WINE AND CHOCOLATE!

Does chocolate pair well with wine? And if so, what wine should we choose?

To answer this question, let’s first start with a few basic principles of food and wine pairing.

First of all, we never pair foods with bitter flavors with intensely tannic wines, as the combination further amplifies the bitter sensation.

Secondly, foods rich in sweetness pair best with full-bodied wines of equal or even greater sweetness. Otherwise, the wine will taste more acidic than it actually is, less fruity, and significantly more tannic and bitter—especially if it’s red.

So let’s see how we can apply these principles to our beloved chocolate.

With a bitter chocolate, we could enjoy a sweet wine like Port, which offers notes of coffee, chocolate, and ideal levels of sweetness.

A sweet wine made from Assyrtiko (yes, you read that right), such as the Vinsanto from Artemis Karamolegos Winery, or a naturally sweet wine like Anatolikos from Gaia Wines or Euphoria from Dourakis Winery, would be a perfect match for milk chocolate or even cocoa truffles.

For the more adventurous, an Agiorgitiko with spicy aromas, velvety tannins, and a chocolatey aftertaste could accompany chocolate and red fruit desserts—even in its dry version.

An intriguing pairing would also be chocolate with a “juicy” Syrah from the New World, such as Australia—or, if you prefer to stay local, the exceptional Le Roi des Montagnes Syrah from Papargyriou Estate, made from ultra-ripe grapes. The density and ripeness of the fruit can beautifully complement a dark chocolate with relatively low cocoa content, or even better, a chocolate infused with pink pepper!

The most classic pairing, however, is with Mavrodaphne. The Mavro from Petrakopoulos Winery, with its chocolatey aromas and coffee-like finish, would be a wonderful match for a mocha praline.

Beyond dark and milk chocolate, there’s also white chocolate—and here, the pairings with sweet Greek wines are plentiful. Try it with the Vinsanto Late Release from Estate Argyros, with sweet Muscat from Lemnos, or with a white Muscat of Spina, such as the one from Stratardakis Winery. If you’re keen to explore international vineyards, you could pair your white chocolate with a Saumur Le Bourg blanc 2021 from Guiberteau in the Loire Valley—especially if the chocolate is enriched with lime or lemon zest to balance the wine’s acidity. Finally, a caramelized white chocolate like Valrhona’s Dulcey (if you find it, definitely try it) would be a unique companion to a white Port.

The botilia.gr team