Combine fruity red wine and dark chocolate to make the best red wine hot chocolate with just five ingredients in about 10 minutes! This rich and decadent treat is the perfect adult beverage for cold weather sipping.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my gingerbread hot chocolate with bourbon!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Easy to Make - No fancy tools or techniques. Just common kitchen equipment and a handful of everyday ingredients for easy red wine hot chocolate at home.
Balanced and Sophisticated - Homemade red wine hot chocolate deserves all the hype! Use my recipe for a velvety smooth sip that's rich and creamy and just at complex as a good glass of wine.
This drink is kind of like a dessert or drinking chocolate. Try my bread pudding with chocolate red wine sauce for similarly flavored treat or dark chocolate martini for a cold cocktail!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Chocolate Bars and Cocoa Powder - Using cocoa powder provides more intense chocolate flavor and dark chocolate bars add creaminess. I use at least 60% cacao chocolate bars and you can make this red wine hot chocolate recipe using chocolate chips, too.
Red Wine - Grab a sweeter, fruit-forward bottle of wine like a Shiraz or Zinfandel or a blend. Dry red wine can work here but you'll likely want to add more sweetener. For me, the best red wine for hot chocolate is Messina Hof's Beau.
Heavy Cream - For rich luscious texture. Don't worry, it won't get too thick because the red wine helps thin it out.
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Sweetener - I use granulated sugar in this recipe but you can use the sweetener of your choice, including honey or maple syrup.
Slow Cooker - This recipe makes red wine hot chocolate on the stove but you can also make this a crock pot drink for slower, hands-off cooking and is great for a crowd.
Can I make it vegan? Yes. Use plant-based chocolate and cream and make sure to grab a vegan red wine make your red wine hot chocolate vegan.
How to Make Red Wine Hot Chocolate
Step One: Cut or break the chocolate into smaller pieces for easier melting.
Step Two: Melt the chocolate in a small saucepan.
Step Three: Stir in remaining ingredients except wine until uniform and heat.
Step Four: Pour in wine and give it another good stir.
Pro Tip: You want the hot cocoa mixture to steam and bubble but not boil. Boiling can burn the chocolate, which doesn't taste great.
Step Five: Pour the wine hot chocolate into two mugs and enjoy responsibly!
I love cooking and baking with red wine because it just adds something extra to everyday dishes. So I highly recommend my decadent deep dish lasagna with red wine sauce! You'll also like my strawberry red wine sorbet. It's a no cook and no churn recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Technically both. We use the terms interchangeably but hot cocoa uses cocoa powder while hot chocolate using creamy chocolate that you'd get from melting chocolate chips or chocolate bars.
I don't recommend water in this recipe because of the addition of red wine. The hot chocolate will be too thin.
Allow the hot cocoa to cool to room temperature and transfer to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to five days.
More Favorite Warm Cocktail Recipes
I hope you'll enjoy a steaming mug of red wine hot chocolate soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so pin this chocolate red wine drink recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
The Best Red Wine Hot Chocolate
Equipment
- 1 saucepan
- 1 mixing spoon or whisk
Ingredients
- 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate broken into pieces
- 2 cups sweet red wine
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar or to taste
Instructions
- Melt chocolate in a saucepan over low heat (about three minutes). Keep an eye on the chocolate to prevent burning.
- Once most of the chocolate is melted, add in heavy cream and stir until incorporated.
- Add cocoa powder and sugar and stir vigorously to get rid of any lumps. Cook mixture for two minutes or so, allowing it to thicken. Mixture should be steaming and perhaps bubbling but not boiling.
- Add red wine to saucepan and continue cooking for no more than another minute, stirring continuously. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat and serve warm.
Britney says
I made this to watch the election and it really helped with the anxiety of it all because it was so good. Hot chocolate and red wine = perfect combo!
Chenée Lewis says
HOW had I never heard of red wine hot chocolate before??? This was so good -- definitely gonna be a big part of my wintertime happy hours at home!!
Brenda Hay says
Does the alcohol boil out?
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Brenda! No, the alcohol doesn't boil out since we're only cooking leaving it on the heat for about one minute. If you want to cook some of the alcohol out, you can let it simmer for longer.
Samantha says
This is definitely a decadent and delicious treat! You can't go wrong with red wine and hot chocolate. YUM!
Crystal says
Ok I must be living under a rock but I have never heard of red wine hot chocolate, but as soon as you mentioned I knew I had to try it! Delicious. And interesting about hot cocoa and hot chocolate! Didn’t even know there was a difference!
Capri says
I am soooo excited to share this with my family! It’s such an amazing recipe!
Samiah Nicole says
This is absolutely the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be making this regularly!
Barry J. says
I've been looking for a spiked hot chocolate recipe with red wine for so long now! This was perfect and I absolutely love it. I was always uncertain as to when to add the wine, but I loved how you whisked it in last while making this recipe. I'm going to try making a red wine syrup and see how it works with this recipe.
Kate Hahnel says
We had the ingredients in stock by chance and tried this red wine hot chocolate. Soooo yummy!!! It was so worth trying it. It will now be one of our winter drinks.
Krysten says
I had red wine hot chocolate once and was desperate to find the recipe. So happy I tried this one, it is perfect! I’m such a sucker for chocolate and red wine together, so naturally this tastes amazing. Perfect for cozying up with my husband!
Aline says
OMG what a great idea!! I always use premium chocolate too, but never added wine!! Excited to try!
Renia says
Literally would have never made this if I'd not seen this recipe. Substituted carob for the chocolate and am truly in love with this!!
SHANIKA says
This Hot Chocolate looks so good! I'm loving the use of premium chocolate and the addition of Red Wine! Killer combo!
LaKita says
This is the perfect combination of my two favorite things, red wine and chocolate!!!!
Mila says
This will most certainly soothe my soul during the holidays. GREAT recipe, Jazzmine!
Adri says
This sounds absolutely amazing. I'm glad I saw this in time, being that it's the week before Thanksgiving. My family is in for a treat!
Calysta says
This is definitely hot chocolate for the grown and sexy! I love it!!