Last week, we combined three of our favorite things into one incredible night. Did you know that chocolate, cheese and wine make for one decadent pairing? We partnered with SkinnyMe Chocolate and Hopeful Wine for a fabulous evening with friends. We are excited to share our chocolate, cheese and wine pairing with you.
SkinnyMe Chocolate was founded by socially conscious chocolatiers that wanted to create delicious, sugar free chocolate. The dark chocolate squares are available in 6 flavors (original, mint, almond, sea salt, espresso, strawberry) with an additional two flavors (orange and raspberry) coming soon. Through the assortment pack, you can try multiple flavors. The chocolate is infused by flavors that do not overpower the chocolate, which worked well for the wine pairing. The SkinnyMe chocolates are also available as truffles in dark, mocha, raspberry, sea salt, raspberry, sweet cherry, orange and strawberry plus salted caramel and peanut butter coming soon.
David and Courtney Hopeful founded Hopeful Wine and are consultants for Scout and Cellar Wines. Their clean crafted wines are grown pesticide free, have no added sugar, low sulfites and no added chemicals. We selected a sparkling Rosé from Oregon, a Chenin Blanc from France, a Pinot Noir from California and a Rioja from Spain to pair with the SkinnyMe Chocolates..
We decorated the table with a beige tablecloth and floral arrangements with yellow roses and baby’s breath. Each place setting featured one champagne flute and three wine glasses. We also used wine plates from Crate & Barrel. These wines plates are inspired by wine regions around the world. The plates coordinated with the Hopeful wines we selected. We also placed wine shaped sugar cookies by Penny Janes as favors.
We ordered two of every cheese, and placed one block on the cheese board with bread, crackers and grapes.
We sliced the other blocks of cheese and plated them on the Crate and Barrel wine plates. We placed a wine bottle shaped cookie from Penny Janes cookies as a favor.
We created a menu with the four pairings.
We paired the sparkling Rosé from Willamette Valley in Oregon with a triple cream brie and the Dark Chocolate Strawberry. Triple cream cheeses are rich and buttery and the high fat content of these cheeses cuts the effervescence of the wine. Strawberry and fruity chocolates are pair nicely with sparkling wine. The three together were a match made in heaven.
Next we matched the French Chenin Blanc with herbed goat cheese and dark chocolate sea salt. The texture of the cheese was gritty from the herbs and creamy. The flavors were split but balanced between the goat cheese and the herbs. This wine paired nicely with the salty dark chocolate. Acidity is one varietal characteristic that most cheese lovers associate with fresh goat-milk cheeses.
Our third pairing was a California Pinot with the Original Dark Chocolate and Gruyere. Gruyere is a hearty cheese with a dense texture and rich flavor. The Pinot was light bodied and paired nicely with the cheese and wine.
Our final pairing was a Rioja with Manchego and Dark Chocolate Almond. This type of emphasizes fresh fruit and has aromas of strawberries, cherries. This wine’s fruity freshness makes it perfect sip with aged sheep’s milk cheeses like Manchego and chocolates with nuts. Our guests also nibbled on the sugar cookies.
We had a blast at our first chocolate, cheese and wine pairing, and highly recommend that you gather your friends and family for a decadent wine, cheese and chocolate pairing party.
“Wine, cheese and chocolate are my three main food groups.” – Anonymous
This is a sponsored post, but the opinions expressed are ours.
I want to come hangout with you, looks like you guys had wonderful time. All that food looks super yummy!
You give me chocolate, cheese, and wine and I am the happiest person in the world.
Ha Ha! More for you because I actually don’t like all three of these things!
Well this all looks amazing!
oh my goodness, i need to try all of this! I love platters like this!
I have never tried SkinnyMe Chocolate before and thanks for the review. I love how there are truffles in dark and mocha which are my favorite and love to try them out when I see it in the market.
I love chocolate and wine. Though I’m not allowed chocolate wine will do. And trust me I would love to hang out with you.
Those are perfect combination to enjoy gatherings! I love your ideas, thanks for sharing.
you just gave me an idea! will do this with my husband and close friends. will hit the store to buy some of those platters.
you just gave me an idea! will do this with my husband and close friends. will hit the store to buy some of those platters, this is perfect and intimate for small gatherings. Perfect for bridal shower..
Chocolate, Cheese, and Wine could be a perfect combination. Thanks for the idea. My husband would love this 🙂
This looks fun! Sadly, I can’t drink wine anymore but I enjoy the cheese, bread, and chocolates!
Can’t beat this pairing – also three of my faves! Looks like you had an amazing time!
Well, you certainly succeeded at making me want wine, cheese and chocolate! LOL
Wow, it looks like a good pairing and all are look so delicious in taste most especially the chocolates.
Nice post. A delicious taste of wine, cheese, and a chocolates looks really a great combination.
This looks like a really great event. Cheese, chocolate and of course wine for those who enjoy it sound great together. It all looks great.
What a perfect combo to have with great company. How could one not enjoy this. WHich was you least favorite pairing?
This post made me very hungry. Looks like a good time.