If you've ever tried chocolate and wine then you're among the lucky few that have been blessed with an amazing mix of delectable flavors. This may sound odd to some people, but the truth is that this pairing is not as farfetched or obscure as you may think.

People who enjoy fine wine and gourmet chocolates will be able to find similarities between these two. Both wine and chocolate connoisseurs have an infinite vocabulary of words to describe both products some of which include descriptions of fruity or nutty undertones.

Also, both products are made with an infinite combination of different ingredients that make them more complex and intriguing. So, it would seem quite natural to combine chocolate and wine.

However, the experience felt by tasting both wines and chocolate should not be taken lightly. There is a certain level of knowledge you need to have in order to enjoy the full experience of luxury chocolates and handcrafted chocolates, because just like fine wine, you should savored each morsel and know exactly with which wine to combine it. Here's an overview of wine and chocolate pairings that can help you through your first tasting.

As a general rule, you should pair wine with chocolates much like you do with food. All this means is that light chocolate should be paired with lighter wines and heavier chocolates should be paired with heavier wines or spirits. Another good rule of thumb is to pair chocolate with a wine that is just as sweet as or slightly sweeter than that chocolate.

Dark Chocolate & Semisweet Chocolate

Semisweet chocolate has strong, complex flavors, with hints of nutty, spicy, floral, earthy notes that later leave a balanced aftertaste, while dark chocolate can have bitter, roasted, fruity, earthy, or nutty notes.

These types of chocolate taste perfectly superb when paired with strong, red wines. Bordeauxs, Cabernet Sauvignon, Marsala and Merlot would all go nicely with dark and semisweet chocolate. The cocoa butter present in these chocolates will help decrease the dryness and astringency of some of the stronger red wines.

Milk Chocolate

Milk chocolate is mostly sugar based with a small percentage of chocolate liquor. What this mix does is make a final product is sweeter and milder than dark or bittersweet chocolate. Because it is so sweet, milk chocolate should be paired with sweeter wine or the wine may be too tart.

Milk chocolate can be paired with Vintage Blac, Moscato, Tawny Port, and Hungarian Tokaji. Out of these Tawny Port is the strongest match you can use with milk chocolate.

White Chocolate

White chocolate does not contain chocolate liquor which means that it is much milder than true chocolate. As a matter of fact, white chocolate has cream, milk, honey and vanilla notes.

If you'd like to enjoy white chocolate with some type of beverage, then we recommend trying it with a good champagne or Riesling. In general, white chocolate will go well with any sweet or white wine.

If you want to try something new and exciting, wine and chocolate tastings will offer you a different way to enjoy chocolates. If you're not too sure how to get started with this new wine and chocolate experience, BRUNATTO CIOCOLLATO, can help. This Chilean based chocolate atelier has seen this need and now offers wine and chocolate tastings on a regular basis. If your fortunate to experience the union of these two products you'll never again have one without the other.