It may sound like a dream, but last Thursday night I had my first taste of chocolate wine. And it was even better than it sounds!
Run by Tim Pearce from Grape Expectations and Andover Courses, I attended my first (and unlikely to be my last) wine tasting course.
Sampling a variety of whites, red and a sparkling, Tim showed us how drinking wines with different foods – cheese, apple, lemon and an excellent fish dish – can vastly affect the taste making it go from a satisfied “mmmm” to “has this gone off?”.
He also explained how we “taste” with our nose and the various areas on the tongue that do the tasting.
As well as experiencing the wine, Tim also shared his vast experience within the wine business from when he was just starting out through road trips in Europe to the current day at his shop on Weyhill Road.
The evening was rounded off by the chocolate wine drunk with some Blue Stilton – and yes, they do go very well together.
For £15 it was an excellent evening and even I learnt something.
