LCBO Food and Drink Holiday 2015

GIFTING  GOING WITH CHOCOLATE

There is arguably no treat, perhaps no food, more seductive than dark chocolate, with its alluring combination of sweet and bitter, complexity and decadence. DARK CHOCOLATE When it comes to the darkest of chocolate, the key to gustatory bliss lies in the balance of bitterness—a natural part of good-quality cocoa—and sweetness. In spirituous terms, that means looking to the liquor that best combines a generally sweet character and great depth of flavour, like Knob Creek Small Batch Bourbon ( LCBO 326009, $46.95), replete with over-the-top richness, fruity-nutty notes and chocolate-friendly flavours of vanilla born of its years spent in charred oak barrels.     More traditionally, as any sommelier will tell you, high cacao-content chocolate and port make a natural match. The profound and plummy fruit flavours of Taylor Fladgate Late Bottle Vintage Port ( LCBO 46946, $17.95) not only play well with almost any dessert, they positively thrive when partnered with dark chocolate, as the fruitiness of the wine draws forward the berry flavours of the chocolate. That fruity-chocolaty relationship intensifies further when the pairing is Southbrook Framboise ( LCBO 341024, 375 mL, $17.95), a sweet-tart raspberry wine from Ontario which, when partnered with dark chocolate, can evoke memories of fudge-covered, fruit-capped ice cream sundaes.     Perhaps counterintuitively, another great match for dark chocolate is a spritzy, quenching and dry rosé wine such as Henry of Pelham Cuvée Catharine Rosé Brut VQA ( LCBO 217505, $29.95). Like many sparkling rosés, it boasts gentle flavours of strawberry and other red fruit, which blossom when called forward by the chocolate. And besides, if you’re going to indulge, what better way to do so than with sparkling wine and chocolate bonbons?

100  FOOD & DRI NK HOLIDAY 2015