Wondering what is the best wine to enjoy with all that Easter chocolate? Whether it’s Milk, White or Dark there is the perfect match for every favourite! While wine gets better with age, chocolate gets better with wine. And if you don’t believe us, just read on and let’s hear what Nick Ryan has to say – we guarantee you’ll be enjoying a cheeky piece of chocolate with your next glass!

MILK CHOCOLATE:

Is there anything better than the taste of creamy, sweet but smooth Milk Chocolate? Sometimes it’s hard to beat a classic but we’re here to tell you, you can! A good milk chocolate is usually about half chocolate and half cream – think ganache, mousse! The extra fat from the cream makes milk chocolate one of the easiest “true” chocolates to pair wine with.

While you might like a Pinot Noir, Nick’s advice is to skip the wine and pair your milk chocolate of choice with Whisky! ‘My choice would be Balvenie 12-year-Old Doublewood Single Scotch Whisky or any variety out of Speyside Single Malt. The Balvenie is characterised by a rich honey sweetness and delicate layer that lingers on the palate – so pairs well with good quality milk chocolate.

WHITE CHOCOLATE:

For some the rich, buttery and caramel tones of white chocolate is too sweet, but maybe you’re not drinking the right wine with it. White chocolate isn’t technically considered a “true” chocolate because it doesn’t contain cacao, the brown part with all the flavanols but still a perfect match with wine on the sweeter side.

Nicks suggestion would be ‘a late harvest or botrytis affected Riesling, something sticky, rich and complex, but with good acidity to cut through the sweetness’ which complements the vanilla, caramel and honey flavours of white chocolate.

DARK CHOCOLATE:

Dark Chocolate has 70 – 100% cacao, and the higher the cacao the less sweet it becomes. Considered the ‘healthier’ kind of chocolate, dark chocolate has a rich, bold and intense profile. Surely, it can’t be good for you?!

The intense and bitterness flavour in dark chocolate usually calls for a bolder, more luscious wine and thanks to Nick now we can spend less time deciding what wine to buy and more time eating chocolate. His recommendation; ‘A sticky out of Rutherglen such as the Chambers Rosewood Old Vine Muscat or a Topaque are the perfect match if dark chocolate is your choice’.

Looking to master your wine skills then step into the RIEDEL Drinks Lab at the Good Food & Wine Show at learn from the best, Nick Ryan himself!