:
Known for exceptional cool climate Bordeaux-style red and white wines, Constantia Glen’s dryland vineyards are farmed without any irrigation. The tasting room is open from 10h00 till 18h00 from Sunday to Thursday and 10h00 till 20h00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Booking via http://www.constantiaglen.com is highly recommended to avoid disappointment. Look out for the Constantia Glen signs towards the top of Constantia Main Road. Call 021-7955639, e-mail reservations@constantiaglen.com, visit www.constantiaglen.com, www.facebook.com/
Press release from GC Communications.
