I love wine. I am very partial to chocolate too. But I don’t share the same obsession as some with matching the two together. Most of the time, I enjoy my chocolate (Lindt 72 per cent or 85 per cent) with whatever wine I am drinking, or a drop of whiskey. Both work fine. If pushed, I might suggest the best match for me is a glass of milk, or a cup of coffee.
However, I know it matters to many, so here’s a guide to enjoying drinks and chocolate together. Most chocolate is quite sweet, so a dessert wine is a good idea. Cocoa butter coats the palate, so you need something fairly rich. Try a tawny port served chilled, or a Banyuls, a Vin Santo or Amarone.
The team at Vinte Vinte, a chocolate manufacturer based in The Chocolate Museum in Oporto (vintevintechocolate.pt), make a number of suggestions (see the Tawny Port pairing below) and also hold pairing masterclasses twice a month.
Some red wines are high in tannins, which can make the chocolate taste very bitter. Big ripe reds such as merlot, malbec, shiraz or zinfandel all work very well. If you are a fan of Barefoot Wines, they have a section on matching their wines with chocolate on barefootwine.com. Alternatively, Champagne, Prosecco, or Moscato d’Asti and other sparkling wines go well with chocolate.
Stout is usually the recommended beer for chocolate, and the roasted coffee and caramel notes do work well. Some, including Wicklow Wolf and The Porterhouse, take it a step further and include chocolate in their beer.
I do enjoy whiskey with chocolate. Like a very posh liqueur chocolate, all of the intense complex flavours of whiskey seem to intensify with a square of chocolate. Try minty chocolate with peaty; orange and hazelnut with pot still, or milk chocolate with bourbon-influenced whiskey.
Cambalala Merlot 2020, Stellenbosch
14%, €8.99
Sweet velvety ripe dark cherry and plum fruits with vanilla spice and a rounded finish. Drink it with your favourite milk chocolate. From Aldi
Wicklow Wolf Oatmeal Stout
6.5%, €3
Creamy and powerful with dark chocolate and roast coffee. Go for a 70%+ dark chocolate. From select off-licences and supermarkets
Skellig Triple Distilled Pot Still Whiskey Six18 Step Collection
43%, €60
Smooth and subtle with dried fruits, apples and vanilla with a hint of peat. Try it with milk chocolate truffles or plain dark chocolate. From Skelligsix18distillery.ie, Celtic Whiskey; Martins Off-Licence, Fairview; Bradleys, Cork; Redmonds, D6; O’Sullivans, Tralee
Taylor’s 10 YO Tawny Port
20%, €35
Rich smooth ripe red fruits, chocolate, butterscotch and nuts. Vinte Vinte suggest plain 35% milk chocolate, or milk chocolate with hazelnuts. Serve lightly chilled. From O’Briens, Jus de Vine, Mitchell & Sons, Avoca, Greenman Wines, Le Caveau, Wineonline.ie
