Olly’s drinks pairings for chocolate!
Happy Easter! Chocolate and wine can unlock the gates of paradise, yet a mismatch can hurl your palate to the abyss. Stick to wines with rich sweetness, especially fortified styles. Inexpensive port is wonderful with dark chocolate. At the other extreme, white chocolate and chilled Asti is sublime – Asti is ludicrously good value and tastes like bubbly elderflower. And for your all-rounder, PX sherry is the nectar of the gods.
OLLY’S PICK OF THE BUNCH
FINEST PX SHERRY (15%), £6 Tesco. The best all-rounder, sweet enough to tackle chocolate and a rich treat for Easter.
EXTRA SPECIAL SPARKLING ASTI (7%), £7 Asda. Frothy fun, light on booze and divine to pair with white chocolate.
TORRES FLORALIS MOSCATEL (15%), £8.50, Morrisons. Orangey and elegant, serve chilled for scented splendour.
CAMPBELL’S RUTHERGLEN MUSCAT (17.5%), £12.99, Waitrose. Sleek, rich and moreish – a sultana surfing a wave of caramel.
WINE OF THE WEEK
M&S RUBY PORT (also via Ocado) (20%), £8. Terrific with dark chocolate, this really is liquid forest fruits.
This article was originally published in YOU Magazine, Mail on Sunday, 4th April 2021 – Prices, stockists and vintages correct at time of publication.