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Go Simple When Pairing Dessert

Classic pairings yield gorgeous results.

by Wine Taster
published: 26 Aug 2009       | Comments

Pastry chefs are the pampered rock stars of the cooking world. They generally work in their own part of the kitchen, have the least stressful environment and are responsible for a smaller, separate menu that embraces their creative flights of fancy. At their best, they deliver beautifully plated, intricately layered and uniquely complex takes on sweets.

No wonder the idea of pairing wine with dessert seems so daunting.

Yet selecting the right wine for a sweet dish can be easier than you think. Like everything in the world of wine, pairing can be as intricate or as simple as you wish. When matching wine with food, you can typically expect one of three outcomes: the combination enhances the wine; the combination puts the food on a pedestal; or the pairing creates a new flavor sensation. (Of course, it does take a little bit of thought to avoid the perils detailed here: Good Wine, Good Food, Bad Combo). When pairing wine with dessert, it's best to try to enhance the flavors of the food since that is typically the focus. If you have a really great bottle of dessert wine, though, drink it without food, since few dishes will be able to match its depth of flavor and nuance.

So what steps should you take to put together a delectable dessert-and-wine combo?

• First, the wine needs to be sweeter than the dish. Otherwise, the wine will taste tart or bitter. So if you're eating pie, a sliver of cheese can cut the sweetness and help bridge the pie with a honeyed dessert wine.
• Second, the more complex the dish, the simpler the wine should be. A simple wine tends to roll with the variety of flavors in a dessert, while a powerfully flavored wine will compete with every bite you take.
• Finally, focus on the region. Dessert wines often come from very specific and famous areas, so consider the ingredients native to those places when making a match.

Pairing wine with dessert can produce classic combinations. Port is wonderful with dark chocolate and/or nutty sweets. Sherry, traditionally served over ice cream in Spain, goes well with the dried fruit dishes of the holidays. Such honeyed and luxuriant wines as Sauternes and Trockenbeerenausleses can handle salty dishes and intense fruit tarts, crème brûlées and subtle, nutty desserts. Muscat-based dessert wines like Moscato d'Asti or Beaumes de Venise are wonderful amplifiers to light berry desserts, fresh fruits and sorbets.

No matter which wine you choose to share the stage with your dessert, failure is easily forgiven. If the two don't work together, simply enjoy them separately. Two desserts in one night is not such a bad thing, right?