Red wine and chocolate. Four words guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of anyone with a taste for decadance. But while good red wine and good chocolate are both indulgent delights in their own right, pairing one with the other is a little trickier than one might imagine.
Whilst it’s perfectly possible to grab a bottle of mass-market supermarket plonk and a sugary confection such as Dairy Milk, the resulting experience is likely to be less than mind-blowing. The two may be enjoyable enough as separate entities but they don’t work particularly well together.
So let’s assume that we’re taking both our wine and our chocolate seriously here and going for all-out indulgence rather than cheap and cheerful.
One thing to bear in mind when pairing red wine with chocolate is that the sweeter the chocolate, the more tannic and bitter the wine can taste.
Many wine and chocolate lovers head straight for the Cabernet Sauvignons when looking for a red wine to pair with good chocolate, assuming that the perceived sweetness of the drink, combined with the deep, chocolaty notes, make it a natural pairing. However, if the chocolate is on the sweet side, Cabernet Sauvignon’s tannic undertones can taste rather harsh.
On the other hand, a good bottle of Merlot, whose tannins are rounder and less pronounced, has notes of mocha and cocoa and as such can be a perfect bedfellow for chocolate – whether it’s a simple bar of good quality chocolate, rich truffles, or an indulgent chocolate dessert.
Another good pairing is Zinfandel, whose chocolate flavours are extremely pronounced. In addition, Zinfandel tends to be low in tannin levels, making it a good match for sweeter chocolate.
On the subject of sweetness, those who like their chocolate super-sweet will have great difficulty finding a good match among the red wines. A good rule of thumb is that the chocolate should not be sweeter than the wine and as such, a sweet white wine or even a dessert wine is going to be a better match than a bottle of red. Those who like their chocolate dark and on the bitter side will find it a great deal easier to identify the perfect wine partner to accompany their cocoa-fest.
The darker the chocolate and the higher the cocoa levels, the easier it will be to find a wine that will enhance rather than overwhelm the flavours.
Chocolate desserts can be trickier, as most will contain quite a lot of sugar even if the chocolate used is bitter and high in tannins. A Port wine can often be a good choice, as it will be less tannin-heavy than most red wines and Port wines’ almost creamy taste can make it a good match for indulgent desserts. Red wine lovers who don’t want to go down the Port route should consider late harvest wines, as these will be sweeter and less tannic due to the extra time that the fruit has spent ripening on the vine. A late harvest Californian Zinfandel, for example, will work well with sweet treats such as chocolate chip cookies. If the dessert is really, truly sweet, it may be necessary to abandon the red wine pairings altogether and, if you’re truly determined not to go for a white wine, opt for a sweet and sparkling rose wine.
Those who like their chocolate white and their wine red will have a challenge ahead of them in finding the perfect pairing, but it’s not an in impossible task. White chocolate tends to be rich, creamy and almost buttery and when it is not too sweet it can be a surprisingly successful complement to bolshy, tannic wines. The high alcohol content and pronounced tannins can be effectively ‘softened’ by the creamy, buttery taste of the chocolate, making for an unusual but often very rewarding taste combination.
However, not all pairings work and you may arrange a few unsuccessful chocolate and wine dates before you hit match-making gold. If in doubt, try matching rather than contrasting the flavours and pairing your creamy, sweet white chocolate with an equally creamy and sweet Sherry.
Taking the cocoa content up just a notch, creamier milk chocolates and rich desserts such as milk chocolate mousse can work well with some late harvest Pinot Noirs and late harvest Merlots. Trying to pair these with a tannic Burgundy or Bordeaux will not work well, as the wine will be in danger of ending up tasting bitter and even harsh.
Whilst pairing red wine and chocolate can be a challenge, it’s hardly one that many of us would shrink from; think of it as a good excuse to splash out on some good quality chocolate and some appealing wines and just let your imagination run wild.
And if at first you don’t succeed – at least you’ll have had fun trying.
Image by joebeone.
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This is a very informative article. I do not drink port wine often but I have found the ultimate desert combination with Sandeman port and chocolate truffles from The Chocolate Fetish. The subtlety of the ganache in these truffles accentuates the sweetness of the port. It is a perfect match. I look forwad to trying other wine and chocolate pairings.