Gourmet or gross? The art of matching wine with chocolate

As Easter brings out the chocolate-fiend in us all, here are some tips from chocolate and wine experts on taking your indulgence to the next level.

Mention wine and chocolate as a combination, and it’s likely to trigger the same looks of desire that come with talk of wine and cheese.

But be warned – not all wine and chocolate matches are created equally and can, in some cases, be “pretty gross”, according to delicious. wine expert Mike Bennie.

“If you’re looking for the most righteous matches, reaching immediately for red wine and dark chocolate isn’t the cure-all,” says Benny, who also co-owns P&V Merchants.

Get it right, however, and you’ll have a raucous party in your mouth, making a cosy night by a roaring fire all the more magnificent through the cooler months.

As Easter brings out the chocolate-fiend in us all, here are some tips on taking your indulgence to the next level.

Mike Bennie at P&V Wine+ Liquor, in Enmore, Sydney. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Stay balanced

As a rule-of-thumb, the higher the cocoa percentage, the stronger you’ll need to go with your red, advises Lindt master chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler. “Choose a wine that’s higher in alcohol, with a dominant flavour so it doesn’t go under,” he says, suggesting a full-bodied malbec or zinfandel as a match for chocolate with 80-90 per cent cocoa content. If your version of dark chocolate is closer to 70 per cent cocoa, go for a good Australian shiraz. “The fruity, peppery notes in shiraz go well with the red berry notes, complexity and spiciness in the chocolate,” Schnetzler says.

Sweeten it up

Dark chocolate, and desserts based on the same, can work wonderfully with fortified wines, suggests Benny. “They have a higher level of alcohol which resets the palate,” he says. “Their sweetness and richness works particularly well with bitter kinds of chocolate, whereas it would overwhelm a white or milk chocolate.” He points to Rutherglen in northeastern Victoria, and Western Australia’s Swan Valley, as go-to regions for muscat, port and tokay to accompany a dark square or two.

Lindt master chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler.

Beyond dark

Contrary to popular belief, a wine-chocolate pairing isn’t restricted to darks and reds. Schnetzler suggests milk chocolate with salted caramel alongside a prosecco, to celebrate their mutual nod to savoury. “Prosecco has more of that yeasty, bready tone, to play on the savoury element of salted caramel,” he says, adding that bubbles are an uplifting way to break through chocolate’s creaminess and fat. If white chocolate is your go-to, treat your sweet tooth to an accompanying moscato, keeping it light and fun. “Something like strawberries and cream white chocolate has that added element to underline the fruity, light character of the wine,” Schnetzler says.

Alternatively, Benny’s hot tip is to try white chocolate with a dark beer like stout or porter, to balance out the sweetness. “High quality whisky and rum can make it quite interesting,” he says.

Play with flavour

If you’re among the many Australians whose default red is a cab sav, try it with a dark, mint chocolate. “It brings out that crisp, minty flavour and it’s strong enough to hold itself against the tannins in the chocolate,” Schnetzler says.

With a chilli chocolate, try a Northern Italian chianti, which will echo some of the spice, but is light enough to keep it refreshing, he adds. Finally, if the sound of ‘noble rot’ doesn’t suppress your appetite, a natural sweet botrytis wine, made from overripe grapes infected by fungus, can be a treat alongside dark orange and almond chocolate.

Try a cab sav with dark mint chocolate, suggests Lindt master chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler. Photo: iStock

Decide for yourself

A platter of fruits, nuts and chocolates, alongside a few beverage options, is a good way to find your own path to chocolate-wine nirvana – not to mention a fun and easy dinner party dessert. “Things like freeze-dried raspberry and strawberries, and dried fruit like apricots, really intensify the fruit flavours,” Schnetzler says. “Add some almonds, and cashews, which have a creamy, fatty character, with an intense, dark chocolate, something white, and chocolate with inclusions like orange and almond.” For the accompanying wine selection, he suggests offering a fruity rose, big red, and perhaps a sparkling white.