With the arrival of February comes a question as inevitable¹ as long-stem roses, come-hither lingerie and ridiculously bad Valentine’s Day restaurant deals: What wine goes best with chocolate?

随着2月的到来，有个问题像长茎玫瑰、诱人内衣以及情人节那天餐馆的漫天要价一样让人无法回避：什么葡萄酒最搭巧克力？

I have done my curmudgeonly² best to avoid ever having to answer this question seriously. The whole issue smacks³ too much of “sinful desserts,” “guilty pleasures” and all the other puritanical⁴ constructions that cause people to feel as if they are daring the moral authorities by risking a glass of wine on a weeknight. If drinking wine with chocolate qualifies as a naughty thrill, well, our perception of naughtiness seems appallingly⁵ limited.

我总是尽量避免严肃地回答这个问题。总的来说，这个问题会让人产生“万恶的甜品”和“充满罪恶感的享受”之类想法，还有诸如此类清教徒式的道德感，感觉就像是在工作日的晚上喝一杯葡萄酒来挑战道德权威。如果喝葡萄酒配巧克力就被认为是放荡的狂欢，呃，那么我们对放荡的看法也未免太狭隘了。

Yet, while I personally am not that interested in drinking wine with chocolate, the question of which combinations are best is a good one, with some excellent answers. It turns out that wine and chocolate can indeed make beautiful music together, though, as I discovered in a week of testing various pairings, they can also sound some discordant⁶ notes.

不过，虽然我个人对喝葡萄酒搭配巧克力不是那么感兴趣，但是什么样的组合最美妙是个很好的问题，能引出一些精彩的答案。事实证明，葡萄酒和巧克力搭配在一起的确能演绎出美妙的乐章，不过，在我尝试不同组合的这一周里，我发现它们也能碰撞出不和谐的音调。

The question hinges not simply on which wine to choose but on which chocolate you plan to eat. I experimented with various pure chocolate bars, ranging from milk chocolate (34 percent cacao) through dark chocolate (70 percent cacao) to very dark (85 percent cacao). I did not try filled or flavored bonbons⁷, which no doubt would add different flavor dimensions and additional sweetness to the equation.

这个问题不仅在于你选择哪种葡萄酒，而且在于你打算吃哪种巧克力。我尝试了好几种纯巧克力——从牛奶巧克力（含34%可可）、黑巧克力（70%可可）到可可含量更高的巧克力（85%可可）。我没有尝试巧克力夹心或巧克力味糖果，那无疑会使味道层次更复杂，增加额外的甜度。

Like many people nowadays, I generally prefer the purer flavors of dark chocolate to milk chocolate. But counterintuitively, I found that the light sweetness of milk chocolate was more versatile⁸ with a wider range of wines than the darker chocolates, which have a distinct bitterness that, while welcome on its own, can clash with a wine that’s not equipped to handle it.

和如今的很多人一样，相对于牛奶巧克力，我总的来说更喜欢黑巧克力更为纯粹的味道。不过出人意料的是，我发现牛奶巧克力淡淡的甜味比可可含量更高的黑巧克力更能与各种葡萄酒搭配。虽然黑巧克力独特的苦味本身惹人喜爱，但是有些葡萄酒可能无法降服这种苦味，两者无法协调。

Regardless of the chocolate itself, the wines that go with it best share two particular characteristics: They are intensely sweet, and they have good acidity⁹, a quality that, despite the sweetness, lifts the wine and refreshes the palate, leaving you ready and eager to eat even more chocolate.

不管是哪种巧克力，与之最搭配的葡萄酒都有这两个特点：一方面特别甜，一方面又有极好的酸度。虽然舌尖品尝着甜味，但良好的酸度令酒味得以提升，让你的味蕾为之一振，让你做好准备想要吃掉更多巧克力。

The wines most often associated with chocolate are port and Madeira. The two are frequently uttered in the same breath, yet I by far preferred Madeira with each type of chocolate. Madeira, from the Portuguese¹⁰ island of Madeira, can range from dry and light to rich and very sweet. The sweetest Madeiras, generally made from the malvasia candida grape and labeled “malmsey,” are what you want with chocolate. Bual Madeiras, which are slightly less sweet, were overwhelmed, but chocolate and malmsey indeed was a lovely match.

