Red Wine Chocolate Sauce

Who doesn’t love chocolate sauce? Add a little red wine and it’s a win-win. This recipe makes enough for you to have a jar for indulging yourself and still have some to package up as delicious gifts for your friends and family. Pair with your favorite Temecula Valley California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups red wine, we use Merlot
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup, (1) stick, of salted butter, sliced into tablespoons measures
• 24-ounce semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½-¾ teaspoon of your favorite chili powder, optional for a bit of heat. We used Boonville Barn Piment d’Ville
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Makes approximately: 4 cups

Directions

Combine the cream and red wine in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the liquid is warm, steam is rising from the top and small bubbles are forming around the edges of the pot.

Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Let the mixture come to a boil.

Once boiling reduce the heat to low and stir in the pieces of butter until melted.

Turn off the heat and add the chocolate chips to the mixture. Stir continuously until the chocolate has completely melted. Add the vanilla extract, chili powder if using and salt, then stir to combine.

This chocolate sauce is best served warm not hot. It can be used right away and taste great but will be thin. If allowed to sit at room temperature to cool the sauce will thicken more within an hour, but will remain warm and pourable.

To store:

Transfer the desired amount of Red Wine Chocolate Sauce to a jar or storage container with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

To reheat and serve:

The chocolate sauce will firm up in the fridge. To reheat, simply transfer the desired amount of chocolate sauce to a microwavable container and heat in 15-second intervals until the mixture melts back down to a sauce consistency.

Suggested Wines:

Baily Winery ~ 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon – This wine offers warm, rich tones with subtle, herbaceous qualities and a hint of mint

Callaway Winery ~ 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – A classic Cab that is all about the fruit and spice with aromas of tobacco and dried fruits

Churon Winery ~ 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon – This popular Cab offers delicious aromatics

Recipe and photo courtesy of the Wine Institute of California