Wine and Chocolate: What to Pour With Dark, Milk and White

The best wine with chocolate is usually a sweet one: Port, Banyuls and Brachetto d’Acqui are the classic choices, because they stay sweeter than the chocolate. Dry reds can taste bitter and sour next to dark chocolate, so they are the risky pick rather than the safe one. Here is what named experts suggest for dark, milk and white chocolate, and for filled chocolates and desserts. If you only buy one bottle, in our view it should be a Ruby Port.

Why wine and chocolate are hard to pair

Two things go wrong, and both have simple fixes.

• Sweetness makes wine taste bitter. Wine Spectator’s Dr. Vinny says sweet foods can make a wine seem bitter by contrast, and that young, tannic reds are most at risk. Tannin is the drying, grippy feel in red wine. His rule is to keep the wine sweeter than the dessert.
• Both contain bitter compounds. Wine Folly points out that wine and chocolate both contain flavanols, a type of tannin, so a dry red with dark chocolate can taste “bitter and sour.”

Three tips follow from that, all from Dr. Vinny: serve the wine slightly chilled to soften bitter and alcoholic notes, avoid very sugary chocolate if you are pouring a dry wine, and try a pinch of sea salt, which he says can bring out the flavors of both.

The quick guide

Chocolate	Try first	Also worth trying	Why it works
Dark	Port	Banyuls Rimage, Pedro Ximénez, Vin Santo	Sweetness and intensity offset the bitterness
Milk	Brachetto d’Acqui, Ruby Port	Banyuls or Maury, Rutherglen Muscat	Cream and fat soften the match
White	Moscato d’Asti, Brachetto d’Acqui	Ice wine, Rosé Port, Pinot Noir	No cacao; fat carries the fruit
Caramel filling	Tawny Port	Moscatel de Setúbal	Caramel notes on both sides
Nuts, peanut butter	Madeira, Oloroso or Amontillado Sherry	Tawny Port	Nutty flavors match
Chocolate-covered strawberries	Brachetto d’Acqui	Lambrusco Amabile	Red-fruit flavors meet the berry

All of these come from Wine Folly’s guide, except that Dr. Vinny also backs Tawny with nuts and fortified wines with caramel and peanut butter. Banyuls Rimage is the Wines of Roussillon’s suggestion.

Dark chocolate

This is the hardest one. Wine Folly says dark chocolate’s bitterness has to be offset, usually with sweetness or intensity in the wine.

Port is the standard answer. Wine Folly says Port goes well with high-cacao chocolate, and Dr. Vinny says Vintage, Late-Bottled Vintage (LBV) and Tawny Port all pair well with chocolate desserts, advising you to stick to dark chocolate and avoid overly sweet desserts. Port is a fortified wine, meaning grape spirit was added during fermentation to keep natural sugar in the wine. Our fortified wine guide explains the method.

Banyuls is the French alternative. It is a sweet, fortified wine from the Roussillon, mostly Grenache, and Wine Folly says its red styles “pair exceptionally well” with chocolate. Wines of Roussillon, the region’s promotional body, suggests the youthful, black-fruited Rimage style with black, spicy or bitter chocolate. It suggests the Grand Cru style for rich desserts, naming chocolate fondant and Opera Cake. We’d use Banyuls when you want something less familiar than Port.

Other sweet wines. Wine Folly names Pedro Ximénez Sherry, with nutty, raisined flavors, and Vin Santo del Chianti in its Occhio di Pernice style, with cherry and cinnamon.

Can you serve a dry red?

Yes, with care. Dr. Vinny says Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and red blends with riper fruit can work, because their fruit and oaky vanilla notes complement chocolate. That works best, he says, with a less sugary, high-quality dark chocolate. Wine Folly adds that some value reds carry enough leftover sugar to cope, and that dark chocolate cake or cheesecake has the fat and starch to offset the bitterness.

In our view, ripe Zinfandel with a good 70% bar is the dry-red pairing most likely to please. Pour a small amount first and chill the bottle a little.

