Wine pairing is pairing wine with foods to create a synergy and balance of tastes. Wine is paired with certain foods in order to bring out the taste in both the wine and the food. When pairing wine, the objective is to pair a wine with foods that share complimentary flavors and textures. The actual tastes that arise from wine and food pairings usually depends on one's individual likes. One main rule when pairing food and wine is to match wine with food of the same strength, meaning the food should not overpower the wine and vice versa. The wine should always compliment the food with which it is being served.
Pairing wine with chocolate can be difficult. Often times wine does not go well with any type of chocolate. A lot of people believe that wine should never be paired with chocolate, while others swear by the odd combination. However, pairing wine and chocolate can be done. When pairing wine and chocolate together, try to stay away from a wine that is too dry. Wines paired with chocolate should be sweet. A general rule for pairing wine with chocolate is to pair the chocolate with wine that is just as sweet, as or sweeter than the chocolate.
If a wine is not as sweet as or sweeter than the chocolate that it is being paired with, it can result in a bitter taste. Another factor to keep in mind is the type of chocolate that you are eating. Creamy flavored chocolates pair the best with light-bodied wines. Stronger flavored chocolates however, pair well with full-bodied wines. You can try and experiment with different chocolate and wine combinations. The most popular chocolates to pair with wines are dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. You can always mix and match wine and chocolate pairings with different variations of these types of chocolates.
Here are some examples of wine and chocolate pairings that you can try for yourself.
Red Wines often pair well with dark chocolates, like the following combinations:
Cabernet Franc: Creamy milk chocolate
Cabernet Sauvignon: dark chocolate
Merlot: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate
Pinot Noir: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate
Sangiovese: Dark chocolate
Zinfandel: Dark Chocolate
White Wines are tough to pair with chocolates because of their dryness, but can taste great with milk chocolates:
Chardonnay: French vanilla chocolate
Riesling: Milk chocolate
Sauvignon Blanc: Milk chocolate
Dessert wines can also be paired with chocolate.
Port: Dark chocolate
Sherry: White chocolate
You can try the combinations above, or you can try matching some of your own favorite wines with your favorite chocolates. When you are pairing wines and chocolate it is important to match the strength of the two that you are matching. Remember to match light flavored chocolates with light-bodied wines and stronger tasting chocolates with full-bodied wines. It stands to reason that if you like chocolate separately and you like wine separately, you should like them together. This is true for many people, and for others, just the idea of the pairing is unfathomable. However, you should base you interest in wine and chocolate pairings on your own taste.
