Pairing Chocolate with Champagne and Sparkling Wine

Although pairing Champagne and sparkling wine with chocolate sounds natural, it can actually be quite a tricky pairing if you want to get the most out of it.

The sweetness and bitterness chocolate sometimes causes it to clash with sparkling wine. The sweetness brings out an acidic taste in dry sparklers.

However, there are Champagnes and sparkling wines that go beautifully with chocolate:

A bubbly on the sweeter side – Demi-Sec or Doux for example – blends well with the sweetness of chocolate. Milk chocolate tends to pair nicely with a light and fruity wine, whereas dark chocolate can be more difficult to pair. Chocolate truffles are a classic choice with Champagne.

A sparkling wine with extra fruitiness helps – think of a rosé Champagne or a pink Prosecco, Cava, English or new world wine. If you don’t mind mixing it up, cocktails can add fruitiness that will taste great with chocolate too. For bonus points mix up a coffee and champagne cocktail using coffee beans with fruity tasting notes, such as kona beans like these.

There are no rules with this pairing – some people love it and some don’t. In the end, tasting any type of sparkling wine with chocolate will be an interesting and enjoyable experience, so go ahead and choose your favourites and see what you like.

Chocolate and Champagne gift sets make a great gift this time of year, so you may want to consider which to choose if they will be eaten together – but don’t worry too much, you can never go wrong with a chocolate and bubbly gift!