4 Red, Red Wine Pairings

Intro Text: There’s something heartwarming about a fine red wine complemented perfectly with food, especially as the weather starts to cool off. Here, Canadian sommelier Sheila Flaherty suggests some of her favourite red wines – and tasting notes – to match some of Lindt’s best fall recipes featuring chocolate. Sheila Flaherty has been Toronto’s go-to sommelier for over 10 years. She’s worked at Momofuku and Mercatto Restaurants, and now handles importation and sourcing for Halpern Enterprises, an Ontario-based wine and spirits importer.


1. Best for: cottage getaways

Beef stew and pureed potatoes + Antinori Pèppoli Chianti Classico This Tuscan wine is cultivated in a vineyard that dates back to the Middle Ages. As a traditional-style chianti classico, it pairs well with many foods, but its marked acidity really brings out the hearty nature of the 90% cacao in this stew. Be sure to smell for heady notes of dried cherries, violets, red fruit and earth, flavours that make a delicious complement to dark chocolate. Price: $19.95

2. Best for: fiesta-style celebrations

Mexican mole sauce + Majella “The Musician” Cabernet Shiraz This Australian cabernet sauvignon and shiraz blend has a thick, rich texture that is a match made in heaven for this mole sauce. The mole’s chili and sweet spices work well with this particular vintage, and the 99% cacao used in the sauce releases the wine’s notes of pepper and dark fruit. Price: $19.95

3. Best for: sophisticated soirées

Chili chocolate mousse + Michel Gassier Nostre Pais Red Michel Gassier’s red blend of grenache, carignan and syrah is certified organic and highly sought after by lovers of French wine. From the country’s Costières de Nîmes region, its notes of blackberry, roasted herbs and licorice are a graceful yet powerful complement to the heat of chili while also working textural magic with the silkiness and depth of the dark chocolate. This wine is even further elevated when aerated to release its flavours. Price: $21.95

4. Best for: romantic nights in

Chocolate covered strawberries + Louis Jadot Coteaux Bourguignons This medium-bodied and fruit-driven wine from the famed house of Louis Jadot perfectly balances the seriousness of pinot with the playfulness of gamay. Using destemmed grapes fermented in stainless steel tanks, this wine is bright, fresh and lively on the palate. It works deliciously with the 70% cacao chocolate covering the strawberries. Chill it down a few degrees before serving. Price: $18.85

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