Chocolate and wine are a classic match — but which chocolate, and which wine? Chocolatier Lindt and California winemaker J. Lohr have been working on figuring that out, and they think they have it down, now.

Among the half-dozen pairings they have devised, the duo sent this one for me to try out for myself: 2013 J. Lohr Chardonnay Riverstone Arroyo Seco Monterey paired with Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate with Pineapple.

At first I didn’t think these two were going to pair well together. Chardonnay is not a natural companion with chocolate, but many white wines do feature tropical notes that might pair well with pineapple. The J. Lohr, however is a more traditional California style Chardonnay, with notes focused on vanilla, wood, and fresh apples, with very little tropical character to it at all. But surprisingly the wine does do an admirable job of really enhancing the pineapple in the chocolate. I am not sure if it’s the acid and fruit in the wine, or merely the presence of a liquid to help separate the chocolate from the fruit embedded in it, but I did find the pineapple and other citrus notes were much more powerful — and longer-lasting on the finish — when taken together with the Chardonnay. Neat trick. Give it a whirl.