White Chocolate
White chocolate is, as we all know, not really chocolate at all but rather it’s a confection usually flavored with vanilla. This is ‘chocolate’ at its creamiest, since it is mostly cocoa butter, and the rest is basically sugar, making this an extreme chocolate! Rich and sweet, with some vanilla tones -- sounds like a good match for a sweeter Champagne. |
Milk Chocolate
We all love us some good milk chocolate, and with its sweet, creamy flavors, milk chocolate is actually fairly easy to pair with wine. I like a sweet, sparkling red like Brachetto, though if there are nuts involved, a nice tawny Port could be the perfect match. If pairing with citrus flavors you might want to consider a nice Riesling as well. |
Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate tends to be deeply flavored but not terribly sweet. While the percent of cocoa naturally produces a more bitter flavor element the higher the cocoa percentage goes, some producers just compensate by adding more sugar, lending very high percentage cocoa chocolate an intensity of flavor that many simple dark chocolates don’t have. This makes dark chocolate ideal for pairing with a nice ruby port or even some table wines that frequently have a little bit of residual sugar such as Zinfandel, even ‘white’ Zin! Dark chocolate is often paired with caramel or butter crunch and some wines that have similar flavors work superbly here. The Alcyone dessert wine based on Tannat is an incredible wine for these types of chocolate! |
Bittersweet chocolate
By ramping up the intensity, bittersweet chocolate demands more from your wine. While many people find that table wines based on Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon work well with bittersweet chocolate, I still think you need some sweetness to help the wine work with the chocolate. Here a late harvest wine based on Syrah, Zinfandel (Primitivo!), or Grenache (back to Banyuls) works wonders! Bittersweet chocolate is often paired with nuts, and while some aged spirits might be an ideal match, if you’re looking for the right wine you might want to consider a sweet cherry here. The dried fruit character and intensity of a nice Px can work wonders with this combination. |
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