Chocolate Wine Pairings: How to Pair Wine and Chocolate

In general, there's a few tips that are good to apply universally:

1. Choose a wine that is sweeter than the chocolate you are pairing it with. Otherwise, you could end up with two very sweet tastes overpowering each other, instead of a harmonious and complimentary pairing.
    
2. Pair wines and chocolates that are similar in intensity and weight. Light, elegant chocolates go well with light, elegant wines; rich, strong chocolates go well with rich, full-bodied wines.
    
3. If you are sampling multiple pairings, work your way up. Start with the light wines and chocolates and end with the rich wines and chocolates.
    
4. Beware polyphenols. Don't double up on bitter and sour tastes; a bittersweet dark chocolate alongside a tannic Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec will leave you gagging.

For a high-quality milk chocolate, target choices that are half cream and half chocolate. The extra fat from the cream will make milk chocolate quite easy to pair with wine. 

You might want to choose Pinot Noir for its silky tannins and ripe, red fruit. To complement the smooth cocoa butter in milk chocolate, a medium-bodied Merlot is also a good choice. Of course, other sweet wines such as Rieslings, Muscats, and other dessert wines go excellent with the lovely, sweet tastes of milk chocolate. Or, you could go for a little bit of fun to go with a fruity, bubbly wine to bring out the chocolate accents.

The Bottom Line:

Pinot Noir, Merlot, Madeira, Moscatel de Setubal, PX Sherry, Creamy Sherry, Rasteau, Aged Vintage Port, Rutherglen Muscat
 

A true dark chocolate contains at least 35% cocoa solids. Because they can easily verge into being too bitter, be careful with dry wines.

Rather, dark chocolates pair well with full-bodied, robust wines, perhaps with a smidge of fruit or chocolatey flavors. Zinfandels are ideal for this. In fact, at the Wine & Chocolate weekends in Lodi, a wine growing region in California, there are frequent dark chocolate/Zinfandel pairings. Another good choice would be a Cabernet Sauvignon. If the cocoa solid content is getting higher, say around 55%, you may want to consider a Pinot Noir or Merlot.

The Bottom Line:

Zinfandel, Syrah/Shiraz, Port, Sherry, Vin Santo del Chianti, Pedro Ximinez, Banyuls, Chinato
 

Believe it or not, white chocolate is not technically chocolate -- sacrilegious, but true. White chocolate does contain cocoa fat, but it contains no actual coca. This makes it incredibly versatile in wine pairings.

Because it is so mellow and buttery, go with sweet sherry, or the subtle bubbles of Moscato d'Asti. Play with complimentary fruit flavors like an Orange Muscat. If you go with a Vintage Graham’s Port, they will taste like blueberries and cream together. Additionally, white chocolate is the only chocolate that's truly suited for dry red wines!

The Bottom Line:

Ice wines, late-harvest Rieslings, Moscato, Cream Sherry, Brachetto d’Acqui, Lambrusco, Sweet Tokaji, Rosé Port, Beaujolais
 

For a more casual selection of chocolate and wine pairings, scale back on the expensive chocolates and enjoy your favorite corner store candies.

1. Kit-Kat and Malbec Blend
    
2. Milky Way and Nebbiolo
    
3. M&Ms and Port
    
4. Snickers and Lambrusco Amabile
    
5. Reese's Pieces and PX Sherry
    
6. Butterfinger and Tokaji
    
7. 3 Musketeers and Sparkling Chenin Blanc
    
8. Hershey's Chocolate Bars and Syrah
    
9. Twix and Vin Santo
    
10. Whoppers and Pinot Noir
     
11. Almond Joy and Sherry
     
12. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and Lambrusco