Wine Pairings For Popular Chocolates

A crispy, crunchety, gooey take on pairing wine with chocolate

Of all the food and wine pairings out there, chocolate with wine is undeniably the most decadent. Cheese with wine is sophisticated, cabernet sauvignon and a New York Strip is expected, while chocolate with wine is so downright seductive that it straps us in for a rollercoaster of “oohs” and “aahs”. Master of Wine Mary Gorman McAdams even presented a demonstration about pairing Bordeaux with various chocolates at the recent Vinexpo New York. However, some killjoys have dug in their heels about the combination. These cynics believe the two aren’t such a heavenly match as we think. Imagine what they’ll say about this list! Listen up and relax, Karen, it works when you work it.

What do chocolate and wine have in common anyway and why do they go so well together? Other than both being sinfully delicious on their own, they are both agricultural products. The two (in their finished form) have a variety of styles from opulent to rustic that work seamlessly to please with both matching and contrasting flavors. Sugar and alcohol? Where do we sign?

The essence of chocolate

Chocolate in its raw form is the heart from the cacao plant. However, chocolate doesn’t start off as the sweet, hedonistic confection that we know and love. The same goes for wine—it’s just grapes in its primitive form.

The cacao plant grows in the subtropical climates of Central Africa and Central America. When it comes time to harvest the plant, the bitter beans inside are the real money-makers. These beans turn to more recognizable chocolate through a series of roasting, cooling, grinding, liquifying, and sweetening (if we want white chocolate, an intense crushing is exerted, but more on that later).

Spanish explorers (who also brought along the grapevine) in the Americas made a sweet discovery in the 16th century when they found civilizations that cultivated powders, libations, and pastes from the cacao plant. At one point, Mayans and Aztecs used the beans as currency. Over time, chocolate was a chic must-have for aristocratic cliques in Europe but eventually melted into classic Americana with the invention of the candy bar in the 1800s.

Though it was British company J.S. Fry & Sons who came up with the idea of molding finished chocolate into a bar-like shape in 1847, the success of the definitive chocolate bar belongs to Mr. Milton Hershey of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hershey and his sweet tooth invested in chocolate-processing machines after seeing the contraptions at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. What followed was the first successful American-made milk chocolate bar that was released at the turn-of-the-century. Crowds were seduced.

Hershey and his company eventually produced many other culinary confections, including dark chocolate bars, a nutty version of the milk chocolate bar, the famed Hershey’s Kisses and the Cookies-n-Creme bar, which made its debut in the 1990s. Hershey’s Chocolate Empire acquired many other brands over the expanse of the 20th Century including Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the 1960s, which is now their best-selling product.

Now that you’re hungry with anticipation, let’s break you off a piece of that everyday luxury. Who says you can’t pair $2.99 candy with your $50-plus bottle of Napa (You still there, Karen?)? Dive into these sexy wine and chocolate bar matches, one of them (or all) is sweet enough to be your golden ticket.

The pairings

Three Musketeers with Patrick Bottex La Cueille NV Rosé - Bugey-Cerdon, France ($22)

Of course, Hershey’s doesn’t produce all the chocolate in candy land. Mars, Inc., founded in 1911, makes equally sexy chocolate bars, including Three Musketeers, Snickers and Milky Way. Three Musketeers was introduced in the 1930s and saw many flavor renditions over time—including mint, strawberry, and the limited 75th-anniversary rendition of mocha, vanilla, and strawberry. The OG version is made with a milk chocolate shell that houses a soft, creamy, chewy inside. As a fourth musketeer, grab a bottle of Patrick Bottex’s slightly sweet sparkling gamay blend from Bugey-Cerdon, a region famed for its off-dry sparkling rosés. The results give you a lively version of a chocolate-covered strawberry.

Cadbury Creme Eggs with Tatu Estates Petit Verdot 2017 - Lodi, California ($27)

Tannins are egg-sactly what this cream-filled edible tour-de-force needs. Not quite a chocolate bar, but this British masterpiece that’s almost as large as one hopped onto the scene in the 1970s and has been a staple in Easter baskets ever since. The chocolate-shaped egg is loaded with a gooey, creamy filling that needs a tannic wine that can take a crack at it. Tatu Estates in Lodi makes an award-winning version (2019 NY International Wine Competition Gold Medal Best New World Petit Verdot) of the thick-skinned grape. Armed with mocha, tobacco, oak spice and lush fruit, this wine is a tour-de-force all its own.