Milk chocolate

Wine Folly calls milk chocolate one of the easiest, because of the fat from its cream. Its suggestions:

• Brachetto d’Acqui. A sweet sparkling red from Piedmont, which it also recommends with mousse.
• Ruby Port. Spiced and full of berries.
• Banyuls or Maury. Maury is Banyuls’s neighbor in the Roussillon, and Wine Folly says their earthy notes suit truffles.
• Rutherglen Muscat. From Victoria in Australia and perhaps the sweetest of the sweet wines, per Wine Folly.
• Recioto della Valpolicella. A rare sweet red from the home of Amarone.
• Lambrusco di Sorbara. A light sparkling red with peach and strawberry flavors.
• Late-harvest and Port-style reds. Sweet Syrah, Pinot Noir and Petite Sirah in a Port style.

Our pick for a casual night is Brachetto: it is sweet and sparkling, which we think suits a box of mixed chocolates.

White chocolate

White chocolate is the exception, and the one place a dry wine is a natural fit. Wine Folly says it contains no cacao, the part with the flavanols, and that its fat carries a wine’s fruit.

• Dry reds: Pinot Noir, or Beaujolais (made from Gamay) from Saint-Amour or Morgon.
• Moscato d’Asti or Muscat Blanc: peach, cream and rose notes.
• Brachetto d’Acqui: creamy raspberry and floral notes.
• Ice wine: made from Riesling or Vidal Blanc, with pineapple and candied orange.
• Rosé Port: strawberry and currant.

In our view, this is the moment to surprise guests with a light red rather than a dessert wine.

Late-harvest and botrytized wines

Late-harvest wines come from grapes left on the vine to build sugar, and botrytized wines from grapes concentrated by the Botrytis mold. Dr. Vinny lists wines of this kind, such as Sauternes and Tokaji, among the traditional choices, especially with intense or bitter chocolate. See our guide to Sauternes if you want to explore them. We’d pair them with an orange-flavored dark chocolate, since dried fruit and fruity flavors are the ones Dr. Vinny calls more wine-friendly.

Filled chocolates and desserts

The filling often matters more than the chocolate. Dr. Vinny says chocolates with dried fruit or fruity flavors are more wine-friendly, while mint, spicy or peppery notes and bitter cocoa nibs may clash with wine. He says caramel, toffee and peanut butter fillings pair well with slightly chilled reds and fortified wines.

Treat	Wine	Source
Peanut butter cups	Madeira, Marsala, Amontillado or Oloroso Sherry	Wine Folly
Caramels	Tawny Port aged 20 years or more, Moscatel de Setúbal	Wine Folly
Chocolate with a fruit element	LBV Port	Dr. Vinny
Chocolate with spice or nuts	Tawny Port	Dr. Vinny
Chocolate mousse, cakes	Young, fruity LBV or Vintage Port	Port institute (IVDP)
Chocolate fondant, Opera Cake	Banyuls Grand Cru	Wines of Roussillon
Ginger dark chocolate	Orange Muscat	Wine Folly
Chocolate mint	Syrah, Touriga Nacional, Petite Sirah Port	Wine Folly

Note that the experts disagree on mint: Dr. Vinny warns it may clash, while Wine Folly offers suggestions. In our view, mint is one to leave for last.

What about sparkling wine?

Dr. Vinny says he is undecided on this one. Sweeter sparklers and those made from red grapes are more likely to work with chocolate, while a dry style such as Brut Champagne may suit chocolates with nutty notes, thanks to its own toasty, nutty side. Wine Folly’s sparkling picks are Brachetto and Lambrusco.

How to serve them

• Chill slightly. Dr. Vinny suggests a slight chill for reds and fortified wines, since Port’s high alcohol can otherwise dominate. The Port institute (IVDP) gives 12–16°C (54–61°F) for Ruby styles.
• Pour small. These are rich, strong wines. Wine Folly suggests a dessert glass for Banyuls.
• Taste the wine first. Dr. Vinny’s advice for a wine and chocolate tasting is to have guests sip each wine on its own first, then move between wines and chocolates.

A bottle to try

We don’t list value picks here.