Andrea's Pairings

With all due respect to the candy company that makes M&Ms, this is what I have determined when it comes to matching the two. A lot of pros say wine and chocolate don't go well together, but that is just not the case. The trick is that you need a big, assertive (dare I say manly?) wine to dance artfully with the dusky sensuality of chocolate. And when you get the select the suitors right, this does make a cozy couple. Over the next few days leading up to Valentine's Day, we'll explore a few winners that I've discovered. The first I'll tell you about remains one of my favorites - it is an Andrea's A-List wine club selection and I recently got a bit more that I can make available if you're in a legal ship-to state (send us an email to admin@andreawine.com for help with ordering, or call 707-535-6742 and ask for Doug). The wine is Yalumba Museum Muscat, an Aussie "sticky" (their term for dessert wines) that is like liquid Fig Newtons with Christmas spices on top. It is huge and strapping, and practically purpose-built for chocolate, even milk chocolate that is typically difficult to pair because of its higher sugar content (break out the M&Ms! - aren't the green ones supposed to be aphrodisiacs?!). Or put it with a chocolate dessert such as warm flourless chocolate cake. Click here for my easy and delicious recipe that includes mascarpone cheese.