Andrea's Pairings

I was skeptical too, except something drew me to try some of these pairings, presented by Katrina Markoff of Vosges Chocolates at the Taste3 conference held recently at Copia in Napa. Maybe it was the fact that I'd tried a couple of chocolates with sea salt, toasted sesame seeds and other savory additions, and found the yin-yang tension of those flavors to yeild a real "opposites attract" yum of a result. The one I remember most was a creamy Mt. Tam cheese with a caramel-chocolate truffle. The texture was almost obscenely decadent and the flavor combo, while sort of weird, was memorable. There weren't any wines nearby to try but I'd think a 10-year-old tawny Port or a Malmsey Madeira would rock with this mixture of flavors. Has anyone else tried this sort of pairing? I'd love to hear your suggestions. I am thinking aged Gouda or Cheddar would work really well with dark chocolate or chocolate-caramel.