Two of my greatest pleasures are wine and chocolate. Fortunately, as manager of the Epicure department at Neiman Marcus, I get to work with both. But can these two wonderful tastes be enjoyed together? Yes! But not everyone agrees with me, including my former boss and fellow columnist Kim Karalovich. Why the controversy? Once again, it comes down to personal preference. What is a truly magical dance of flavors in my mouth may be a bitter experience for others.

How can this possibly negative experience of chocolate and wine be avoided? Matching the right wine with the right chocolate is the first step. There are many things to consider when pairing the two. In order for the pairing to work, the wine must be perceived as sweeter than the chocolate; do this by selecting a wine with higher residual sugar or just a good amount of ripe fruit flavors. The same applies to the chocolate: It is easier to pair a semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate with wine than a sweeter milk chocolate. Also, because chocolate coats your mouth when you eat it, the wine has to be big enough to cut through its richness.

One excellent chocolate company is NoKA. Noah Houghton and Katrina Merrem are famous for their pure, single-origin dark chocolate. The product comes beautifully boxed with chocolate from four regions around the world, complete with tasting notes. As with wine you can taste the terroir in each piece of chocolate depending on the soil in which the cocoa was grown. For an upcoming pairing event, I sat down with Cheryl Lynn and David Nip from JMD beverages and tasted through some NoKA chocolate and wine combos.

To my surprise, one of my favorite wines, the Domaine Serene Evenstad pinot noir from Oregon, did not pair well with any of the four chocolates, so I'll just continue to enjoy that wine with dinner. We found a blanc de blancs champagne from Cattier was wonderful with the chocolate from Venezuela. The citrus in the wine complemented the vibrant acidity in the chocolate while the bubbles cleansed the palate and danced on the tongue. We also paired a great cabernet sauvignon from famous winemaker Heidi Barrett that has rich ripe fruit with a chocolate from Ecuador. We ended up choosing a Curran syrah, which is from the same winemaker as the cult wine Sea Smoke, to go with the third chocolate, and a great fruity zinfandel stood up to the boldest chocolate from Trinidad.

Another winery-and-chocolate match made in heaven is Swanson Vineyards in Oakville and Vosges Haut Chocolate from Chicago. The woman who started Vosges, Katrina Markoff, blends her fine chocolate truffles with exotic ingredients such as wasabi and ginger in the Black Pearl truffle and red chili in the Red Fire truffle. Markoff and Alexis Swanson are good friends and teamed up to make a bonbon to go with the cabernet sauvignon/syrah wine "Alexis." Most people are surprised to learn that the secret ingredient in the bonbon is curry!

How do you enjoy this taste sensation to the fullest? First enjoy a sip of the wine; let it fill your mouth then taste the chocolate, letting it slowly melt on your tongue. Now sip the wine again — you might just be in heaven!

Come see for yourself if chocolate and wine are made for each other and meet chocolatier Katrina Merrem of NoKA while Cheryl Lynn, David and I pour tastings of these great wines from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Epicure in Neiman Marcus.

NoKA and Vosges chocolates are exclusive to Neiman Marcus in Hawai'i.

Wines to pair with chocolate: