On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 00:06:44 GMT, Julia Altshuler
> wrote:

> Christopher Green wrote:
>
> > Chocolate will assassinate the flavor of almost any wine. Really strong
> > Zinfandel is about the only red table wine that will go with chocolate,
> > but it goes surprisingly well. The bartender at the Santa Maria Inn
> > (Santa Maria, California) turned me on to this combination (Mariposa
> > Zinfandel and Scharffenberger chocolate, IIRC) many years ago.
>
>
> Even with the Zinfandel, while you say that the chocolate goes
> surprisingly well with it, wouldn't you also say that the wine would be
> better off without the chocolate?
>
>
> I have an interest in your answer. I'm working in a wine and cheese
> shop. We carry a good selection of wines in all price categories. We
> carry local beers. We carry excellent cheeses. We get bread delivered
> daily from a good bakery. We carry a variety of odd grocery items
> including specialty mustards, jams, sauces, crackers, pasta, olive oil
> and flavored vinegars. And we carry some good chocolate.
>
>
> Customers often ask about wine to go with chocolate. If the customer is
> dead set on serving wine with chocolate, I'll go with your suggestion of
> red zin, but I'd rather suggest cold milk or a mild soft cheese.
>
>
> By the way, I learned something interesting about giving the customer
> what the customer wants while keeping up the standards of the store.
> The owner began by not wanting to carry white zin at all. He doesn't
> consider it to be a good wine; he wants his store to get the reputation
> for only carrying good wine, and since he won't drink it himself, he
> doesn't want it there. He does carry a variety of wines in the $8-$10
> range, but not white zin. People kept asking for it so he finally
> stocked it. He never suggests they buy it, but if they ask, he's got it.
>
Frankly, I think the only Zin that has any chance of paring
well with decent piece of dark chocolate is a late harvest
zinfandel called Bella (by Big River Ranch, Alexandar
Valley). It's a dessert wine, on the expensive side and you
serve it in small glasses like a fine port.

sf
Practice safe eating - always use condiments