Chocolate and Wine - I can’t think of a better duo! I really love chocolate, of course, and I love red wines, and the idea of enjoying them together is so exciting to me.
For the most part, red wines work best with dark chocolate. Reds that work best are low in tannins, have fruity flavours and are medium to full bodied. We don’t recommend Cabernet Sauvignons as their higher tannins tend to overwhelm even the darkest chocolate.
How do we come up with these pairs, you might ask. We eat a lot of chocolate and drink our share of wine! I work with Robert White, our go-to sommelier, for his wine recommendations. Robert selects wines that he believes, based on their flavour profile, will work well with dark chocolate in general. Then I look at the flavour profile and other food pairings for the wine and select chocolate bars that I think will be complementary or in direct contrast to the wine. And then we get together to try out the various pairings and decide which ones wow us.
Good pairings, whether they are complementary flavours or in flavour contrast, should always enhance the taste of both the chocolate and the wine. They can be “nice” together but we are always striving for a “WOW” combo!
Prepare to be WOWED
Our very best discoveries are here for your own Chocolate and Wine Pairing Event!
Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of Barossa Shiraz from Australia - a big, bold, juicy , full bodied wine. Dark berry flavour notes with hints of spice, earth and wood. This wine pairs beautifully with SOMA’s Bachelors Hall 70% dark, smooth and creamy bar. The cacao is grown in Jamaica and compliments the fruity notes of the wine while drawing out the spice and wood notes in the wine. A long time customer and staff favourite pairing!
Catena Malbec from Argentina is a full bodied, rich, silky wine with notes of berry fruits, dark chocolate and spices. Honduras 70% Dark by Finnia is an amazing chocolate with this wine. The chocolate has a very unique flavour combination of almonds and caramel, none of which are in the wine. It’s the creaminess of the chocolate that complements the mouthfeel of the wine and the chocolate notes in the wine that tie them together. The various other contrasting flavours in the chocolate and the wine make for a dynamic pairing. One of my personal favourites.
Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico from Italy is a smooth full bodied wine with notes of cherry, current, leather and herbs. We have paired this wine with Sweetness Chocolate’s Peru 68% (Ucayali River) Dark bar. The smooth melt of the chocolate is a match for the smooth mouthfeel of the wine, so texturally they work well together. The cacao notes of deep fruit, vanilla and raspberry intermingle with the cherry and current notes in the wine for a red fruit flavour explosion! One of Robert’s favourite pairings.
Beronia Rioja Reserva from Spain is a medium bodied, fruity wine with quite an array of flavour notes including many black fruits, berries, liquorice, cloves, vanilla and smoke! With the symphony of flavours in a wine like this, we could choose to lay low with the chocolate and let the wine do all the talking, or go big. We went big. Sirene Chocolate’s Lachua, Guatemala 73% Dark bar is packed with fruitiness from this intensely flavoured cacao bean. This multi award winning bar goes fist to fist with the wine and delivers an extraordinary pairing. A favourite at my house.
Port and chocolate are a natural pairing and are an excellent choice for dessert. Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2011 is a silky fortified wine with dark cherry and black fruit flavour. It’s natural pairing is Hummingbird’s hispaniola 70% Dark bar, with notes of cherry and raisin, similar to those of the port. The dark chocolate eases the sweetness of the wine and is a perfect finish to dinner.
