Wine Pairing
Milk Chocolate

Chocolate

Rule for dessert + wine pairing: the wine should be sweeter or it will taste sour.

Pairing Suggestions

Sweet Wines

Port (Portugal)
Sherry (Spain)
Madeira (Portugal)
Cabernet Franc Icewine (World)
Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese (Germany)
Bracchetto d'Aqui (Italy)

Dry Wines

Pinot Gris (Alsace)
Gewürztraminer (France)
Merlot (World)
Zinfandel (New World)
Pinot Noir (World)

Description

Milk chocolate is made with milk, sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor and cocoa powder.

The difference between milk and dark chocolate is that dark chocolate contains no milk and has a higher percentage of cocoa (30-80%).

Milk Chocolate + Wine

Different Outcomes

Port and Madeira forward caramel and nutty aftertaste.

Cabernet Franc Icewine forwards strawberry cream and rhubarb cake.

Bracchetto d' Aqui forwards creamy raspberry and flowers. Especially with hazelnut chocolate from the home region Piemonte.

Alsatian Pinot Gris with orange zest chocolate forwards citrus and spices.

Merlot forwards cocoa, cherry and blackberry.

New World Zinfandel forwards ripe raspberry and cherry.

Pinot Noir and Caramel Chocolate forwards cherry and strawberry.

Match Wine and Chocolate

Chocolate and wine is a match made in heaven!

Rule of thumb: white wine complements white or milk chocolate. Red wine complements dark chocolate. Fortified wine complements all.

The trick is to pair different types of chocolate with different types of wine to exploit the unique flavors.

Match the sweetness! Intense sweet chocolate matches intense sweet wine. Non- sweet, semi sweet or sea salt chocolate pairs with dry wine.

The wrong wine will taste bitter, sour or flabby.

Match the intensity! Consider the style and weight. A full body red wine needs ekstra dark cocoa to create a balance.

Red wines should have smooth tannins to create the silky effect. Remember that chocolate contains tannins too and that the darker has the highest percentage.

Champagne and Sparkling wines match many types of chocolate.