CRASH COURSE

There’ll be plenty of sniffing and sampling, though not as much swirling when the wine-class group LearnAboutWine turns its attention to chocolate next week.

Turns out the two have more in common than you might think. “The best chocolate, like wine, comes from the best locations,” Ian Blackburn says in his description of the class, which is May 8 at the Piccolo Paradiso restaurant in Beverly Hills.

Blackburn, the founder of LearnAboutWine, is on the local board of the American Institute of Wine & Food and has taught wine classes for the California School of Culinary Arts and the Learning Annex.

He teaches the class with Allison Levine, a self-proclaimed chocolate aficionado who is also on American Institute of Wine & Food’s local board. She is the author of LearnAboutWine’s first book, “The Pleasure of Wine,” as well.

The class will address different types of cacao beans and how they are used to make varieties of chocolate throughout the world.

Typically students sample white and milk chocolates as well as dark chocolates of varying cacao concentrations, Levine says. Samples come from France, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and elsewhere. There also is discussion of creative ways chocolate can be used in cooking.

Of course, the various chocolates will be complemented by Rhone Valley wines, Port, Zinfandel, Syrah and other wines. “We match specific wines and chocolates,” Levine says. “At the same time it’s sort of an experiment to see what might pair better. You’ll have a few different chocolates and try all three with different wines.”

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Piccolo Paradiso, 150 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills. May 8, 1-4 p.m. $55. Pre-registration suggested. (310) 451-7600 or www.LearnAboutWine.com.