When you consume red wines and dark chocolate at the same time, you may experience a conflict in flavors. Many people assumes that red wine and dark chocolate are natural partners, but red wine and dark chocolate can create unpleasant tastes if you dont pair them with intention. For example, the sugar found in chocolate can make a dry red wine taste thin, and the tannins found in red wine can make chocolate taste bitter or astringent.
Because these chemical component affect how you perceive flavor, you must understand how to balance red wine and dark chocolate. To pair red wine and dark chocolate successfuly, you must focus on balance, harmony, contrast, and origin. Balance mean that you match the weight and the sweetness of the red wine to the weight and the sweetness of the chocolate so that neither the red wine nor the chocolate overpower the other.
How to Pair Red Wine and Dark Chocolate
Harmony occur when you choose a red wine and a chocolate that share similar flavor notes, such as a chocolate with cherry flavors and a red wine that also have cherry flavors. Contrast occur when you pair opposing flavors, such as a salty chocolate and a sweet red wine. Finally, origin refers to the fact that the region where the grapes grow and the region where the cacao grows may share similar earthy characteristic.
The cacao percentage in the chocolate are a primary factor because the cacao percentage determines how much intensity the chocolate has. White chocolate contain mostly cocoa butter and milk solids, so you should pair white chocolate with a light and bright red wine or sweet wine to match the creamy notes of the white chocolate. Milk chocolate has a medium intensity, so you can pair milk chocolate with medium body red wines that match the caramel notes in the milk chocolate.
Bittersweet chocolate has a higher cacao percentage, so you should pair bittersweet chocolate with full bodied red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon because the full bodied red wines can compete with the cocoa intensity. Dark chocolate with a very high cacao percentage require very heavy red wines, such as Amarone or Zinfandel, because heavy red wines has the strength to match the high cacao percentage. Additional flavors added to the chocolate will change how you select a red wine.
If the chocolate contains mint, you may choose a crisp red wine to create a refreshing sensation. If the chocolate contains orange peel, you may choose a spiced red wine because the spices in the red wine will complement the citrus notes in the orange chocolate. You must identify the dominant secondary flavor in the chocolate so that you can find a red wine that either mirror that flavor or provides a counterpoint to that flavor.
You can use the concept of a flavor bridge to improve your pairing. A flavor bridge is a shared characteristic between the red wine and the chocolate, such as a cherry note that exists in both the red wine and the dark chocolate. When you find a flavor bridge, the red wine and the chocolate will taste like a single, unified experience rather than two separate item.
Additionally, you should consider the setting of your meal when you plan your chocolate and red wine consumption. For example, a large group of people may prefer a variety of dark chocolate and different red wines, but a single person may prefer a single origin dark chocolate and one specific red wine. To ensure the best experience, you should follow specific serving habit.
You should serve the chocolate at room temperature because the fats in the chocolate must be soft to release the aromatic qualities of the chocolate. You should also drink water between bites of chocolate and sips of red wine because water reset your palate. Finally, you should always eat the lightest chocolate first and the darkest chocolate last.
You must eat the lightest chocolate first because eating dark chocolate before light chocolate will dull your ability to taste the subtle notes in the lighter chocolate.