Wine and chocolate, are two of life’s greatest pleasures. These sweet indulgences bring goodness to your health; they both contain antioxidants, good to the heart and aphrodisiacs, within moderation. But despite the striking likenesses, pairing them is quite challenging. Some say pairing wine with chocolate can't be done, but with the right pairing, it’ll taste like heaven. If you choose the right wine that complements with the right chocolate, the wine will taste as sweet as the chocolate. And a poor pairing leads to a sour or flabby taste.

Chocolate contains flavonoids, phytochemicals that helps reduce insulin resistance and reduce blood pressure. Also wine, with moderate consumption, can help boost your health. It can help lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, gallstones and developing osteoarthritis. Here are some wine and chocolate pairing tips that will assist in your pairing dilemma.

For Dark Chocolates

Dark chocolate have higher cacao content so it’s healthier than other chocolates because it contains more flavanols or antioxidant. Properly selected wines will help balance out the bitterness in dark chocolates and red wines pair well with them. Here are some wines that best pair with dark chocolates:

• Port-style Red Wines - Port style wines that can balance out dark chocolates includes Malbec, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel

• Port - Original Port wine from Portugal, will pair amazingly with dark chocolates.

Milk Chocolate

Milk chocolate has a smooth character, it contains half chocolate and half cream and the extra fat that it contains from the cream makes it easier to pair with sweeter wine. Below are the recommended wines for milk chocolates:

• Banyuls - A French Port and will be best paired with chocolate truffles.

• Brachetto d’Acqui - A sweet sparkling red wine from Italy that will do marvelously with chocolate mousse.

• Lambrusco di Sorbara - A sparkling red wine with slight flavors of peach and strawberry.

• Late-Harvest Red Wines - Port-styled wines that includes Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah and Syrah.

• Ruby Port - Will be an excellent pair with milk chocolate.

• Rutherglen Muscat - Probably the sweetest wine in the world from Victoria, Australia and will do best with milk chocolate.

White Chocolate

White chocolate is usually buttery and mellow and does not contain cacao (flavanols or the brown part) that’s why it’s not considered as "true" chocolate. But still it tastes like chocolate and it perfectly match with dry red wines.

• Beaujolais - This is a light-bodied red wine like Pinot Noir.

• Brachetto d’Acqui - An excellent pair with white chocolate with a creamy raspberry notes with delicate notes of peonies.

• Ice Wine - This wine is a great match with white chocolate with notes of creamy candied oranges, lemon meringue and pineapple.

• Pinot Noir - The white chocolate helps bring out the sweet flavors of cherries, raspberries and strawberries in the Pinot Noir.

• Rosé Port - It's the latest style of Port with rich flavors of sweet currant and strawberries. That's why it's a classy sweet pair for white chocolate.

A successful wine and chocolate pairing elicits intense flavors and complexity.  Enhanced sensations and tastes reveal hidden flavors of both the wine and chocolate.

Wine and chocolate lovers, here's a great news! Fortunately, quite a lot of wines when paired with chocolates taste really amazing!  You can now experiment and create your own wine and chocolate pairing! Just make sure that you don't overindulge both the chocolate and wine or else you'll lose their health benefits. Cheers!

← Previous Post Next Post →