Andrea Immer Robinson is one of my personal idols, so I take her food and wine pairing recommendations seriously. One of the pairings she raves about in her book, Great Tastes Made Simple, is Madeira with Chocolate. I have also heard her strongly encourage this pairing at both the appearances I have seen her make in the past year. Even though I have always adored Port with chocolate, how could I help but try out this new possibility?
For those of you who may not know already, Port and Madeira are both fortified wines. That means they begin as a regular wine, but have brandy added during the winemaking process to make them higher in alcohol, usually 18 to 20%. Both wines are sweet, which makes them excellent for drinking after dinner or with dessert. Port can be made in many styles, and is usually a blend of many years’ wines. Madeira is similarly, but is also heated and oxidized during the aging process… it is literally “cooked” so it has nutty and caramel aromas.
My first Madeira and chocolate experience was last February, when my husband and I were at the Madderlake Cafe on Seneca Lake in Geneva for our anniversary. Madderlake has a fabulous wine list with several dessert wines by the glass (I wish every restaurant would do this, by the way– it’s so much fun and such a great way to try some of these rare and expensive wines). I was thrilled to see a Madeira on the list… I ordered it and a slice of the most decadent dark chocolate dessert they had. The friendly server threw in a complimentary glass of LBV Port (late bottle vintage) to help celebrate our special occasion. Here was a chance to try the two pairings head-to-head! I was ready for the Madeira to knock my socks off… but it didn’t. My husband and I both preferred the Port head and shoulders over the Madeira. There was such a beautiful berry quality in the Port that corresponded beautifully with chocolate. The Madeira was blah in comparison.
I went away from the experience thinking that I must not have tried the “right” Madeira. Maybe the one Madderlake carried wasn’t a typical example. Or maybe the chocolate dessert had been too complex, or too dark. My idol couldn’t be wrong, right?
I saw Andrea give another presentation in late October at the New York Wine and Culinary Center. Again, she praised Madeira and chocolate. I left feeling the urge to seek out the pairing again.
I was fortunate to attend a Port and Madeira tasting led by Bartholomew Broadbent in November at the American Wine Society National Conference. My always-thoughtful husband smuggled in a piece of Dove dark chocolate for me to taste alongside the wines. There were 5 Ports and 2 Madeiras… a range of styles and prices. All were excellent on their own, especially the Broadbent Auction Reserve Port, the Ferreira 20 Year Tawny Port “Duque de Braganca,” and the Broadbent Colheita Madeira 1996. But still, the chocolate was much better with the Ports than with the Madeira. Again, it was the fruity flavors coming through in the Port that meshed beautifully with the chocolate. The Madeira had carmelized and earthy flavors that were okay with chocolate, but didn’t set off any fireworks for me.
So there. I have a disagreement with my food and wine pairing idol. Port with chocolate is my dessert pairing made in heaven. Sorry to Andrea Immer and all the other Madeira lovers out there. I guess it’s true that everyone is different when it comes to wine and food pairings.
Coming next, my favorite Ports for chocolate…
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