Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and men everywhere will be scrambling at the last minute to find something special for their significant other. Our advice? Get a bottle of wine and chocolate, and amaze her with a decadent pairing experience.
But before you pop a nice Bordeaux and break off a chunk of Hershey’s bar, lets set some ground rules.
- The wine should be sweeter than the chocolate.
- The darker the chocolate, the darker the wine.
- Most white wines and chocolate don’t play nicely together.
Dark chocolate sea salt caramels + Tawny Port
Tawny Port is a dessert wine that makes an excellent companion to sweets, especially chocolate, thanks to its sweet baking spice and almond flavors.
Photo by Shari’s Berries
Orange chocolate + Riesling
The Lindt website includes several pairing suggestions but the most interesting was the combination of their Intense Orange Excellence bar with Riesling. The idea of pairing a white wine with chocolate seems questionable at first, but considering the sweet and juicy flavor profile of Riesling you can see why it works.
Chocolate covered strawberries + Brachetto d’Acqui
Brachetto d’Acqui is a wine from Piedmont, Italy that’s often produced in the frizzante (sparkling) style. Think of it as Moscato’s red cousin with its slightly sweet strawberry flavors and lower alcohol levels making it a perfect companion to a wide range of chocolate treats, but our favorite would have to be chocolate covered strawberries. Plus they’re easy to make – just check out this recipe!
Photo by Lindsey Turner
Milk chocolate mousse + Rosé Champagne
The trifecta of chocolate, strawberry and champagne renders women powerless to your charms. Ideally you should find a demi-sec bubbly which better matches up with the sweetness of chocolate. Food Renegade has an easy recipe you can follow.
Photo by Sophie
Dark chocolate truffles + Petit Sirah
Petit Sirah is dark and brooding, loaded with rich flavors of black cherry, blueberry, and bittersweet chocolate so naturally it’s a fine choice for dark chocolate trufles. If you’re in the mood to create your own from scratch, check out this great wine-infused truffle recipe.
Photo by Pittaya Sroilong
Do you have a favorite wine + chocolate pairing? Let us know in the comments below!
