Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend! Some of you may be beginning the celebrations this evening and carry on throughout the weekend, others of you may be partaking fully on Saturday (Yay for Valentine’s Day being on a Saturday!) or perhaps for some of you it may just be a nice, calm night at home.
No matter how you choose to celebrate, if you even celebrate at all, it’s hard to resist thinking Chocolate and Wine this time of the Year.
Within this post, I’m not going to give you specific wines to pair with your Chocolates, you know what wines you love, but I am going to give you a few things to think about before creating your own Wine and Chocolate Pairing at home.
1) It’s Meant to Be Explored!
First rule of thumb when it comes to Wine and Chocolate pairings? Just have fun. Grab your favorite Chocolate Heart Box and go to town, but keep a few things in mind:
2) Try to Avoid Dry Style Wines
They just don’t pair that WELL with chocolate. Chocolate can be rich, it can be fruity, it has a lot of flavor. The key is in knowing your chocolate before picking out your wine.
3) Lighter Chocolates pair well with Lighter Style Wines, Heavy Chocolates pair well with more Heavy Style Wines.
If you keep this in the back of your mind, your wine and chocolate pairings will go a lot more smoothly.
4) Don’t Skimp on White Wines
When we think Chocolate, we instantly think of Red Wines. Red Wine and Chocolate go hand and hand, nothing beats a fruity flavorful Zinfandel against a densely piece of chocolate, however, White wines will surprise you, and in how they change the flavor density of a piece of chocolate.
Think of a fun Moscato, this is actually a fun flavorful wine to pair with Chocolate especially when it comes to White Chocolate. A nice match for each other. And with Valentine’s Day, a fun sparkling is also a really good pairing.
But don’t forget about the flavor notes that may hit a lot of chocolates especially inside of your chocolate box. Those citrus notes can be a nice pairing against flavor contrasts found within the wine. A nice flavor of Orange mixed in with Chocolate would pair nicely with a citrus flavorful Sauvignon Blanc.
5) Bring Out the Port!
Ports aren’t called a dessert wine for nothing. But, when it comes to a Port, the flavors are often rich, and heavier on the palette, so pairing with a wonderful dark chocolate is what I would recommend. The richness of both of these will have your mouth begging for more.
6) A Nice Rose
Probably one of my favorite wines to pair with chocolate is an even tempered Rose. Especially when it comes to Milk Chocolate.
The nice part about Wine and Chocolate pairings is that it can be shared with a loved one, or by yourself with your favorite box of chocolates.
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s Day Weekend!! Happy Pairing.
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