Clove + Wine
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,958 recipes, and they share 93 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Do clove and wine go together?
Yes. 2,958 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 93 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 15% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
They overlap on 93 flavor molecules: 30% of clove's 311. Among the shared key aromas are cis-isoeugenol (clove, spicy) and ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What each one brings
clove
The tartness. Sour notes make up 12% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 6% for wine. It carries 218 molecules wine doesn't have.
wine
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 31% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 17% for clove. It carries 445 molecules clove doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Cinnamon: the best fit for both, top 1% of pairs with clove, top 14% with wine.
- Allspice: top 1% of pairs with clove, top 21% with wine.
- Thyme: top 2% of pairs with clove, top 10% with wine.
- Rosemary: top 3% of pairs with clove, top 9% with wine.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with clove and wine
Mostly mains: 254 of the 356 recipes with a course label are mains.
Can you swap one for the other?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 218 molecules wine doesn't, and wine has 445 that clove doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 93 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 218 only in clove and the 445 only in wine.
Clove and wine questions
Do clove and wine go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 2,958 recipes, and they share 93 flavor molecules: the top 15% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do clove and wine taste good together?
They overlap on 93 flavor molecules: 30% of clove's 311. Among the shared key aromas are cis-isoeugenol (clove, spicy) and ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic). Most of what they share is background chemistry many foods carry, so the overlap does little for the smell.
What goes with clove and wine?
Cinnamon is the best third ingredient: top 1% of pairs with clove and top 14% with wine. Allspice and thyme also fit both.
What can you make with clove and wine?
Mostly mains: 254 of the 356 recipes with a course label are mains. Common dishes include Elder Wine, Feuerzangenbowle (German Wine Punch), Mull'd Wine, Octopus Stewed in Red Wine.
Can I use wine instead of clove?
Not really. Each has a lot the other lacks: clove has 218 molecules wine doesn't, and wine has 445 that clove doesn't. Treat them as partners, not stand-ins. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Wine. https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-wine. Accessed 2026-11-04.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_clove_vs_wine_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Clove vs Wine},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/clove-vs-wine},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-04}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.