Pairings | Madeira

3 things you need to think about when pairing wine with chocolate

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on July 7 2021 at 07:15

Chocolate is supposed to be impossible to match with wine but like any other ingredient it depends on the chocolate and how it’s used.

In general I’d discourage you from serving a lighter dessert wines like Sauternes but if the chocolate flavour is not too intense and some kind of fresh fruit (strawberries or passionfruit, say) is involved it should be fine.

If you’re trying to find a wine pairing for chocolate it helps to ask yourself these three questions. (The answer may not necessarily be wine!)

What kind of chocolate?

Are you trying to match milk chocolate or dark chocolate or even white chocolate though some would argue that isn’t really chocolate at all? The lighter the chocolate - and the airier your dessert - the easier your task is. See these suggestions for chocolate mousse for example. With a chilled chocolate soufflé you could even serve a glass of bubbly, rosé champagne or sparkling wine for preference.

What are you serving with it?

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Comments: 3 (Add)

Fiona Beckett on April 22 2019 at 12:27

I'm never entirely convinced by champagne and chocolate - sometimes it makes the champagne taste too sharp but when accompanied by fruit like, say, raspberries, it can be delicious. Thanks for sharing your favourite chocolate pairings, John.

And Mike, sorry I missed your comment. There are indeed other wines that work well - the aim of this particular post was to keep things simple and help people to find the type of wine they might enjoy. (Lots more in the ebook!)

John Ahern on April 21 2019 at 23:33

I regularly try chocolate with wine - my findings are that white chocolate is excellent with a quality fizz or Champagne, milk chocolate with light fruity reds (Pinot Noir or a Californian Zin), and dark chocolate with heavier reds - which is actually my favourite.

Mike Murdoch on December 6 2018 at 12:31

You have missed out some good examples like Banyuls, Maury or Reciotto della Valpolicella these work well with Chocolate as does Essencia and Elyssium by Andrew Quady. Just a thought.

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