A few weeks ago I attended the Rocky Mountain Wine and Food Festival in Edmonton. As I meandered along between the booths, an exhibitioner smiled at me and asked if I liked chocolate. Then if I liked wine. Really? Seriously? I am a woman.
"Well, you must try this then" she tantalizingly said as she poured some dark liquid into a tiny tasting cup. What was it?
Heaven in liquid form.
Some incredilbly intellingent person in Holland came up with the idea of blending dark Dutch chocolate with fine red wine.
A delicious mix of red wine, rich dark Dutch chocolate and Dutch cream lovingly blended together. This concoction is not quite a liqueur. Creamy but much lighter than an Irish cream and does not have any coffee notes as these do. ChocoVine is not as thick or rich as other chocolate liqueurs. It has the richness and thickness of a blended cream drink.
ChocoVine received a 90 Point Exceptional Value rating in 2009 from the Beverage Testing Institute.
It pours lightly into your glass but I would not use a wine glass as it is still a very rich drink that should be consumed in a smaller quantity than a full glass of red wine.
I recommend the following sized glasses. You may use a tumbler if you choose to serve ChocoVine on ice.
I prefer to drink it out of a Brandy snifter as it allows the wine and chocolate aromas to be released and swirled in your glass. I find it to be perfect for this type of "liqueur".
The chocolate flavour is not quite as pronounced as that of a dark chocolate but compared to other chocolate alcoholic liqueurs, it ihas less of a milk chocolate flavour. You can certainly taste the rich red velvety wine. Their Original blend's aroma is woodsy with notes of plum and toffee, and of course chocolate. The flavour is not acidic nor bitter. Very smooth. The sweetness is well balanced. The dark chocolate flavour is noted at first with the red wine flavour coming out in the finish.
ChocoVine is available in 3 other flavours as well: ChocoVine Whipped Cream, ChocoVine Espresso, and ChocoVine Raspberry.
ChocoVine has 14% alcohol content.
This is a very addictive wine liqueur which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys nibbling on decandent dark chocolate while sipping on a lovely red wine.
It is delicious on its own or blended in various cocktails.
The following cocktail recipes are from the ChocoVine website.
RED CHILI CHOCOLATE SIDE-CAR
½ oz ChocoVine
1 oz Cognac
½ oz Orange Liqueur
1 dash fresh lemon juice
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a dusting of fresh nutmeg.
COCO ROJO
3 oz ChocoVine
1 ¾ red chile cinnamon simple syrup
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled Champagne flute. Garnish with a stick of cinnamon.
MONKEY’S TAIL
1 oz ChocoVine
1 oz Banana Puree
1 oz Gold Rum
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into an ice-filled double rocks glass. Serve with a stick of cinnamon.
ASPEN NIGHT-CAP
2 oz ChocoVine
1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 shot espresso
Combine all ingredients into a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with shaved chocolate and one spoonful of whipped cream.
ROCKSTAR
2 oz ChocoVine
½ oz Coco Lopez Coconut Cream
¾ oz Tequila Cream Liqueur
¾ oz Rum
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated cinnamon and chocolate spirals.
CHOCBERRY BURST
1 ½ oz ChocoVine
1 ½ oz Vodka
½ oz Orange Liqueur
4 fresh raspberries
In a mixing glass muddle ChocoVine and fresh raspberries. Add Vodka, Orange Liqueur and ice. Shake vigorously and fine strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a skewer of 4 fresh raspberries.
CHOCOVINE SUNDAE
2 oz ChocoVine
1 oz Whipped Cream Vodka
2 scoops vanilla ice-cream
1 splash of grenadine
Combine ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a sundae glass and top generously with whipped cream. Garnish with a drizzle of grenadine and a cherry, and serve with a chocolate straw.
GINGERVINE ROSE
1 oz ChocoVine
1 ½ oz Ginger-Infused Vodka
1 fresh strawberry
1 lemon wedge
In a mixing glass muddle strawberry, lemon and Ginger-Infused Vodka. Add ice and ChocoVine. Shake vigorously and fine strain into an ice-filled double rocks glass. Garnish with a candied ginger chip and thinly sliced wedge of strawberry.
MUDDY BUDDY
1 ½ oz ChocoVine
1 oz Coffee Liqueur
½ oz Vodka
1 scoop chocolate ice cream
Combine ingredients in a blender with a large scoop of ice, blend until smooth. Garnish with chocolate shavings and chocolate-covered espresso beans.
~ Monique
