Red Wine Hot Chocolate Recipe
Red wine hot chocolate is one of those drinks you see on Pinterest and think, “Wow, that sounds disgusting!” Being the curious creature that I am, I had to try this drink for myself and find out if my instincts were right. Were all the recipes I saw online created by a bunch of liars trying to trick us into making a gross drink or does this red wine hot chocolate mixture actually taste good? Try this decadent winter drink recipe tonight and decide for yourself! *Spoiler alert* It’s delicious!
Red Wine Hot Chocolate
Two things I never thought of mixing together are red wine and hot chocolate. If you haven’t heard of this winter cocktail before then I doubt you thought of it either.
I like red wine and I like chocolate. Why not combine two of my favorite things? Well I also like pizza and ice cream but I guarantee you that combination would be disgusting.
I read about red wine hot chocolate last year in an article in the New York Times.
They claimed it was delicious, but being the skeptic that I am I needed to try it for myself.
Red wine hot chocolate, tasty or gross? You decide.
Supplies you may need for red wine hot chocolate
- red wine
- chocolate chunks or chips
- cream
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- salt
- sauce pan
- whisk
- measuring cups and spoons
- 2 mugs
I used a cabernet sauvignon for my red wine hot chocolate. You could use pretty much any red wine for the recipe. The main thing is that it’s a wine that you like. Many people like to use merlot or other fruity wines.
Be aware that the sweeter the wine, the sweeter the beverage will end up being. If you do use a sweet wine you may want to use unsweetened chocolate. The cab that I used was on the dry side and it worked well. If you want to learn more about wine check out my friend, Anne’s wine blog Aspiring Winos (great blog name too)
You may also like: Lavender Moon Milk
I used 62% cacao dark chocolate chunks. If you want to be super lazy I’m sure you could make a regular cup of hot chocolate with instant hot chocolate mix and pour a glass or red wine into it. I decided to keep it classy and make it from scratch. The full recipe and video are at the bottom of this post.
Essentially you mix all the ingredients in a sauce pan until they melt together and then pour them into mugs. This recipe makes two mug fulls of red wine hot chocolate.
This recipe makes a great drink for a winter party or game night with a small group of friends.
This recipe makes 2 servings of red wine hot chocolate
The verdict: OMG you guys, this red wine hot chocolate is delish! I was pleasantly surprised. It’s hard to describe the flavor. It reminds me of those liquor filled chocolates you can get at Christmas time.
I made a mug for my husband and he also thought it was really tasty.
This drink is super rich. You will want to sip it slowly and if you are concerned about it being too rich then you can swap out the heavy cream in the recipe and just use extra milk. You can use skim milk if you want.
The cinnamon and vanilla give it an extra spicy flavor. I would recommend serving this drink to your guests with a cinnamon stir stick in the glass.
The pinch of salt added to the recipe is to bring out the flavors. Salt is a flavor enhancer and adding a little salt is recommended in nearly every pastry recipe. In fact, if you are drinking a cup of coffee that tastes a little bit bitter, you can add a pinch of salt and the bitterness will go away. I used a half crank of Himalayan pink salt from my salt grinder in this recipe.
Try red wine hot chocolate tonight!
What do you think? Will you try red wine hot chocolate? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you try it and like it please give my recipe a 5 star rating!
Red Wine Hot Chocolate Recipe
Recipe details
Ingredients
Alcohol
- 1.5 cups red wine
Dairy
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup milk 2%
- 1.5 cups 67% cocoa dark chocolate chunks
Spices
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add wine and chocolate chunks to a sauce pan on medium heat, stirring continuously until the chocolate has melted.
- Add the cream and milk and stir until mixed.
- Add the vanilla and cinnamon and stir until combined.
- Pour into two mugs and serve.
Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
I need to try this!
I've always loved eating dark chocolate while drinking Merlot. I'll have to try this. Thanks!