Playing Matchmaker: Wine and Dessert

March 3, 2010 4:42 pm

Food and wine pairings get all the attention. People spend hours consulting with sommeliers about whether to order Burgundy or Zinfandel to go with the duck, scouring Food and Wine magazine for the latest pairings and lingering in wine shops deliberating about the right wine for their dinner party. But for some reason when it comes to desserts, these same people seem to forget their fear of offending a fellow diner's palate and order a standard dessert wine or simply coffee. Although wine can do wonders in bringing out the flavors of different foods, it can equally enhance the flavor of desserts and make for an ethereal pairing. Get some aphrodisiac inspiration for your next date night from wine expert Michael Green with some of his favorite pairings:

Chocolate and Banyuls: Like red meats, chocolate has strong, assertive flavors that can pair well with a variety of wines. Banyuls is a fortified sweet wine from Southwestern France that has rich aromas of black cherries, raspberries and plums, and it holds up well to dark and bittersweet chocolates.
Tip: Choose a wine that is as sweet (if not sweeter) than the chocolate you are pairing it with so that it doesn't taste bitter

Strawberries and Moscato d'Asti: The acidity and sweetness of strawberries are the perfect compliments to Moscato d'Asti, a slightly effervescent sweet wine from Piedmont. The wine has an aroma of light stone fruits with a nice acidity to balance the flavor; and with a mere 5% alcohol, a second glass is always in order.

Nut-Based Desserts and Amontillado Sherry: This is a pairing is based on similarities rather than contrasts. The oaky, caramel-like flavor of the sherry is great for bringing out the natural flavor of nutty desserts.
Technique: Although traditionally enjoyed as an aperitif or after-dinner drink, off-dry sherries like Amontillado can also be paired with robust dishes like lamb or braised rabbit.

Blue-Veined Cheese and Port: The classic sweet-and-salty combination rarely fails. The flavor profiles of the salty cheese and sweet wine are strong enough to hold up to one another; however they land on opposite ends of the flavor spectrum and actually end up complimenting each other. The acidity of the wine is perfect to cut through the creaminess of the cheese, which refreshes and revives the palate with each bite.
Tip: Pair salty, pungent cheeses with intense, heady wines and milder cheeses with a softer wine to prevent flavors from being masked.

Foie Gras and Sauternes: Okay, so foie gras doesn't exactly qualify as dessert. Although this pairing may be somewhat of a culinary cliché, it still begs to be talked about, if for no other reason than to for me to relive the experience of tasting the concentrated, sweet and zesty flavor of the wine contrast against the buttery and smooth texture of the foie gras. To use yet another cliché, this is a match made in heaven.
Technique: Try Alain Allegretti's recipe for easy-but-savory foie gras.

Although we could discuss wine pairings till the cows come home, perhaps the most important advice we can offer is to simply drink what you enjoy. There are no rules when it comes to pairing food and wine, so Michael Green encourages everyone to "Drink what makes you happy, and drink it often." Cheers!