The chocolate-wine pairing is one of life’s best. They go together like milk and cookies, or peanut butter and jelly.
Serving wine and chocolate together is a great way to spend an evening with your closest friends. It also makes a fantastic dessert course when you’re hosting a dinner party. As with most foods, certain wines pair better with certain kinds of chocolates. It’s a good idea to learn which types compliment each other before you buy them to ensure the perfect pairing. For example, you might think that a rich, dry red pairs well with dark chocolate, but that’s not necessarily the case. Both chocolate and wine have tannins (also known as flavanols) that can create an unpleasant taste when mixed. Once you know which wines and chocolates go together best, you’ll be able to choose those perfect pairings with ease.
White chocolate is pairs perfectly with many wines. As the editorial staff of Wine Folly explains, there are actually a lot of options:
As Stacy Slinkard of The Spruce describes, the creamy smoothness of milk chocolate makes it easy to pair with a large number of wines. A few of the more popular wines to pair with milk chocolate are:
As Fiona Beckett of Decanter notes, dark chocolate generally requires a wine with more acidity to counterbalance the bitterness. Some examples of wines that go well with dark chocolate are:
Flavored chocolate is also a popular dessert indulgence. Pairing a wine with flavored chocolate is not as cut and dried as it might seem and may require some experimentation. A Zinfandel with a strong cinnamon profile, for example, may match well with dark chocolate ginger. Mint chocolate desserts can pair well with Syrah. Chocolate covered fruit, such as strawberries, will taste even better when paired with either sparkling ice wines or sweet sparkling reds.
Pairing wine with chocolate can be as simple as enjoying peanut butter cups with a small glass of Marsala. You can increase the sophistication factor by making a dessert with chocolate elements (such as mousse, cheesecake, or trifle) and then choose a wine that matches it best. As Amy Gross of Wine4Me explains, experimentation is key: You’ll have to sample different wines with various types of chocolate to find the flavor profiles that you like most. A complicated chocolate dessert doesn’t necessarily call for a rich red wine. Consider all the flavors involved: are there any hints of fruit or spices? If so, a Riesling or Merlot can be a better choice. Recognizing the different flavors involved can help you make an educated choice.
Wine can be the perfect accompaniment to any kind of chocolate, regardless of whether you are eating it straight from the package a handful at a time, or having a piece of Black Forest cake. Everyone’s flavor preferences are different. Don’t be afraid to experiment or do your homework to find out which chocolate and wine pairings you like best!
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