Need a Idea for Valentine’s? Or just something fun to try out tonight? Nothing better than Wine and Chocolate!

Love is in the air , it should always be in the air. For some of us that means flowers, cards, date night, romantic dinner, wine, drinks, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, or maybe is just another day. Whether you are spending the evening alone, girls night, virtual happy hour, date night, or after a family meal these chocolates and wines will bring joy to any part of your day.

There will be some wine experts out there who straight up disagree with me here. And I understand why, but the fact of the matter is people love eating wine and chocolate, and if so many people are doing it than it just cannot be wrong. So lets break with tradition and find out what we like to eat and sip on.

So why would wine and chocolate not go together? There is some serious discussion and debate over this. In my studies I was literally taught wine and sweets don’t really go. Let me clear it up a bit. Dryer style wines, which is like 95% of wines most people drink, don’t pair well and here’s why. For a “nice pairing” you generally want the wine to be sweeter than the dessert, this equals dessert wine pairing perfection. It is an easy thing to pair dessert with wine when you follow this method.

But I still eat wine and chocolate, cause I like it! Need some ideas for your favorite wine or chocolate? Take a look of some wine and chocolate pairings sure to make you happy.

Rose – White Chocolate covered Strawberries

A little fresh fruit will go beautifully with Rose wines. I personally like red fruits and what goes better with chocolate but strawberries! 

Champagne – White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse

Okay so not an exact chocolate but still delicious and I’m okay if you have this for breakfast! Raspberries should cut the richness in the chocolate and bubbles should balance the creaminess of the mousse.

Riesling – White Chocolate covered Honeycomb 

Go with a sweeter Riesling for this one. The little bit of crunchy sweet honeycomb should smooth out a bright Riesling.

Check out some Rieslings here.

Sauvignon Blanc – White Chocolate Key Lime Truffles

Yes yes yes! Key lime will bring out the lime note in your Sauvignon Blanc- try one from New Zealand! Found a great recipe for these here!

Merlot -Milk Chocolate Covered Almonds

Now let’s get to the real chocolate. A classic in my opinion. Milk chocolate goes best with those medium bodied, medium tannic wines. Merlot, especially from California, are approachable and easy to drink just like milk chocolate. Adding a bit of salt from the almond will create balance.

Pinot Noir – Salted Caramel and Milk Chocolate 

Pinot Noir is a super popular wine and given its light to medium bodied profile with delicate aromas and textures a more light chocolate will pair nicely. Add a bit richness to the wine by adding some caramel to your chocolate and don’t skip on the salt. Salt, caramel, and wine makes good things.

Malbec – Dark chocolate and Sea Salt 

The darker the chocolate the darker the wine! Malbec was made for those on the dark side. Salt is one of wine’s friends so a dark chocolate and sea salt bar would be scrumptious! 

Syrah – Super Dark Chocolate (60-80%) Cacao

Getting darker. For richer wines go for richer higher tannic chocolate. For full bodied full flavored Syrah try ultra dark chocolate, like 75% cacao dark. Not for everyone I know but a piece of dark chocolate like this is all I need sometimes. Great rich flavor to finish my glass of wine.

Cabernet Sauvignon – Chocolate covered Coffee Beans

For one of the boldest wines go for one of the boldest flavor combinations. Dark chocolate covered espresso beans will make a tasty treat any time of day.

Happy Tastings!