Pairing Wine With Chocolate: The Ultimate Guide
Pairing wine with chocolate can elevate your tasting experience to new heights, but it’s not always straightforward. Mastering this art can be both delightful and challenging. In this guide, we’ve curated the ultimate roadmap to help you navigate the nuances of pairing these two decadent treats, ensuring a perfectly harmonious blend of flavours.
Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate’s versatility makes it a fantastic match for a wide range of wines. Its creamy texture and higher sugar content harmonize beautifully with lighter, fruitier wines. For a perfect pairing, try Riesling, whose sweet and acidic profile complements milk chocolate effortlessly. Moscato d’Asti is another excellent choice, with its sweet notes enhancing the rich flavours of milk chocolate to create a delightful fusion.
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate is rich and decadent with a sharp and bitter flavour, which pairs beautifully with robust wines. A dark chocolate with 50-70% cocoa content pairs well with a full-bodied Cabernet which balances the bitterness of dark chocolate. For dark chocolate with 70% cocoa and higher, opt for a bolder wine like Shiraz. The spicy, black pepper character with notes of liquorice, coffee and leather will complement the deep and intense flavours of dark chocolate.
White Chocolate
White chocolate’s smooth and creamy sweetness pairs well with lighter wines. Late harvest Riesling is a sweeter wine with notes of spice and cinnamon that pairs perfectly with the nutty sweetness of white chocolate. Australian Moscato, a light and fruity wine blends perfectly with white chocolate due to its apricot flavours. White chocolate also pairs well with champagne or prosecco due to their bubbles and fruity notes which can enhance the flavours of white chocolate.
While wine and chocolate pairing can be complicated, this guide offers an understanding of some of the best wine pairings with chocolate. While these pairings work well together, pairing wine with chocolate is often a personal preference. Cheers to discovering your ideal wine and chocolate pairing!
