Wine matches for Easter chocolate

Tis the season to sit down, have a glass of nice wine and devour some delicious chocolate.

Matching wine with chocolate isn’t the easiest thing to do, but if you have the right wine to complement the right chocolate – it can make Easter Sunday.

A certain style of wine maybe fine with a delicate white chocolate, but it could be too sweet for darker, richer chocolate.

The drinks business have navigated this potential wine mine field, and come up with our top 5 wine styles, that best suit chocolate.

1. Vins doux naturels

These wines are made using a process called mutage sur grain, in which the fermentation is stopped by the addition of alcohol, allowing the wine to keep more of the natural grape flavours, and a greater proportion of sugar. Examples of vins doux naturels that we particualy think would work well with chocolate include Banyuls and Maury, which are made from Grenache.

2. Chocolate themed wines

Chocolate themed wines have had something of a surge in popularity in the UK and US, and we think they will be a hit this Easter with your chocolate assortment.

There are a number of examples on the market. The Chocolate Shop is prominent as it has made a significant impact in the US and the UK, using the tag line, “The Chocolate Lovers Wine”.

Other chocolate inspired wines that look good matches are, The Chocolate Block and Chococcino.

3. Sparkling Wine

There are many options in the sparkling wine portfolio to chose from, but two have stood out to us when thinking of dark chocolate.

First up is a Moscato, as the right bottle will pick up the creaminess of the chocolate and others will pick up any fruit tones evident. Moscato is growing in popularity and is making an impact in the US.

Shiraz is also a really good option because with a dark chocolate, an exciting flavor combination can be achieved, as Shiraz is known for its spicy blackberry, plum, and peppery flavors.

4. Red wine

Picking a red wine which has a soft, rich and indulgent match to chocolate can be tricky.

After some thought, we have picked out Amarone, Zinfandel and Malbec wines as good choices in this range for the Easter period.

Amarone is quite adaptable and previously a New York sommelier asked the trade to reconsider food matches for Italy’s richest dry wine.

5. Sherry

When in doubt, reach for a Sherry. The ever popular tipple recently topped our poll for the drink most people would panic buy if there were a shortage.

Easily adaptable to white chocolate, a sherry like Palo Cortado is a smart match for high quality dark chocolate. Or for a more indulgent evening and a sugar overload, we recommend a Pedro Ximénez.