Bitter Dark Chocolates ❤️ Cream Sherry

Structured, naturally sweet wines balance bitter dark chocolate's sharp taste, a result of its high cacao content. "Sherry wines are always the very best," Selvaggio said. "They are the ones that have enough alcohol and structure to hold up to dark chocolate, and that is definitely one of the great directions to take." He recommended cream sherries in particular, though Italian marsala and French banyuls also made his list of suggestions.

Sweet Dark Chocolates ❤️ Port

"Sweet and sweet are just two things that go together rather than fight," Selvaggio said. Sticking to this guideline for wine and chocolate pairings, he suggested coupling sweetened dark chocolate with a dessert wine, such as a California port wine. A rich, honeyed sauternes from France would also pair nicely, as would an Italian brachetto—a slightly sparkling red wine from Italy's Piedmont region—if you're looking as a lighter, more effervescent option.

Milk Chocolates ❤️ Muscat

Any wine capable of complementing milk chocolate's rich creaminess needs to "add a little refreshment," Selvaggio said. For this reason, he recommended a wine containing aromatic, fruit-forward muscat, a large family of grapes that includes familiar favorites such as pleasantly sweet moscato d'asti. Some non-vintage ports may also work well with milk chocolate, but Selvaggio emphasized the importance of choosing a port whose initial flavor is strong and creamy.

White Chocolates ❤️ Ice Wine

It isn't technically chocolate, but white chocolate lends its subtle taste to plenty of desserts. "Ice wine is probably the first [pairing suggestion] that comes to mind," Selvaggio said. The honeyed fruit flavors of ice wine reinforce Selvaggio's belief in the sweet-sweet combination. For this reason, he also recommended sweet and semisweet rieslings.

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries ❤️ Tokaji

Selvaggio offered two options for chocolate-covered strawberries. Riesling is versatile enough to complement the dessert without overwhelming it. However, wine can also be the star of the pairing, as is the case with a Hungarian tokaji. "It will have a structure all on its own, and it will have a great, high content of natural sugar," he said. "The little acidity of the strawberry will actually kind of harmonize with the richness of the tokaji."

Wine and Chocolate Pairings at a Glance