Chocolate and wine, wine and chocolate: two great things that go great together.  But how far together?  In-the-same-bottle-together?  Chocolate liquor is one thing (especially paired with espresso and vodka and flakes of salt), but chocolate wine?  My first thought was “pffft,” but when a friend said she was driving all the way to Laurita Winery to pick up a couple bottles of their $15 “Chocolate Therapy,” a red with blended with chocolate, I figured I could remove my wine snob nose long enough to try it.  Well, it is very chocolaty— like chocolate milk chocolaty (and I’m a dark chocolate person), which may be expected since Laurita Winery used to be dairy farm.  This wine looks like chocolate milk, not like wine.  The winery serves it in a shot glass, which puts it in the chocolate liquor/cocktail mixer/drink your dessert category for me.

I found a bottle of “ChocoVine” at Traino’s for $13, which is bottled in the Netherlands using an unidentified French Cabernet Sauvignon and unidentified dark chocolate from Holland (dark chocolate! now we’re talking).  This was also more of a chocolate liquor, looking more like dark chocolate cocoa than a red wine.  The bottle recommends drinking it on the rocks or mixing it in cocktails…like chocolate liquor.

Perhaps in-the-same-bottle-together is one step too far.  Let’s step back a little and check out wines with very chocolaty notes, or with chocolate in their name, or both.

“The Chocolate Block” is a Southern Rhone style blend from Boekenhoutskloof Winery in Swartland, South Africa.  The winery’s tagline, “The wine with secrets to keep” was intriguing, so I splashed out $28 for a 2015 bottle (quite a bit more than what I would normally pay for a bottle of South African wine) to give it a try.   The 2015 blend is 71% Syrah, 15% Grenache Noir, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cinsault, and 1% Viognier.

Raspberry and blackberry on the nose, with a whiff of violets, dark chocolate, and clove.  On the palate, the berry aromas follow through, with smooth tannins and some acidity to save it.  This is a powerful wine.  Clocking in just under 15% alcohol, there is definitely heat on the finish from the alcohol.

I prefer my wine and chocolate to remain in separate containers.  Lucky for me, dark chocolate squares paired with a rich Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Syrah not only taste wonderful, they are also superfoods!  Guilt-free indulgence!  À vôtre santé!