White Chocolate Kit Kat with Victor Hugo Winery Viognier 2018 - Paso Robles, California - ($24)

(2019 New York International Wine Competition Silver Medal)

Break the rules and have a dry white wine as you’re breaking off a piece of this flavor of the Kit Kat Bar. Owned by Hershey’s in the US and Swiss company Nestlé elsewhere, the crispy chocolate-covered wafer has been a worldwide favorite since its origins in early 20th century United Kingdom. Flavor variants started in the 1990s and still continue today—even Japan alone has over 200 flavors! The white chocolate Kit Kat is an absolute divine rendition. White chocolate is made without the dark powder from the bean and is crafted only from the fatty part of the bean known as cocoa butter. The two are separated by an intense crushing, like mushing down a greasy cheeseburger. Victor Hugo Winery Viognier is round and rich in tropical fruit and florals and combined with the white chocolate Kit Kat, are sure to melt in your mouth deliciously.

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups with Cell Block Solitary Confinement Zinfandel Blend 2016 - Napa, California - ($25)

(2019 New York International Wine Competition Double Gold Medal)

There’s no wrong way to eat (or pair) a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The idea of the “peanut butter cup” came from one of Hershey’s former employees, named Reese (of course). The candy became so successful (and still is) that it came full circle and was sold back to The Hershey Company in the 1960s. Biting into one of these bad boys (or pop them in your mouth whole, or frozen) with a glass of a ripe and fruity zin, like Cell Block Zin Blend, is reminiscent of those elementary school PB-n-J sandwiches—without the crust, of course.

Lindt Salted Dark Chocolate with Chateau Lasségue Lasségue Grand Cru 2016 - Saint-Emilion, France ($60)

This Right Bank Bordeaux rouge with a sumptuous, salted dark chocolate bar is 100% pure elegance. This merlot-dominant blend stems from an 18th-century chateau that looks like it’s right out of the pages of a storybook. The extraordinary 2016 vintage gave this wine a lovely character, laced with aromas of freshly picked violets, ripe red and blue fruits that are wrapped together with firm tannins. Swiss chocolatiers Lindt know a thing or two about making an indulgent product. From their famed truffles to their sinfully delicious dark chocolate, the company has been crafting sophisticated products since the mid-19th century. The salted dark chocolate and refined tannins of the wine together fashion a silky smooth, wickedly delicious mouthfeel.

Snickers with Broadbent Colheita 1999 - Madeira, Portugal ($45)

This gooey and nutty version of the chocolate bar from Mars, Inc., has been satisfying hunger since the 1930s. An outer milk chocolate shell engulfs a creamy, caramelly, and crunchy inside that is a perfect match for a glass that can mirror its nuttiness. Madeira, a group of Portuguese islands in the Atlantic, is famed for its fortified wine. The humid, subtropical islands allow the wine to caramelize in the hot sun, a style that was born out of a little bit of necessity and coincidence. The Broadbent Colheita is a luscious imbibement for Snickers lovers. Go nuts!

Montezuma Absolute Black with DFJ Vinhos Franco Grande Escolha 2015 - Lisboa, Portugal ($20 avg)

Dark chocolate lovers and natural foodies rejoice! The folks behind Montezuma (a reference to the Aztec ruler) craft all-natural, unsweetened chocolate products free of dairy, added sugar, soy, and gluten. The wine to have with this is DFJ Vinhos Franco, a ruler of its own kind as it was awarded a Double Gold Medal at the 2019 New York International Wine Competition. Old World aromas meets New World fruit here, where the Touriga Nacional blend works seamlessly with the robust dark chocolate.

Andes Mint Chocolate with Dandelion Vineyards Lioness of McLaren Vale Shiraz 2017 - McLaren Vale, Australia ($30)

Who can forget Andes Mint Chocolates? Certainly nobody who’s ever had turndown service at a fancy hotel or eaten at a famous Italian chain restaurant. The mini minty chocolate is refreshing and needs a wine equally so. Lioness is produced by Dandelion Vineyards of Australia and is a definitive version of Aussie Shiraz. Here, the big, mentholly, dark-fruited Shiraz swallows up the mini chocolate in a velvety blanket where the flavors are equally matched, regardless of size. Lioness was a big winner at the 2019 New York International Wine Competition, where it took home Gold Medal for Best Aussie Shiraz $21-$29.99.