15 Best Chocolate Wines in 2023

Wine that tastes like chocolate. Yep, it’s a thing!

Pairing red wine with chocolate is one of life’s little pleasures, and some winemakers go even further by pairing them in the bottle.

Chocolate wine combines the depth of red wine with the decadence of cocoa to create a delectable treat for wine and chocolate lovers.

The thick texture and sweet aroma will satisfy your palate, with some wines offering nutty notes while others go big on berries and fruits.

Some red wines with chocolate flavor also contain no chocolate, drawing on grapes that taste like chocolate when fermented with spices. 

You can get chocolate wines enjoyed at room temperature, chilled, and on the rocks, giving you a perfect dessert wine for every occasion.

What Exactly is Chocolate Wine?

Chocolate wine is red wine infused with chocolate and cream or chocolate flavors and notes, creating a dessert wine that tastes like chocolate.

There are two types of chocolate wine:

• Red wine mixed with chocolate and cream to create a liqueur
• Red wine with cacao flavors and notes but no actual chocolate content (wines with chocolate notes)

Both are popular; liqueurs can be served chilled, on the rocks, or warm, evoking a sense of freshly whipped cream and milk truffles.

Chocolate wines are best at room temperature and are less sweet, with a stronger wine profile.

How is Chocolate Wine Made?

Chocolate wines sometimes blend different grapes, such as Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, and Cinsault, or stick to one grape like Merlot.

Some confusion over chocolate wine exists because it can contain chocolate or not. In the case of liqueurs, wine is heated and mixed with melted chocolate.

Chocolate wines that do not contain chocolate contain fruits fermented with cocoa or fruits with a natural chocolatey profile, like the Tannat grape.

Fruits like the Tannat grape, plums, and blackberries produce wines with chocolate notes enhanced by spices like star anise and nutmeg during fermentation. 

Coffee/mocha is another essential ingredient for some chocolate wines.

What is the Origin of Chocolate Wine?

The Aztecs produced cacao wine with an alcohol content of 5-7% by allowing the flesh of the cacao pod to ferment.

However, the origin of chocolate wine as we know it today (red wine infused with chocolate) is only a few centuries old.

Cookbook author Hannah Woolley from seventeenth-century England is credited for inventing chocolate wine with the recipe “To Make Chaculato,” involving grating chocolate into Bordeaux wine and heating it with sugar.

Over the centuries, additional recipes for chocolate wine were published, including by John Shirley in 1690 and John Nott in 1723.

Our Favorite Chocolate Wines

In our opinion, these are the best chocolate flavored wines to buy in 2023:

15. Cocoa de Vine

• Price: Around $12 per bottle.
• Origin: California, USA.

Rich and velvety, Cocoa de Vine is a chocolate dessert wine best served chilled. It has a milk chocolate flavor, undertones of vanilla, and a caramel aftertaste.

The red wine base gives it depth with a medium finish, satisfying your wine and chocolate urges.

Cocoa de Vine is made in the USA in California. It’s great on its own but also works paired with cakes, cookies, brownies, and mud pie.

The chocolate flavor is seductive, and the price is very accessible at under $12 per bottle.

14. Choco Noir

• Price: Around $12 per bottle.
• Origin: California, USA.

Choco Noir is incredibly smooth with the perfect balance of chocolate and wine. It has a richer chocolatey taste than Cocoa de Vine, with a soft texture ideal for mixing in coffee and enjoying on the rocks with a sprinkling of cocoa.

You will love everything about Coco Noir, with the Cabernet Franc base giving it a dried fruit finish with a slightly smokey taste.

The flavor profile is complex, with aromas of caramel and coffee and a rich body. It’s priced under $12.

13. The Chocolate Tube

• Price: Around $14 per bottle.
• Origin: Puglia, Italy.

The Chocolate Tube is a chocolate-free, chocolate wine with ripe and sweet tannins, chocolatey notes, and a chocolate aftertaste.

It’s perfect with grilled meat, game, cheese, and pastries, best served at room temperature.

The white and dark chocolate notes are created by maturing the wine in toasted French and American oak barriques.

The result is a robust wine with a rich body, offering cherry liqueur and nutmeg notes.

Related: Do you shop at Trader Joe's? Don't miss our selection of their best wines!

12. Chocolatier Red Decadence

• Price: Around $11 per bottle.
• Origin: Washington, USA.

Red Decadence is a sweet, exotic chocolate-flavored red wine infused with dark chocolate.

It has a medium body and stands out as a dessert wine, but it can be enjoyed anytime. Vinifera grapes form the base of the wine, giving it hints of cherry.

The smooth hit of chocolate and the fruity aftertaste is akin to Black Forest cake, giving Red Decadence a sensual experience.

You will love the velvety texture and chocolate truffle nose. A word of warning, though – one glass is never enough!

11. ChocoVine

• Price: Around $13 per bottle.
• Origin: Limburg, Netherlands.

Fans of milk chocolate will adore ChocoVine, which combines French Cabernet Sauvignon grapes with rich chocolate and cream from Holland.

It tastes like rich chocolate milk, with a raspberry aftertaste and a hint of wine.

Notes of mocha, chocolate, and spices shine through, with a silky-smooth texture that coats the mouth and a long finish that satisfies the palate.

It’s perfect on the rocks, as a mixer in cocktails, and paired with cake, chocolates, and waffles.

10. Chocolate Factory Shiraz

• Price: Around $45 per bottle.
• Origin: McLaren Vale, Australia.

Chocolate Factory Shiraz is a red wine with chocolate notes and warm blackberry pie on the nose.

The cocoa profile is enhanced by nutmeg and star anise, with a velvet-smooth texture and soft milk chocolate flavor profile.

