With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, let’s turn our minds to pairing wine and chocolate. It can be tricky to pair these two successfully because they share many of the flavour components so it’s important to choose a pairing that complements their differences.
A dark, bittersweet chocolate together with a high tannin red wine, for example, can be overbearing on the palate and highlight the astringency in the wine so dark chocolate is best paired with fortified wines. Milk chocolate can easily be overpowered by red wine so a sweet white, a light red, or a sparkling wine work better. And with its creamy, buttery flavours, white chocolate needs something refreshing and light-bodied – an ice wine, a Moscato d’Asti or a Pinot Noir, for example.
Although it’s a careful balancing act to get wine and chocolate to work together, once it does, it can be blissful. So, if you are planning to have a chocolate-based dessert this Valentine’s Day, here are three great options to consider:
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherries are pure indulgence in a bottle. These intensely sweet wines are aged oxidatively and are deep brown, almost black, in colour. With typical aromas of dried fruits, honey and coffee, and flavours of dried fruit and caramel, there is sufficient acidity to balance the sweetness and create a velvety, long finish. This 12-year old PX from Sainsbury’s ticks all the boxes. With honey, raisins, and toffee on the nose, and coffee, caramel and toffee on the palate, this is a full-bodied wine that has been aged in a network of oak casks.
It is a perfect match to enjoy with dark chocolate or a chocolate mousse. Available from Sainsbury’s (£8, 50cl)
Château de Géraud, Monbazillac 2014
This Monbazillac sweet white wine from the Dordogne region of France is a delightful blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle grapes. Golden in colour, the wine has honey, blossom and mango on the nose, and pineapple, passion fruit and a touch of nuttiness on the palate. It is a soft and well-rounded wine which cuts through the creaminess of a white chocolate dessert, making it an enticing match for cake, cookies or cheesecake.
Available from Cambridge Wine Merchants (£14.99)
Campbell’s Rutherglen Muscat
Campbell’s have been producing wine in Rutherglen since 1870 and if you are looking for something to pair with milk chocolate or a milk chocolate pudding, this luscious dessert wine from Australia has stood the test of time. Amber in colour, it is a rich wine made from a blend of vintages of Muscat à petit grains rouges (Rutherglen Brown Muscat) grapes. With aromas of raisins and caramel on the nose, and flavours of orange, dates and nuts on the palate, the sweetness of the wine is balanced with fresh acidity. Health warning – it is wickedly moreish!
Available from Majestic (£14.99, £12.49 Mix Six, half bottle)