Cabernet Sauvignon and Chocolate Cake

A few weeks back, we went to Lake Tahoe to visit some friends. Our friend Pam is who introduced me to wines, so I figured I should thank her by bringing a nice bottle of wine from work. (www.winerycollective.com)

Since I pour this wine daily, I know that it is one that can really benefit from some air, so we opened it 5 hours before we drank it. When people try this wine at work they say it smells great and is what they expect a Cabernet to taste like. Let’s see how we describe this Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

We split this wine between 6 people that night so it was a little different than our usual WineAndCheeseFriday set up. I sat over in the corner so I could really analyze the wine and identify the aromas and flavors. As I swirled the wine, I found a blackberry aroma. There were flavors of chocolate, spice and a hint of menthol. The wine had noticeable tannins but then the tannins faded away. Neil described it as feeling round from the oak influence. Pam made note of the cherry flavor and then went back to enjoying her wine. It is definitely a smooth, flavorful wine.

This was a weekend away for us, filled with lots of wine and indulgence, so instead of cheese I opted for chocolate cake. Not really sure how cake and wine would pair but I figured a Napa Cabernet might be a good match for dessert. The cake had sweet icing, tasted like milk chocolate, not dark chocolate and without the icing was kind of mild and plain.

And what about the wine and cake? At first the wine had more spice and became dry, then after another bite of the cake, the wine became much more mild. It was almost as if the cake killed the wine. I guess that sweet icing was too much for it. Not a great pairing but you can never go wrong with some nice wine and chocolate cake! Guess I should just enjoy this wine with friends, not cake.