Chocolate and Valentine’s Day seem to be a match made in heaven, however, it is not such an easy match to be made on the palate as there are many schools of thought on how this should be done. The issue might be with the wide and varied selections of chocolate on the market.

Chocolate is a mixture of cocoa and sugar, to which milk, honey, dried fruits or other products might be added. In the mid-1700s chocolate was considered a medicine, a panacea for fevers and chest or stomach illnesses. Confectioners of the 18th and 19th centuries gladly became apothecaries. The word “chocolate” originates in Mexico’s Aztec cuisine, derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl.

Types of Chocolate

Believe it or not, similarly to wine, there are some countries whose government regulates what components are placed into different types of chocolate and also how they should be classified. Basically the difference in the blends of ingredients for the various types of chocolate (in order of highest quantity of cocoa liquor first) are as follows:

1) Chocolate Couverture: High quality plain or bitter chocolate used for cooking and preparing confectionary

2) Dark chocolate or bitter dessert chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, and (sometimes) vanilla

3) Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk or milk powder, and vanilla

4) White chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, and vanilla

What wine?

Wine and chocolate can work very well together if a few guidelines are followed. While I am the first to say, ‘Drink what you like, with what you like to eat,’ try to avoid complex red wines, as chocolate will not bring out the best in those wines. While some will enjoy a Cabernet Sauvignon or a jammy Zinfandel with their chocolate, higher alcohol or fortified wines — Sherry and the most popular choice of all, Port — work much better with chocolate. If a dessert that you are having is made with very dark, rich, gooey chocolate, it might get a little too sweet if you try to pair it with a dessert wine, try an Amarone or flavoured liqueur instead.

In summary, with dark chocolates which are less sweet and more bitter, try orange or citrus wines like Muscat. If you must have red wine, go for your favourite Cabernet Sauvignon. Milk chocolate is sweeter and more mouth-coating, so try tawny port, orange muscat or Demi-Sec Champagne. White chocolates are sweet and buttery, so try dessert wines and sweet sparkling wines.

Cheers! Try some Tawny Port with your Chocolate this Valentine’s Day.

Chris Reckord is an independent wine consultant who operates DeVine Wine Services with his wife Kerri-Anne. Chris & Kerri are also part owners of Jamaica’s first and only wine-only bar — Bin 26 Wine Bar. Please send your questions and comments to creckord@gmail.com. Follow us on twitter.com/DeVineWines