Groot Constantia: Wine & Chocolate

Having not been to wine and chocolate pairing, I wasn’t that excited because I don’t have a sweet tooth. If it was meat, I would have fought for us to go there. But nontheless, my recent trip to Cape Town included, our close friend Gugu and our “dopplegangers” from the UK, Natalie and Paul,

The day before, we took Gugu to her first wine tasting that she absolutely hated so we were determined to get that experience erased from her mind. Not too far from Cape Town CBD is Constantia which has amazing wines farms.

Landed up at Groot Constantia which has some of the most amazing scenic views. You really can’t believe that it’s so close to the CBD. There is so much history in this place and it was founded just after the Dutch occupation of the Cape. It has since then become a hub for tourists, offering some of the best wine and arts the country has to offer

Like I said above, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but I had no idea what this would experience would blow my mind away. With the lowest of expectations, we sat at our table and received our glasses and chocolate.

So the white wines had the white chocolate and the red with the brown chocolate. From the first wine to the end, all you saw as everyone was eating their chocolate, was the surprised look from what they were tasting. I am rarely speechless but experiencing the different flavours after tasting the chocolate was really an ‘out of your mind’ experience.

A lot of sommeliers say that wine shouldn’t be paired with chocolate as chocolate creates a flavour block by leaving a “layer” in your mouth but I have to disagree. I am only a self-proclaimed Wine Snob, but I think my opinion is worth some merit for all the love I have of wine. My opinion of wine and chocolate pairing definitely changed after this experience.

While I usually can explain the sensation or even the detailed tastes of pairing wine, this time all I have to say is you have to experience it yourself. Yes, the chocolate was specifically made for the pairing and is not your average store bought chocolate, but again, I’m out of words to explain the “mouthgasm” you experience.

Do yourself a favour and wherever you are on this planet, search for a pairing of this nature. Maybe my mind has been conditioned to only enjoy wine with savoury food or maybe I just never thought I would never be this ‘awakened’ but you really have to try it for yourself and let me know how it was.

Here’s other snaps from the day.