hey hey gary V. QOTD- I like daffins pure milk chocolate! P.S. an issue of wine and spirits came out with premium boxed wines, we would like you to do a show on this, if its good its defiantly a value play!

i was hoping to see Spain representing with Garnacha.

QOTD: ‘SPRUNGLI’ fron Switzerland…insane chocolate. don’t sleep on it.

QOTD- Gotta say Snickers, Three Musketeers in second. Great energy on the episode with some crappy wine.

Rheo Thompson Chocolate Mint Smoothies! Or any smoothies by them. Gotta rep the local bus. Seriously all… they are world renowned for these things.

http://www.rheothompson.com/store/subcategory.asp?prodid=48&subcatid=48

QOTD: My favorite chocolate is almost anything that comes from Belgium. Best chocolate ever!

I have had a Spanish Garnacha (grenache) which was great wine and easy on the pocketbook.

Favorite chocolates would be: 1. Green & Black’s Organic Dark Chocolate Bar 85%. For being such a hig cocoa mass content, it is not overly bitter. 2. Cote d’Or Noir de Noir (Double Dark Bar) from Belgium. This is 54% cocoa mass and consistently one of the best dark chocolate bars I have ever eaten. 3. When I’m in the mood for milk chocolate, nothing beats a good old Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. Hershey’s knows milk chocolate like nobody else and Americans love their Hershey bars.

Solid show Gary!!

QOTD: I love many different chocolates, but I also h8 many different chocolates. Milk chocolate like Hershey’s, bleh. Most dark chocolates are good. Chocolate with any fruit but an occasional cherry, also bleh. Decently priced truffles are numero uno. Cheap truffles pazzzzzzzzz. Belgian chocolate is awesome, especially when it’s shaped like a hand in Antwerp.

sacred heart chocolate bar the best most pure chocolate bar eber!

Good job on the Today show this morning!
How long has it been since we’ve had a good ol’ laid back Friday episode?
QOTD: tough to give just one answer- plain ol’ chocolate is classic Hershey’s, but I love Reese’s cups & also it’s hard to beat the creation of our local Pure Imagination Chocolatier!

QOTD: Xocai Healthy Chocolate. Tastes amazing, keeps me healthy, and I can eat a ridiculous amount of servings!

just plain chocolate, higher the cocoa, the better.

QoTD: Dove Milk Chocolate… yummy…

You compared a “Vin De Pays” Grenache from Burgundy to an AOC Grenache from Cotes de Rhone… The French are going to be pissed 🙂

Hey, and what happened to the new set? Did Mott override you?

WunderBar!!!

Sat down !with a very nice Tintara Grenache to catch the thunder show and BAM, there?s Gary talking about the big G! The first one, the Tourettes, sounded a lot like what I was drinking. The Tintara might be darker in color and a bit more toward earthy black raspberry and perhaps not as bitter.
Never thought much about aussie Grenache, but the Razor?s Edge 2006 Gr-Sz blend got me to seek out other McLaren Vale G’s. So far all I have found from 2004-2006 have been standouts. The liquid/mineral tannins of McLaren Vale stretch the finish to incredible length.
QOTD: All time fave: Hershey?s Cacao Reserve 65% with Cacao Nibs that came out in 2006. Rich, robust earthiness. Later was replaced with very fruity version which I avoid. Current favorite is the Vosges bar that has bacon and salt. Also like See?s and Santander.

Sat down !with a very nice Tintara Grenache to catch the thunder show and BAM, there?s Gary talking about the big G! The first one, the Tourettes, sounded a lot like what I was drinking. The Tintara might be darker in color and a bit more toward earthy black raspberry and perhaps not as bitter.
Never thought much about aussie Grenache, but the Razor?s Edge 2006 Gr-Sz blend got me to seek out other McLaren Vale G’s. So far all I have found from 2004-2006 have been standouts. The liquid/mineral tannins of McLaren Vale stretch the finish to incredible length.
QOTD: All time fave: Hershey?s Cacao Reserve 65% with Cacao Nibs that came out in 2006. Rich, robust earthiness. Later was replaced with very fruity version which I avoid. Current favorite is the Vosges bar that has bacon and salt. Also like See?s and Santander.

QOTD: a chocolate chip cookie.

QOTD: Ferrero Rocher! Nice job on the Today Show!

QOTD: Thomas Haas Sparkle Cookies [67% Coco Chocolate, Eggs, Sugar, Almond Flour] THE BEST~ and I have the recipe. Oh and it has to be made with Michel Cluziel 67% Chocolate only 150$ for 5kgs (Restaurant Discount)

Against medical advice: I have been doing wine & chocolate pairings late-night w/ the staff. Ironic to tune in & see this! So far, we haven’t really been overwhelmed w/ any.

QOTD: Tried 3 diff % cocoa. Milk (36%), Peru (65%), & Domincan (70%). I preferred the 65%. Milk Choc was delicious but I think only because I avoid due to the diabetes. Way too much sugar the last few days (all in the name of wine education)

Part 2 comment: My best pairing of this weekend was Central Mkts’ Miles of Chocolate w/ Grahams 20 yr old tawny.
As for straight chocolate: a not so great Sterling Napa Cab w/ a kahlua chocolate cake at Javier’s in Dallas. It was quite by accident. We got dessert and I had not drank much of the Sterling because it just wasn’t that good to me. Took a bite of the cake, reached for the glass and … (sorry Emeril)…BAM!!

Part 3 comment: Overall, from a small sampling…We did not find a really “go to” pairing of red wine & chocolate.
Even though I’ve read, & now, watched all these pairings. Some were decent, but none really wow’d us.
ps, gary – your description of the marquis phillips fit exactly what I said of an AU grenache my brother brought home the other night. I did laugh out loud just now.

Fun show. I like that you rate the wine first without the chocolate, and then with it. Kind of a fun science class for adults! And the results were a little surprising, since you were pairing with a dark chocolate.

Happy anniversary to your parents!

QOTD: Godiva dark chocolate truffles. They pair quite well with Parker Estate Syrah. Favorite candy bar: Snickers.

Honestly, this episode confused me more than anything else. I did not know that the Granache grape was the most grown around our globe though….so I will take solace in that.

QOTD: KitKats. Will always have a soft place in my heart for them.

Fun show. Love the south of France reds. Funny how California can’t bring it home at the price points France and (sometimes) Australia can.

Unlike my wife who will spend a kazillion dollars for a high percentage dark chocolate,just give me a snickers bar, and I’m a happy guy.