Pairing Wine with Chocolate

When you love chocolate AND wine, you naturally find a way to make them work together.

Adam is a chocoholic. There is barely a day that goes by that doesn’t include chocolate. Mostly Cadbury Dairy Milk.

As Easter is just around the corner, we thought we’d share with you why chocolate and wine pair beautifully and which wines we would enjoy with chocolate.

Characters of Chocolate

Dark chocolate

Dark Chocolate is intense thanks to 70 – 100% cacao (Nancy loves 70% but is not a fan of 100% cacao chocolate). You will find a combination of fruit, earth, wood, ash and nut notes. The intense flavours of dark, rich chocolate call for bolder, denser wines. Big and big work.

Varietal matches: We enjoy rich dark chocolate with our 2019 Malakoff Estate Shiraz. This bold Shiraz from the warmer climate of the Pyrenees has bright yet rich fruit flavours. Our 2017 Grampians Cabernet would also pair beautifully.

Milk chocolate

Milk chocolate (Adam’s favourite) is higher in milk and sugar and has a smaller percentage of cacao than dark chocolate. This makes it sweeter and milder with flavours including cocoa, cream, nuts, malt, vanilla and honey.

Varietal matches: Milk chocolate characteristics pair well with wines that are lighter, savoury and/or fruity. We enjoy our 2019 Pyrenees Nebbiolo or 2019 Grampians Pyrenees Shiraz as the complex savoury characteristics of our SubRosa wines complement milk chocolate.

White chocolate

White chocolate doesn’t include cocoa solids, but its rich sweet flavours of cream, honey and vanilla make it a great pairing with bright aromatic and fruity wines.

Varietal matches: Our 2021 Grampians Viognier would be our go to as the apricot, stone fruit and ginger notes enhance the flavours of white chocolate (or chocolate mousse). Crisp sparkling is also another favourite pairing in our house.

What’s your favourite chocolate and wine pairing?

We all have a unique palate, likes and dislikes. So give it a go. Experiment with chocolate and wine and discover what works best for you. Have fun!