Salted Almond Chocolate and Red Wine: An Evening Pairing Guide

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Then taste, slowly. Place a small piece on your tongue and let it melt rather than chewing. Body heat releases the flavour in stages: the first sweetness, then the middle where caramel, fruit or nut notes sit, then the finish once the chocolate collection gift box has gone. Pay attention to how long that finish lasts, since a longer finish is usually the mark of better cocoa.

If anyone at the table has dietary needs, check the pack for ingredient and allergen information before you begin. Beyond that, there is no wrong answer. Write down the two or three pairings you liked most and keep the note for the next time the kettle goes on. A tea and chocolate afternoon costs almost nothing to set up and gives you a small, repeatable pleasure that suits any season.

Start with the caramel itself. A sea salt caramel has three things going on: sweetness from the sugar, a savoury lift from the salt, and a slight bitterness where the sugar has been cooked dark. Coffee shares that same cooked, roasted character, which is why the two feel related rather than clashing.

A mixed selection from Lily O’Brien’s gives you the range a board like this needs. The company has been handcrafting chocolate in Newbridge, Co. Kildare since 1992, so a single box brings dark, milk, caramel and fruit centres to set against different cheeses.

A bowl of salted almond chocolates and a glass of red wine is a quiet way to end an evening. Both bring roasted, slightly savoury depth, and the salt in the chocolate does clever work against the fruit in the wine. Here is how to match them without overthinking it.

Start with the fruit, since it does the heavy lifting. Aim for a mix of colours and textures: strawberries and raspberries for brightness, grapes for crunch, figs or slices of pear for something soft, and a little citrus such as orange segments to keep the board sharp. Fresh, seasonal fruit always beats a lot of one thing out of season.

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