A few of the currently available Chocolate Wines .

I’ve been researching this chocolate wine marketplace; I find it rather intriguing because more and more chocolate wines are coming to market and many distributors and retailers still do not consider chocolate wine a category. So I decided I would investigate what this chocolate wine is about. There are different styles available in different alcohol levels,using different manufacturing methods/ Each has it’s place on the shelf. I wanted to see if I can give some credibility to the idea of a chocolate wine category. My research has brought me around to it about a dozen different samples of chocolate wines based of a variety of character.

There seems to be two basic varieties of chocolate wine and inside these two varieties there is a variety of flavor profiles and styles. The two basic chocolate wine varieties are cream based and non-cream based. So far, I have uncovered 4 non -ream based brands and 4 cream-based brands. Ficklin, Chocolate shop, choco X and choco dman are all non-cream brands. Cocoa Vino, Chocolate Shop, Cocoa di Vine and ChocoVine are all cream-based brands.

Non-cream based brands of chocolate wine are basically wine infused with chocolate flavorings. They are generally translucent and have a viscosity slightly heavier than the wine that it is made with. These brands are also more typically come from the winery that makes the wine. In other words another brand offering from a particular winery.

Cream based brands are more obvious in the bottle. They tend to be “chocolate milk” looking in nature and are clearly not translucent. These brands tend to stand on there own and there are many flavors available depending on the manufacturer. Cocoa Vino, ChocoVino, Cocoa Di Vine and the Chocolate shop are chocolate wines made with cream.

Frankly, I was reluctant to taste any of these styled wines just from the sheer idea of them. I was surprised. I found the very good and the quality quite high and a few.

What I began to understand was that these wines are mis-named. Calling them wine (strictly from the content of alcohol) is a mis-nomer. I don’t believe that the wine aficionado is the one who will gravitate towards this type of alcohol beverage. Though once they try a good one, I think they will become a fan. But these wines are clearly not a substitute for a glass of wine. Chocolate wine tends to be an after dinner aperitif and can be served cool or warm. The general approach for their use would be that of Baileys Irish cream or Kahulua.

More on the specific brands of chocolate wine  coming soon.