最常与巧克力联系起来的葡萄酒是波特(port)和马德拉(Madeira)。这两种葡萄酒经常被同时提起，但是到目前为止，我更喜欢用马德拉来搭配各种巧克力。马德拉葡萄酒产自葡萄牙的马德拉岛，包括干型、清淡型、浓郁型和极甜型。最甜的马德拉葡萄酒通常是用玛尔维萨白葡萄做成的，被称为“玛尔维萨甜酒”(malmsey)，用它来搭配巧克力最合适。布阿尔马德拉葡萄酒(Bual Madeiras)的甜度略为逊色，会被巧克力的甜味淹没，但是巧克力和马姆齐的确是迷人的组合。

Blandy’s 5-Year malmsey, a wine aged¹¹ a minimum of five years, is a good entry-level Madeira and costs about $20 to $25. Even better is Blandy’s 15-Year Madeira, for $35 to $40, which had a beautifully bright, refreshing¹² flavor that was superb with chocolate. Best of all would be vintage malmsey, or one of my favorites, New York Malmsey Special Reserve, a bottling from the Rare Wine Company made in the style of Madeiras from the 18th and 19th centuries. It was almost kaleidoscopic¹³ in its complexity¹⁴ yet remained deliciously refreshing. It can be found for around $60.

布兰迪葡萄酒庄(Blandy’s)的五年玛尔维萨（至少存放了五年时间）是很好的入门级马德拉，售价约为20至25美元。更好一点的是布兰迪的15年马德拉，售价为35至40美元，它有一种明快清新的迷人滋味，与巧克力搭配起来极为美妙。最好的是陈年玛尔维萨，或者我最喜欢的纽约玛尔维萨特藏(New York Malmsey Special Reserve)，后者是稀有葡萄酒公司(Rare Wine Company)按照18至19世纪的马德拉风格酿造的。它的味道如同万花筒般丰富多彩，但仍保持着清新的口感，价格约为60美元。

By comparison, port in general lacks that same refreshing element with chocolate. Save the powerful vintage ports for walnuts¹⁵ and Stilton. I prefer tawny¹⁶ ports, particular 20-year-olds, which have achieved a mellow¹⁷ nuttiness from long barrel-aging sometimes referred to as “rancio,” yet are still lively enough to dance compatibly with dark chocolate. Taylor, Cockburn and Sandeman are reliable labels and will generally cost $40 to $50. Young ruby¹⁸ ports, like Graham’s Six Grapes, are decent alternatives for $15 to $20.

相比之下，波特葡萄酒总的来说缺乏与巧克力搭配所需的这种清新之感。还是把上好的陈年波特酒用来搭配核桃和斯蒂尔顿奶酪(Stilton)吧。我更喜欢黄褐色波特葡萄酒，特别是20年醇的，它长时间储存在木桶中，酝酿出一种柔和的口感，有时被称为“陈酿”(rancio)，不过仍然足够活跃，能与黑巧克力和谐共舞。泰勒(Taylor)、科伯恩(Cockburn)和桑德曼(Sandeman)这些品牌值得信赖，通常售价为40至50美元。酒龄短的深红色葡萄酒是很好的替代品，比如格雷厄姆的“六个葡萄”(Graham’s Six Grapes)品牌，售价为15至30美元。

Both Madeira and port are fortified¹⁹ wines, meaning the sweet versions have had neutral spirits added to the wine in mid-fermentation, which stops the process before all the sugar in the grape juice has been converted into alcohol. I tried a number of other fortified wines, too. A PX sherry, made of the pedro ximénez grape, was so insistently²⁰ sweet and syrupy as to be almost undrinkable. I would rather pour this style over ice cream than pair it with chocolate.

马德拉和波特都是甜度强化葡萄酒，意思是在发酵过程的中间阶段，在葡萄酒中加入中性烈酒，这会阻止葡萄汁中的所有糖分转化为酒精。我也尝试过其他几种强化葡萄酒。PX品牌有一种雪利酒是用帕德罗西门内葡萄(Pedro Ximénez)酿造的，它太甜了，像糖浆一样，几乎难以下咽。我更愿意把这种酒倒在冰激凌上，而不是和巧克力搭配。

But two other, lesser²¹ known fortified wines, Maury and Banyuls, were great. These wines, both from Roussillon in the south of France, are called vins doux naturels, though paradoxically they are indeed fortified. They are also rare, and many winemakers in Roussillon, as in the Douro, where port is produced, have turned to making still wines as public tastes have changed. But you can still find occasional bottles of Maury and Banyuls, made largely with the grenache grape.

