Theonistas Unite!

Chocolate and Wine Pairing Notes from the PCC Fremont Tasting

Our intrepid Chief Brand Ambassador Pamela Hinckley joined with PCC Wine Gurus Robert and Stephen at  PCC Fremont last night for a night of decadent pairings. Here are the specific pairings for you to try out at home:

• COCONUT CURRY with Cor Riesling - off dry with peach, pear, apricot and honeysuckle 
• FIG FENNEL with Ridge Zinfandel - dry but fruit-forward red wine
  
  
• CHAI with Marchesi di Gresy Moscato D’Asti - mildly sparkling with floral, honey and citrus aromas, slightly sweet
  
  
• NIB BRITTLE with Muscat Beaumes de Venice - sweet white dessert wine with peach, apricot melon and citrus flavors
   
• COCONUT CURRY with Cor Riesling -off dry with peach, pear, apricot and honeysuckle

• MADAGASCAR with Lopez Island Raspberry wine.

• BREAD AND CHOCOLATE with Lustau Oloroso dry sherry- toasted walnut and hazelnut aromas
  
  
• CARDAMON CARAMEL with Warres TawnyPort 10yr - a lighter Port, a bit sweet, with nuts and caramel aromas - served slightly chilled
  
  
• VANILLA GANACHE with Mas Amiel- similar to a ruby port but with cocoa, plum and anise flavors

Theonista Creativity Sparks Fear in Hearts of Partygoers.

From the Desk of Kiki Kane, Chief Blogging Theonista

So there I was at the party. People are getting hungry and a critical ingredient has gone missing! The Carbs! Oh noes! Noone thought to pick up bread or crackers for our fine cheese and meat selection. What's a hungry Theonista to do? One answer, of course, is always to drink more. But creativity prevailed! We paired thin slices of rich Italian salami with nuggets of naked nib brittle. The result? two thirds of people surveyed declared the combo "ingenious!" the other third? Horrified. Try it yourself! You be the judge.

The flavor pairing evokes notes of teriyaki sauce, char sui(chinese BBQ pork known for its... pinkness) and all things porky and right with the world. The next step, clearly, is to pen a recipe for a nib brittle glaze for ham and ribs.
                                                    -Kiki

Theo Wine Pairing Kit Debuts This Weekend!

Our Fabulous New Wine Pairing Kit is now available on theochocolate.com - Order Here.

Included in this kit:
• Theo 65% Madagascar Dark Chocolate  Bar
• Theo 75% Ecuador/Panama/Ghana Blend Dark Chocolate Bar
• Theo 84% Ghana Dark Chocolate Bar
• 3400 Phinney Bread & Chocolate Dark Chocolate Bar
• 3400 Phinney Fig, Fennel & Almond Dark Chocolate Bar
• Instructions for orchestrating your tasting
• Tasting Notes placemat (make copies for your guests!)
• Enough chocolate for a tasting party of 6-10 people

We chose five of our bars for their flavor balance and compatibility with wine. Theo bars are named for the country of origin of their cocoa beans. Each bar highlights flavor characteristics unique to their geography, or “terroir.” Chocolate and wine both share this “sense of place.“ 3400 Phinney bars are named for our factory address, and feature innovative flavor inclusions. Our selections prepare you for a wonderful wine and chocolate pairing party!

Wine not included! This kit is focused on pairing red wines with chocolate. Red grape varietals that we enjoy include Zinfandel, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Franc and Grenache based wines like Cotes du Rhone.

Wine and Chocolate is Smexxy!

And Komo's Julien Perry tells us that The Tasting room is ready to smexx you up with tarty tidbits of deliciousness - "We offer a great little artisan cheese plate, we do Salumi cured meats and we do Theo chocolate confections. So, enough of the good food groups!"

Wine and Chocolate Pairing and more from The Nibble

I'm back to satisfy your thirst for pairing knowledge with a selection of articles from The Nibble:

Here is an interesting article and tasting chart for Wine and chocolate pairings.

Here you will find an excellent glossary of chocolate language to guide you on your journey to pairing heaven.

And this little number is a nice comparison of single origin chocolate growing regions.

Natalie Maclean's Wine Terminology

This is a handy dandy glossary of wine terminology courtesy of Natalie Maclean four time James Beard award winning food and wine writer. There is a strong emphasis on tasting language, which is great if you are looking for help on deciphering wine reviews, labels, or signage at your local wineshop. Many people are interested in unique pairings this season, and a solid grasp of this primer would be a great advantage in setting up your next chic spread. Here is a lovely article about food and wine matching to get you in the mood!

Salut!

Chocolate and Tea Pairing

http://chassom.typepad.com/chassom/2007/09/tea-chocolate-c.html

Chassom presents a lovely guide to Tea and Chocolate pairing(pdf format) in the September Newsletter. Diane's site is full of lovely images and inspiring words. Oh and tea.