bad whole foods. bad.
Wow. That is a wine pairing fail. Just such a terrible, terrible mistake to make under the guise of a “recommendation”. I know I sound like a wine pairing fascist, but you don’t play hard and fast with pairing rules when chocolate is involved.
I’ll reluctantly allow that chocolate can sometimes go with dry wines. Sometimes. And, that’s really in a very few instances when the chocolate itself isn’t too sweet (say it’s in a mole or a braising liquid) and the wine itself isn’t too delicate (some extroverted New World cabs or zins). But really Whole Foods? This is the best you could do? I should have taken pics of the more reasonable “pairings” next to this one like the Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label with “a picnic” or the Billecart Salmon BdB with “something to celebrate!” Don’t suggest anything at all if you don’t put in the effort or if you’re get it completely wrong.
The most disappointing part of this sign is that brut rosé sparklers may be one of the most versatile wines to pair. With what, you ask? Let ys count the ways- oysters, mussels, salmon, cheeses from brie to manchego, many hors d’oeuvres options, chicken, mushroom dishes, ham, and even beef carpaccio. The list can go on and on and on…but dark chocolate isn’t there. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that the whole list is savory. Despite however many weddings you’ve been to where a brut sparkler was served the cake, rule #1 when pairing wines with sweet items is that the wine should be sweet, if not sweeter, than the food itself. It’s not just that the intense, complicated, dark, roasted flavors of the cocoa will overwhelm all of the rose’s delicate fruit, but that a brut level of dryness will seem unpleasantly bitter when competing with the sweetness of even a bitter, dark chocolate. It just won’t work.
In my opinion, dark chocolate is best with the raisin and caramel notes in heavily extracted, sweet fortified wines like Ports and Pedro Ximenez-based sherries. But, if you still can’t get the idea of chocolate and a sparkling out of your head it may be worthwhile seeking out a Bracchetto d’Asti or Bracchetto d’Aqui. These unique Piedmontese red (think deep red, not rose) frizzante wines made from the Bracchetto grape have enough weight of fruit and sweetness to occasionally go well with a chocolate dessert. They are even better if the dessert has a fruit component like raspberry or strawberry preserves that can act as a bridge to the red fruit flavors in the wine.