但是另外两种不太出名的强化葡萄酒也很棒：莫里(Maury)和巴纽尔斯(Banyuls)。这两种葡萄酒都产自法国南部的鲁西永区，被称为天然甜酒，实际上它们也是强化型的。它们非常罕见，因为随着公众口味的改变，鲁西永的很多酒庄转而酿造无气泡葡萄酒，波特葡萄酒的产地杜罗河谷也是如此。但是你偶尔仍能找到莫里和巴纽尔斯葡萄酒，大多是用歌海娜葡萄(grenache)酿造的。

A 2013 Banyuls “Rimage” from Domaine la Tour Vieille, around $30, was sweet with plenty of primary fruit flavors. It went just fine with the chocolate but will be even better after a few years of aging tempers the somewhat raw flavor of the alcohol.

拉图尔维埃耶葡萄园(Domaine la Tour Vieille)2013年酿造的巴纽尔斯Rimage葡萄酒售价在30美元左右，它很甜，而且含有很多基础水果的味道。它和巧克力搭配也挺好，但是如果能多放几年，让酒精的呛口滋味变得柔和一点，会更好。

I happened to have a rare bottle of older Maury, a 1965 from La Coume du Roy, which I opened last week to try with chocolate. I will report that this was a profound wine, sweet, nutlike and burnished²², yet with bright, intriguing²³ flavors that ricocheted through the mouth. It was surprisingly similar to the New York Malmsey Madeira, delicious in every way and especially with chocolate. You may not find a Maury this old, but I saw 1998 and 2001 Coume du Roys selling for around $40.

我碰巧有一瓶罕见的莫里陈酿，它是皇谷御酿酒庄(La Coume du Roy)1965年酿造的。上周我把它打开，尝试和巧克力搭配。这种葡萄酒口感醇厚，很甜，有果仁味，明亮，同时又有欢快、诱人的滋味在口中回荡。令人意外的是，它与纽约玛尔维萨马德拉葡萄酒很相似，从各个方面讲都很美味，特别是与巧克力搭配。你可能找不到年份如此久远的莫里酒，但我见过1998年和2001年产的皇谷御酿葡萄酒，售价在40美元左右。

While fortified wines in general may be the best choices for chocolate, I did find one sensational²⁴ option among unfortified sweet wines: Tokaji Aszu from Hungary. These wines, made with grapes that have been inflicted²⁵ with botrytis, the famous noble rot, are both fiercely sweet and wonderfully acidic, with flavors of orange and apricot that meld gorgeously with chocolate.

虽然强化葡萄酒总体来说可能最适合与巧克力搭配，但我的确在非强化甜葡萄酒中找到了一个很好的选择：匈牙利的托卡伊·阿苏(Tokaji Aszu)葡萄酒。这种葡萄酒是用感染了葡萄孢菌（著名贵腐菌）的葡萄酿造的，具有强烈的甜味和美妙的酸味，还有橙子和杏的味道，它和巧克力的味道融合在一起好极了。

I tried a 2003 5 Puttonyos from Royal Tokaji, which had turned a dark amber²⁶ in the bottle. Yet in the glass it was bright and lovely, thoroughly²⁷ refreshing and a joyous²⁸ match with each style of chocolate. And unlike the fortified wines, which ranged from 15 to 20 percent alcohol, it was about 10 percent. Wines like these, from slightly more recent vintages, run $40 to $50 a bottle.

我还尝试了皇家托卡伊(Royal Tokaji)的2003年5 Puttonyos（Puttonyo是当地采集葡萄的容器，用以表示甜度等级——译注）葡萄酒，它在酒瓶中会变成深琥珀色。但是盛在玻璃杯中却显得明亮秀丽，它的清新口感与每种巧克力搭配都令人愉悦。强化葡萄酒的度数通常为15%至20%，而这种葡萄酒的度数约为10%。类似的这种年份较近的葡萄酒售价为40至50美元。

No doubt other wines can work with chocolate, too. I’ve heard good things about Barolo Chinato, a fortified, sweet and herbal digestif made from Barolo. Some people like Amarone or powerful zinfandels, wines that are richly fruity and maybe not quite dry. Personally, I will stick with Madeira, which has the additional benefit of being virtually indestructible even after a bottle is opened. That way, if you don’t finish the bottle on Valentine’s Day, you’ll have the answer to the perennial²⁹ question waiting for you next year.

不必怀疑其他葡萄酒也能和巧克力搭配。我听人赞美过巴罗洛Chinato葡萄酒，它是产自巴罗洛地区的强化、甜味、草本餐后酒。还有些人喜欢阿马罗内(Amarone)或浓郁的仙粉黛葡萄酒(zinfandel)，这两种酒具有浓郁的水果味，可能不是很干。我个人还是钟爱马德拉，它的另一个好处是，即使在开瓶之后，依然能保持原味。这样的话，就算情人节那天你没喝完那瓶酒，明年你也能回答那个永恒的问题了。