Chocolate Ice Cream

[mrdutton]

Since I am a diabetic I have to watch my simple carb intake and my sugar intake.

There is a company that uses only the natural sugars contained in milk to make a fairly decent ice cream. Their product ends up with 4.5 grams of fat and 4 grams of sugar in a 1/2 cup serving.

The company is Blue Bunny. I love the chocolate flavor and even more I love to have a few bites of the ice cream along with a few sips of Zabaco Zinfandel.

Quite frankly, I really think that if there is a wine other than port that was meant to go with chocolate, that wine is Zinfandel.

Try it, you might like it!

[wondersofwine]

I find chocolate very hard to pair with wines. At one wine dinner we had a late harvest zinfandel with a rich chocolate cake dessert and I didn't think it was a very successful match. On another wine forum some have suggested Banyul with chocolate. I have not tried this. Is Banyul a fortified wine such as sherry and port?

[Innkeeper]

WOW, think of it as a Late Harvest Grenache.

[Thomas]

Yeah, it's a late harvest style of Grenache, and its mate is chocolate. Also, Madeira Bual has a nice feel with chocolate, especially if the chocolate surrounds a pecan...oh, my. Of course, the Madeira is a fortified.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 08-07-2002).]

[wondersofwine]

Thanks for the info.

[mrdutton]

I should have mentioned the specific zin I was drinking with my low sugar, low fat chocolate ice cream.

1999 Rancho Zabacco Heritage Vines.

Now that wine has wonderful hints (to me) of raspberry and blackberry along with undertones of cocoa. There is some astringency and peppery spice to the finish, but it was not enough to detract from the interation with the fruit and the chocolate in the ice cream, in my humble opinion.

What I did was eat a spoonful of chocolate ice cream and then after all of that had cleared my palate, I'd take a sip of the wine.

Raspberries and blackberries and chocolate are a match, to me, made in heaven. Then throw in the nuances of cocoa in the wine (despite or maybe even enhanced by the peppery finish - don't forget berries and pepper are a good match) and there is a food match for me. Rancho Zabacco Heritage Vines Zinfandel wine food and [Low fat, low sugar] chocolate ice cream food.

Here is, in part, what Gallo says about the wine:

The wine is immediately approachable with jammy ripe blackberry and boysenberry fruit. There is an underlying hint of black pepper with cocoa aromas and flavors. The texture is rich and broad allowing layers of intense fruit to unfold in the glass.........

[cmt813]

i have a question to add. can you put those suggested wines witha chocolate mousse??