Pairing Wine With Chocolate

Pairing wine with chocolate can enhance the experience and enjoyment of both. The rule of thumb is to pair light-bodied wines with light chocolates and dark-bodied wines with darker and richer chocolates. It can sometimes be tricky to pair the right red or white wine with chocolate, and that is due to the differences in tannins that are found in both wine and chocolate. If you pick a wine that has too much tannins, it could start to taste bitter or even sometimes sour with a piece of dark chocolate.

However, it is possible to pair wine with chocolate bars, chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate truffles, chocolate dessert, chocolate fondue and any other chocolate desserts. Pairing these two together correctly can be an excellent nightcap or after meal treat. Typically, the sweeter and more fat in the chocolate dessert, the easier it is to pair with wine. The bitterness in dark chocolate can be hard to drink wine with. But don’t fret, there are several great options (listed below).

If you are unsure of what to pick, the easiest thing to do is pick a nice pinot noir or dessert port wine. That is sure to be an excellent choice to enhance the dessert you choose.

Pairing Wine With Milk Chocolate

Usually milk chocolate is the easiest to pair with wine. The extra cream in the chocolate is the reason why it’s easier to pair with. Select a wine that is light to medium bodied with notes of ripe fruit flavors. Pick a pinot noir, gewurztraminer, late harvest petite sirah or Lambrusco di Sorbara (an Italian style rosé wine). Any of those will be a nice complement to milk chocolate.

Pairing Wine With Dark Chocolate

Perhaps the hardest chocolate to pair wine with is dark chocolate due to the fact of the bitterness of it. Try to pick out a full wine with higher residual sugar, ripe fruit flavors and late harvest grapes. Wines like zinfandel, malbec, or petite sirah should be able to stand up to the high levels of flavanols (tannins) in dark chocolate.

Note: if the dessert has dark chocolate but also a high amount of fat, like a cheesecake or chocolate mousse, then it will be easier to pair with and enhance with a nice glass of red wine. We still recommend a wine that has notes of ripe red fruits though.

Pairing Wine With White Chocolate

White chocolate does not contain any cacao, which is what has flavanols in it. So you are able to pair white chocolate with a dry red wine! It also gives more options of wine for pairing. Some of our favorite wines to drink with white chocolates are pinot noir, beaujolais, riesling and Moscato d’Asti.

Pairing Wine With Nut Chocolate

Hazelnut desserts (like nutella), chocolate peanut butter cups and other nutty chocolate desserts will usually be delicious with a glass of Madeira, Marsala and Amontillado. The sweetness and nuttiness of those wines will be excellent with nut based chocolate desserts.

Pairing Wine With Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Sparkling red and white wines are your best best to pair with chocolate covered strawberries. Lambrusco, prosecco champagne, and Brachetto d’Acqui are 3 wonderful options. Or you can default to a nice pinot noir or port wine as well if you don’t prefer sparkling wines.

Best Wine To Drink With Chocolate

Both red and white wine can be enjoyed with chocolate, depending on the type of chocolate dessert and the type of wine. If you pair it correctly, it can be a wonderful experience. Afterall, who doesn’t love chocolate and wine?!?! If you aren’t certain where to start, the best wine to pair with chocolate is pinot noir.

Tawny port is also a great choice, especially if guests will be enjoying different types of desserts that may not pair as well with pinot noir. It can be an easy compromise. Plus it’s often hard to finish an entire bottle of port by yourself due to the elevated alcohol levels.