One popular myth, stemming from a time when white wine was only paired with fish, instructs that dry red wine and chocolate make an excellent pairing. And generations of lovers since have acquiesced, even while the rest of us are left scratching our heads and tongues in confusion.
There is here admittedly a grain of truth. If that pour is a fortified wine, harmonizing sweetness all around, then yes. With nearly all other dry reds, however, the affair is doomed to fail. And for good reason. Although the biochemical research is far from complete, it has established that wine and chocolate share certain polyphenols: organic compounds present not only in grapes, but also in oak barrels and cocoa beans. And a subset of these polyphenols, in this case tannins, when tasted together compound each other in notably biting and bitter ways.
But romance thrives in unexpected places, and sometimes fairy tales need only be turned on their heads in order to come true. With apologies to the Brothers Grimm, our recounting opens not in a dark and lonely forest, but rather in the historic vaulted cellar of a German restaurant in the small Pfalz town of Wartenberg.
Valrhona was to provide the chocolate; Schlossgut Diel, the wine. It was by all accounts an unlikely setup for love. The pairing workshop was to be the last day of work for Sylvain Taurisson, a recently retired professional volleyball player and regional sales manager for the renowned French chocolate company. In coming to terms with the serious injury that had ended his athletic career the year prior, the Frenchman from Mantes La Jolie had made plans to bid adieu to Germany after three years and return to Paris.
And so I told him, no, do it yourself. This, it seemed, was Caroline. Perhaps it is in his French nature to be stirred so, but he says despite himself it was compelling, love at first… listen? And while he outwardly contested, as the day continued he was inwardly no less intrigued. By evening, he had asked the host for permission to stay for the gala dinner. Yet though he tried valiantly, he could not arrange for a seat near Ms.
