Looking for an incredible gift for that special someone? Trying to create a romantic atmosphere for a memorable evening? Nothing speaks romance better than wine and chocolate.

The wine community can literally produce volumes of guidelines and opinions on various food and wine pairings. There are endless opinions on what foods pair best with different wines. When paired correctly the flavor and taste of both food and wine should be enhanced, complemented and balanced by each other.

Pairing wine and chocolate can be tricky, but when you find the correct combination the results are outstanding. Below are listed some basic guidelines and rules of thumb to follow, but keep in mind that most of the fun in pairing wine and chocolate is experimentation – so be sure to do so!

Start with good quality chocolate – whether your preference is dark, milk or white chocolate; be sure not to skimp on quality ingredients.

The darker the wine, the darker the chocolate: this is a good guideline for a novice to follow when shopping for your first wine and chocolate pairing; but feel free to follow your own taste buds as you experiment with your favorite vintages.

Red wines typically pair well with dark chocolates; this is especially true of full-bodied red wines. A great wine from a local vineyard comes to mind when considering a dark chocolate pairing, Crane Creek Vineyards own Hellbender Red is a dry red wine crafted from the North American Norton grape and pairs wonderfully with rich dark chocolate.

Here are some general recommendations for types of red wines and chocolate:

Merlot – dark chocolate or milk chocolate
Cabernet Sauvignon – dark chocolate
Pinot Noir – either dark or milk chocolate
Zinfandel – dark chocolate

White wines as a general rule will pair better with milk chocolate than dark. Types that come to mind for chocolate pairings are as follows:

Riesling
Sauvignon Blanc
Chardonnay

As a general rule of thumb the sweeter the chocolate the sweeter the wine so when you consider white chocolate you may be relegated to the dessert wines and sherries. I have found port wine paired with dark chocolate to be a fine combination

If you are still not sure which way to go, you can always visit online merchants such as ShopWineStuff.com for wine and chocolate gift baskets in any number of sizes and combinations. They also stock a variety of chocolate specifically for wine pairings.

Author: Michele DeZayas