Valentine’s is a day for all the romantics out there. To me, there is no better way to celebrate this holiday than enjoying the perfect – and timeless – pairing: wine and chocolate. One of my favorites – and not just because it has my name on it – is Natalie’s Nectar poured into delicate chocolate cups. Why bother with a wine glass when you can drink from a cup made of chocolate? This simple dessert is classy and will show love to anyone you decide to share it with.

Now for a lesson on Chocolate + Wine

White chocolate: Though not a true chocolate due to its absence of cacao, white chocolate is a super-sweet blend of sugar, milk, and cocoa butter, with a creamy, buttery finish. I recommend trying white chocolate with Moscato. Another excellent pairing for white chocolate would be our Riesling.

Milk chocolate: With a small amount of cacao, milk chocolate is the sweetest of the real chocolates, with high sugar content. For a tasty milk chocolate match, try pairing it with our Merlot.

Semisweet chocolate: This deep chocolate contains about 50 to 70 percent cacao. Semisweet is the sweetest of the dark chocolates. With tones that are nutty, spicy or earthy, semisweet dark chocolate has a balanced and less sweet aftertaste than milk or white chocolate. A Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, or our Barbera will tend to bring out any fruity or slight pepper nuances in the chocolate.

Dark chocolate: The richest and most intensely flavored chocolates are the bittersweet darks, with the least amount of sugar and the greatest amount of cacao, from 71 to 100 percent. Their deep roasted flavor is so intense that it needs a muscular red wine to balance the taste. Big, bold Zinfandels are natural pairings with bittersweet dark chocolate, but you might also find a hearty Petit Verdot to be a good match. Sometimes a Syrah, by itself, is described as having a dark cocoa flavor, as if the wine and chocolate were made for each other.

This month enjoy 25% off all chocolate in our tasting room!

Now that you’re an expert on pairing chocolate and wine, stop by our tasting room and grab the perfect pairing for your sweetheart.

-Natalie