While this wine doesn’t contain chocolate, the McLaren Vale Shiraz has a milky chocolate nose and finish underpinned by plum and spice.

It’s perfect served at room temperature or chilled alongside desserts and treats.

9. Landon Chocolate Finale

• Price: Around $20 per bottle.
• Origin: Texas, USA.

With hints of almond and hazelnut, milk chocolate, and vanilla, Landon Chocolate Finale is a complex and interesting chocolate wine.

It’s smooth and velvety, with a Zinfandel base delivering a rich body and a robust, long finish.

An aftertaste of dried berries and vanilla ensures this wine goes down a treat, with a slight nuttiness on the nose, creating an intense profile.

It’s perfect with cheese, red velvet cake, ice cream, and chocolates.

8. Rubis Chocolate Velvet Ruby

• Price: Around $19 per bottle.
• Origin: La Mancha, Spain.

Arguably the most distinctive chocolate wine, Rubis Chocolate Velvet Ruby is a luxurious taste sensation, infusing Spanish Tempranillo grapes with the essence of cacao.

The chocolate flavor is intense and guaranteed to dominate your palate.

This wine is best at room temperature, and it is deeply aromatic and sweet with red fruits, berries, and dark chocolate notes.

It has a full-bodied palate to satisfy your wine and chocolate cravings in a single glass.

Related: Don't sleep on these amazing wines available at Aldi supermarket!

7. The Coco

• Price: Around $11 per bottle.
• Origin: Western Cape, South Africa.

The Coco is a chocolate Merlot made in South Africa, with a rich, dark fruit flavor profile enhanced by mocha and cocoa.

The dark chocolate flavor is from roasted French oak staves, with a rich, deep purple color and round tannins.

Despite being a young wine, The Coco has a complex flavor profile with oaky notes and a medium finish.

It’s approachable and soft, with a pleasant, chocolatey aftertaste akin to a chocolate gateau cake. Serve with desserts.

6. ChocoVine Raspberry Chocolate

• Price: Around $9 per bottle.
• Origin: Limburg, Netherlands.

If you love raspberry and chocolate, this wine is for you! ChocoVine Raspberry Chocolate is a blend of French Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, rich chocolate extract, and cream from Holland, creating a smooth, fruity dessert wine.

The raspberry flavor and notes come through strongly, with a velvet-smooth texture and deep tones.

The sophisticated nose has vanilla, berries, and jam traces, making it a perfect tipple alongside cakes and fruity desserts.

5. Chocolate Passport

• Price: Around $18 per bottle.
• Origin: Madera, USA.

A chocolate port wine without equal, Chocolate Passport is best at the end of meals with cheese or dried fruit.

Rich cocoa overtones, berry tones, and sweet notes, including vanilla and cherry, will salivate your mouth.

The aroma of chocolate hits you immediately when you pop the cork. The sweet medium-full body is tangy and rich, with raisin notes delivering depth.

This wine is perfect on its own or served with pastries and cheese.

4. Chocolate Lab

• Price: Around $9 per bottle.
• Origin: New York, USA.

Chocolate Lab is a decadent red wine made from the Concord grape, with a fruitiness and lightness missing in many chocolate wines.

It’s an easy wine to drink, with a rich chocolate flavor profile and hints of exotic fruits.

Cheese, fruit, and desserts are perfect pairings, but Chocolate Lab is rich enough to satisfy your dessert cravings on its own.

It has a medium finish with notes of cocoa, ripe grapes, and berries, with hints of vanilla and mocha.

3. The Chocolate Block

• Price: Around $25 per bottle.
• Origin: Western Cape, South Africa.

A wine famed for its chocolate notes and rich, fruity overtones, The Chocolate Block is a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Viognier. 

It delivers fine tannins with a rich palette and distinctly chocolatey notes.

This wine is made in limited batches and is one of the most popular chocolate wines because it’s perfect with meats, games, cheese, and cakes.

The finish is long, clean, and dry, with a peppery aftertaste too good for just one glass.

2. Chocolate Shop Chocolate

• Price: Around $12 per bottle.
• Origin: Washington, USA.

Chocolate Shop Chocolate blends a rich, ruby red Merlot with velvety chocolate. It is sweeter than most other wines, with black cherry, dark chocolate, fudge notes, and a wholesome flavor profile to excite your senses.

The spicy dark chocolate flavor and creamy texture make it perfect for drinking alongside desserts. The nose is oaky and sweet, with hints of vanilla and blackberries.

Drinking it is like drinking a mellow red and eating chocolate simultaneously.

1. Chocolate Amore

• Price: Around $28 per bottle.
• Origin: California, USA.

Chocolate Amore is everything a classic dessert wine should be. It has cocoa, dark fruit, caramel, and anise on the nose, with a smooth texture and rich chocolatey flavor.

It’s the perfect blend of Merlot and chocolate with an exciting profile.

You can appreciate Chocolate Amore as soon as you open it, with a milk chocolate aroma akin to melted chocolate ice cream.

Red cherry and raspberry notes subtly play with the chocolate flavor, giving this excellent wine depth—best paired with cheese.

Conclusion

Chocolate flavored wines are controversial in the wine-loving community because they can taint the purity of red wine with sweet chocolate.

However, let’s not take things too seriously - chocolate wine is a delicious tipple that has a place in your cabinet if you enjoy Port, Madeira, or other sweet alcoholic drinks.

Any of the wines on our list are good places to start. Choco Noir (#14) is a good starting point if you want a chocolate wine with actual chocolate in it, and The Coco (#7) and The Chocolate Block (#3) fit the bill if you want a red wine with strong chocolate notes and flavors.

Have we missed an amazing chocolate infused wine that you think deserves a place on this list? We'd love to hear about it in the comments section!