When it comes to pairing wine with chocolate, it’s important to find the perfect match, and it’s not as easy as you might think. The right combination can enhance the flavours of both the wine and the chocolate, creating a truly indulgent experience. Whether you prefer dark, milk, or white chocolate, there’s a wine out there that can complement its unique characteristics. From rich and robust red wines to delicate and fruity whites and on to sweet red and white dessert wines. The key is to consider the intensity and sweetness of the chocolate when selecting a wine. By understanding the flavor profiles and experimenting with different pairings, you can discover delightful combinations that will leave your taste buds craving for more.
When it comes to the art of pairing wine and chocolate, it’s crucial to follow a few basic rules. Firstly, it’s important to note that dry wines generally don’t complement chocolate. However, the intensity and bitterness of dark chocolate present a better opportunity for a successful pairing. For those seeking a harmonious wine and chocolate combination, opt for a sweeter red wine, such as Amarone, Shiraz with a touch of sweetness, or a luscious and fruity red like Merlot or Zinfandel from California. Another helpful tip is to incorporate ganache (a mixture of chocolate and cream) in the pairing, as the added fat content can facilitate the matching process.
While dry wines should generally be avoided (with the exception of Sparkling wines, perhaps), the finest matches for wine and chocolate often arise from the realm of dessert wines. The reason behind this is that dessert wines are usually flavorful and sweet enough to complement the chocolate’s sugar content, especially when paired with chocolate desserts. To successfully pair dessert wine with chocolate, consider the flavors of fruits, dried fruits, nuts, or caramel that blend well with chocolate, and look for these characteristics within the dessert wines themselves.
Left to Right@ Zuccardi Fortified Malbec, Chapoutier banyuls and Quady Elysium Black Muscat
Below you will find some ideas specifically for some of the chocolate flavours created by Chris at The Winchester Cocoa Co. but theses are all good ideas for pairing with a range of different chocolates.
Sea Salt Liquid Caramel
A caramel made with fresh cream, butter, bourbon vanilla and Cornish sea salt – the salty / butterscotch flavours would match best with a sweet, white dessert wine, a lighter style with citrus notes and good acidity such as the Seifried Winemakers Collection Sweet Agnes Riesling or go for something a bit more complementary like a Pedro Ximenez Sherry or Medium sweet or rich Madeira. Alternative: Torres Floralis Moscatel Oro, Vino de Licor.
Raspberry, Lime and Mint
Raspberry jelly on a dark ganache flavoured with lime zest and Summerdown Hampshire Mint Oil – the mint is a tricky flavour to match with wine, but it was not overpowering. The raspberry and dark chocolate ganache are crying out for a sweet red dessert wine, consensus was the Quady Elysium from California would be a great match with its own raspberry and red fruit character. Alternative: Banyuls or Maury.
Pear and Spiced Port
Pear and vanilla jelly on a dark ganache flavoured with tawny port and delicately infused with spices – naturally I would match the Niepoort 10 Year Old Tawny Port (or Niepoort Senior Port) to emphasis the Port characters in the chocolate. Tawny put is often overlooked as a dessert wine but it is a great match for all sorts of chocolates, pudding and blue cheese! Alternative: Rutherglen Muscat.
Blackcurrant and Sloe Gin
Blackcurrant jelly on a dark ganache flavoured with Sloe Gin from the Wiltshire Liqueur Company – the gin flavours are a tricky match, so why not try this with some Sloe Gin itself. Alternatively something big, sweet and chunky would stand up to the gin and blackcurrant and we thought that, in this case a wine might work, perhaps the Tedeschi Amarone would work well. Alternative: Mas Amiel Vintage Maury AOC, Vin Doux Naturel 16.5%
Blackberry
Blackberry fruit and liqueur coulis on 72% dark chocolate ganache – this is the chocolate flavoured with Edmond Briottet Creme de Mure (blackberry liqueur) and would be great with a small glass of that. Alternatively this needs a sweet red wine or perhaps an Port, perhaps the Cline Late Harvest Mourvedre or a Ruby style Port this time (more red and black fruit character than a Tawny Port). Alternative: Niepoort Crusted Port.
Raspberry
Dark Madagascan chocolate ganache flavoured with fresh raspberry puree – I think I would match this chocolate with the Quady Elysium again, for similar reasons to the Raspberry, Lime and Mint chocolate above.
Gooseberry and Elderflower
Gooseberry fruit coulis above a milk chocolate ganache flavoured with Elderflower Liqueur – there is a lot going on here but I think that the white fruit flavours and the milk chocolate ganache make this an ideal candidate for matching with a white wine, and we thought this would actually match well with a German Spatlese such as the Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese the floral character and a hint of sweetness should be quite complementary. Another thing that might actually work well here would be a sweet sparkling, maybe a Demi-Sec Champagne or Moscato d’Asti. It would also be worth trying out one the fine Hampshire Sparkling wines like the Hambledon Vineyard Classic Cuvee – although it might be a little on the dry side.
Sour Cherry and Pistachio
A morello cherry ganache above a pistachio and almond marzipan – so there are fruity and almond flavours in this chocolate. The cherry flavour was quite dominant and this would actually be great with some Cherry Heering or other cherry brandy. If I have to pick a dessert wine match for this chocolate it would be a Tawny Port to complement the nutty marzipan, probably the Niepoort Senior as before. Alternative: Grant Burge 10 Year Old Tawny, Barossa Valley
Chai Vanilla
Milk chocolate ganache infused with bourbon vanilla and chai tea blend from Char Teas in Winchester – this was perhaps the favourite chocolate of the tasting, there are plenty of spicy cinnamon, ginger, pepper and other spices in here which I think would be great with a medium sweet Madeira with citrus, nutty and spicy notes, the Barbeito Rainwater Reserva Madeira Meio Seco (Medium Dry) would be a great match for this. Alternative:
Almond and Hazelnut Crunch
Almond and hazelnut milk chocolate praline with nut pieces and crunchy feuilletine wafers – probably my second favourite after the Chai Vanilla. This nutty confection really needs something equally nutty to stand up to it. I think this would be a great match with the Barone Ricasoli Castello di Brolio Vin Santo with it slightly oxidised, nutty, raisined flavours or a good cream Sherry or Tawny Port. Alternative: Prunotto Moscato d’Asti.
I hope these wine and chocolate pairings will give you some ideas. Perhaps do some experimenting of your own!
