Chocolate is a sensuous food that, unfortunately, is rarely used in the kitchen beyond taking the role of sickly sweet filling. Using it as a coating for the humble walnut, though, can give you a range of flavours depending on the chocolate's sweetness, cacao content and the origin of the cacao beans. The slight bitterness of walnuts makes the combination enjoyable without tiring the palate. Chocolate-dipped walnuts enhance the natural sweetness of any drink and the combination links up closely with any brown flavour notes in the beverage, whether they come from charred oak or age.
Amisfield pinot noir 2006, Central Otago, New Zealand