Anyone for a glass of Champagne and a Caramello Koala?
When you think about it, wine and chocolate have a lot in common. They’ve both been enjoyed by humans for thousands of years. Both are made from natural fruits that are then crafted into varying styles and flavours. And, most importantly, they’re both really delicious – especially together.
Like any food pairing, matching wine and chocolate isn’t difficult, but it does take a little extra thought. To get the best results you want to make sure that your selections are either complimenting or contrasting in flavour. And there’s a reason it’s important for chocolate in particular: the melty, gooey consistency tends to linger on your palate and interact with the flavour of the wine on your next sip.
To help you get it right we’ve compiled the ultimate wine and chocolate pairing guide. Below, we’ve highlighted six of our favourite everyday chocolates and paired them with the perfect drop. There’s no fancy schmancy picks here, instead we’ve listed classic favourites that you can pick up at the supermarket or corner store to showcase just how easy pairings can be.
Champagne and Caramello Koalas
The liveliness of Champagne makes it a great contrast to milk chocolate, with the bubbles helping to cut through the richness of creamy chocolate. Caramello Koalas with their gooey caramel centre make a great match for drier and more acidic styles of Champagne to balance the intense sweetness. At your next dinner party, try serving a plate of Carmello Koalas alongside a bottle of Champagne in a fancy wine cooler and watch everyone smile.
Zinfandel and Cherry Ripe
Zinfandel is one of the most in-your-face red wine varietals when it comes to fruit flavours. It’s full of jammy fruit notes like blueberry, plum, and — you guessed it — cherry. Unwrapping a Cherry Ripe to go along with your glass of zinfandel is a great way to highlight that cherry flavour. Plus, the dark chocolate coating of the Cherry Ripe will pair well with the richness of the red wine.
Grenache and Jaffas
With an intense chocolate centre bursting with a citrus orange twist, matching Jaffas calls for a wine style that’s punchy but not overwhelming. Grenache’s mouth-watering medium tannins and acidity level is more than capable of not just standing up to the Jaffas, but also complimenting them. The hint of spice from the grenache will dance alongside the citrus tang in the chocolate to create an aromatic party.
Malbec and Lindt Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa
Because why mess with a classic? Dark chocolate and red wine are long-standing partners, but the key to success is picking not just the right wine but the right dark chocolate too. Our number one wine selection is malbec with its deep, full-bodied fruit tendencies. To match, you’ll want to pick up a dark chocolate with at least 70% cacao content. As the cacao content gets higher so does the earthiness of the chocolate flavour, making for a much more interesting and intense pairing.
Moscato and Caramilk
The jury is still out on whether or not white chocolate is actually chocolate (technically it’s just cocoa butter with no cocoa). But in our opinion the sweet, creamy characteristics mean it’s more than deserving of a place on our chocolate pairings list. We’ve even gone one step further and opted to pair cult-favourite Caramilk, which is a caramelised white chocolate. This pairing calls for the light, fruity sweetness of moscato to lift up the intensely sweet chocolate flavour and add a refreshing twist.
Pinot Noir and Cadbury Dairy Milk
Most milk chocolate contains less cocoa and more milk to give it that deliciously creamy flavour without any bitterness. And that’s exactly what makes milk chocolate so versatile when it comes to selecting wine pairings. Any simple milk chocolate will do, including the classic Cadbury
