Wine and Chocolate... in one?

I was wandering through my local wine shop today and happened upon this odd-looking bottle. Not that the bottle itself was odd-looking, but rather, the contents. I just had to get it and share it. No food pairing on this one, but then again, it's kind of a pairing unto itself. Won't be doing the usual scoring breakdown either, because... well... it's just not that kind of wine.

Wine: Europa ChocoVine dessert ...wine...

Yes, it is wine. Sort of. It's kind of a wine cocktail, I suppose. Europa Winery, from what I can gather, is a winery in Holland. This beverage is made from a blend of red wine (don't know which varietal) (Cabernet Sauvignon), dutch chocolate, and cream. On opening the bottle, it just smells exactly like a mudslide, so I'm looking forward to this.

It looks exactly like chocolate milk. Chocolate milk with 14% ABV. This is not your kid's chocolate milk. On the nose, as I mentioned, mudslide. Maybe a white russian. It's really lovely - the chocolate is powerful, but you can definitely smell "generic red wine" in there. The nose is a little hot - the alcohol is definitely present.

Taking a sip - wow, it's thick like chocolate milk, too. And hot. The mudslide theme continues, except it's like mudslide with a little chambord in there. Every percent of that 14% definitely shows up, so it's rather sharp across the palate and down your throat. REALLY tasty though.

After the heat goes away on the finish, there's just a lingering taste of chocolate and orange rind. Yeah, I dunno where that came from, but there it is. Apparently, the owner of the wine shop puts a little of this in her coffee every morning. I can see why.

So there you have it, chocolate... wine... thing. It's quite tasty, and makes a really nice after-dinner treat. Or a spoil-yourself-day treat. If you can't take the heat, though, stay out of the bottle. A little air tempers it, but don't run this through your Vinturi! Now, I'm going to sip on my ChocoVine and watch a little Jeff Dunham.

Enjoy!