Anyone want to discuss their favorite port pairings?
I have different pairing for each type of port but for the very best of each type tend to drink it alone.
I thought about this the other day though as I finished off, on the second day, a bottle of Quinta do Vesuvio 2001. I have BBQ'd some porterhouses over a mix of mesquite and hickory and wanted something to drink with my dinner. Reached for a glass of this young VP. Worked damn well I must say.
Churchill's White Porto: freshly roasted Marcona almonds (dusted with smoked paprika), Serrano ham (or the Portuguese equivalent), chorizo, linguisa, lighter cheeses, plates of olives and other small dishes.
Older Vintage Porto & traditional LBVs with some age: generally alone.
10- or 20-Year Old Tawnies, Crusted & older Colheitas: same thing, generally alone -- following dessert and coffee.
Younger VPs or LBVs: Queijo da Serra, Stilton, or other fine cheese, walnuts, dried fruits.
I've never been convinced that chocolate actually works with wine . . . .
Well uhm, my addiction to fine chocolate exists longer en probably is even much more bigger than to port.
And I also think that it depends on personal taste.
I'll match my chocoholic credentials with anyone's! But I'm just one of those people who don't think it goes well with wine . . . even Banyuls (which I think works marginally better than Porto).
Cookies go with milk.
Chocolate desserts work well with coffee.
And chocolate in its pure form a) must be dark, and b) is best savored alone . . . that way, you don't have to share! 8)
Remember, it's just my personal opinion. Not even the LAPD's S.W.A.T. team will kick in your front door for having chocolate with Port . . . or for having white wine with fish!
Though I most often enjoy ports by themselves, occasionally I enjoy them with dark chocholates, too -- also mostly in the low 70% cocoa range (the 80%+ is just too chalky for me.. or maybe I just haven't had a good one).
My usual turn-to's have been Valrhona, though yesterday, I just got turned on to Michel Cluizel's dark chocolates -- "Los Anacones" to be specific -- and found it to go phenomenally well with a Niepoort LBV. If you're into darks, this is one not to miss -- it may just be my new favorite.
Monique, this one is a 67% cocoa, but if you're a dark lover, you should give it a try. The berry flavors really come out on this one then lingers on for quite some time.
But I'm just one of those people who don't think it goes well with wine . . . even Banyuls (which I think works marginally better than Porto).