Bar of Chocolate
Chocolate and Fortified Wine — Portland's Quirky Power Couple
Downtown · Portland · Wine Bar · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 8, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
The wine list at Bar of Chocolate does something almost no one else in Portland is doing: it leads with dessert and fortified wines like they're the main event, not an afterthought. The dry wine section is short and clearly secondary, but that's not why you're here. You're here because someone decided Port and dark chocolate should have a room of their own, and honestly, they were right.
Selection Deep Dive
The fortified and dessert wine category is the whole story — Port, Madeira, Sherry, Tokaji, Muscat, and an Austrian Steindorfer showing up to represent the sweet wine world with genuine range. Portugal and Spain anchor the list, but Hungary and Austria give it just enough depth to feel considered rather than slapped together. The dry wine selection is thin: Kim Crawford, Josh Cellars, Dark Horse, Apothic — crowd-pleasing grocery store staples that feel like they wandered in from a different restaurant. If you came hoping for a serious Burgundy or a nervy Gruner, you'll want to recalibrate expectations fast.
By the Glass
Somewhere between 12 and 20 pours by the glass, with the by-the-glass program clearly designed around the fortified and dessert category. The Bartenura Moscato and Veuve Clicquot round out the sweeter and sparkling end of the spectrum. Rotation appears limited — this is a set-and-forget list that leans on its concept rather than seasonal updates.
Veuve Clicquot Brut NV — $18/glass
At roughly $18 a glass against a $55 retail bottle, the Veuve markup lands around 196% — the most restrained pricing on the list. In the context of this wine bar, a glass of Champagne with a chocolate pairing is a genuinely fun move, and it's the one pour here where the math doesn't sting.
Steindorfer
An Austrian producer on a Portland dessert wine list is the last thing most people expect to see, and almost everyone will walk past it. Steindorfer specializes in sweet and dessert wines from Burgenland — this is your ticket off the beaten path and exactly the kind of pour the rest of the list is missing.
Dark Horse Chardonnay 2022
A $9/glass pour on an $11 retail bottle is a 491% markup on a wine that retails for less than most people spend on lunch. Dark Horse Chardonnay has no business being the reason you spend money here — if you want dry white wine, go somewhere else. If you're at Bar of Chocolate, commit to the concept.
Bartenura Moscato + Artisan chocolate pairing
Moscato's low alcohol and honeyed stone fruit sweetness don't fight the chocolate — they lean into it. Bartenura runs sweeter and aromatic, which makes it a natural match for milk chocolate or fruit-forward dark bars. It's the most accessible gateway into what this place is actually trying to do.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Bar of Chocolate earns its Wild Card badge not by being a great wine bar in the traditional sense, but by fully committing to a niche that almost nobody else is working — fortified and dessert wines as a destination experience. Skip the dry wine section entirely, order something from Portugal or Hungary, and let the chocolate do the rest.
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