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Food & Wine Matching - Desserts

Overall Winner:
Sweet Muscats are a good match with most desserts.


Milk Chocolate:
Sweet Muscat, Tawny Port, Sweet Olorosso, Madeira
Try pairing with oxidative, fortified styles, whose nutty complexity both complements and cuts through the richness of milk chocolate. Think of a Muscat de Rivesaltes, a Tawny Port, a sweet Oloroso Sherry, a medium-sweet Bual & Terrantez Madeira or a lusciously sweet Malvasia Madeira (Malmsey).


Dark Chocolate:
Sweet Muscat, Tawny Port, Sweet Olorosso, Madeira
Look for a dry red soft and fruity wine with a rich, chocolate texture and flavour like Malbec, Carmenere, Amarone della Valpolicella, or a fortified sweet wine like Pedro Ximenez Sherry. The King’s Ginger also makes for a brilliant match, or else try a Malt Whisky.


White Chocolate:
Muscat, Prosecco
White is the most difficult chocolate to match. Try light, frothy wines with floral notes like Prosecco, or wines with the grapey freshness of the Muscat grape such as Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Moscato d'Asti, sweet Muscat/Malvasia from Crete, Recioto. Muscat's apricot and white peach notes with citric hints and a whiff of mandarins make it a wonderfully refreshing combination with pure white chocolate.


Profiteroles/Chocolate Ice Cream:
Muscat
Profiteroles with lots of cream and chocolate sauce, or Chocolate Ice Cream would match with a rich, sweet Muscat like Rutherglen Muscat, Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.


Death by Chocolate:
Liqueur Muscat
The really rich, heavy chocolate dishes, like Death by Chocolate, need an extremely sweet Liqueur Muscat, Pedro Ximenez Sherry or even a Tawny Port.


Crème Brûlée/Creme Caramel:
Sauternes, Barsac
A Sauternes/Barsac or botrytised Semillon would be delicious with both Crème Brûlée and Cream Caramel.


Vanilla Ice Cream:
PX Sherry or Liqueur Muscat
Served alone, Vanilla Ice Cream is sublime with PX Sherry or a liqueur Muscat, in fact you could just pour these wines over the ice cream as a sauce!


Custard:
Sweet Riesling or Muscat
Custard made at home properly is lovely with sweet Rieslings and Muscats.


Treacle Tart/Pecan Pie:
Liqueur Muscat
For very sweet Treacle Tart and Pecan Pie try a liqueur Muscat or a Tokaji Aszú.


Bakewell Pudding:
Sauternes
Bakewell Pudding is lighter and so look to unfortified-wines like Sauternes.


Apple Pie/Apple Tart:
Côteaux du Layon
Apple Pie or Apple Tart is perfect with Côteaux du Layon or a very sweet German wine, as is a Fruit Tart.


Lemon Tart/Lemon Meringue Pie:
Eiswein
Both Lemon Tart and Lemon Meringue Pie work with young Sauternes/Barsac or Eiswein Riesling wines.


Fruit Salad/Strawberries:
Moscato d'Asti
Fruit Salad or Strawberries are frivolous with a light sparkling wine like Moscato d'Asti or if you like lashings of sugar and cream try a German Auslese and Beerenauslese as well as a Sélection de Grains Nobles from Alsace


Raspberries/Summer Pudding:
German Auslese, Beerenauslese
Raspberries or Summer Pudding would also work with the German Auslese and Beerenauslese, and maybe even a chilled, youthful Beaujolais Villages.


Tarte Tatin:
Sauternes
Sauternes/Barsac and Tarte Tatin is a delicious combination.
Banoffee Pie: Muscat de Beaumes de Venise
For an incredibly sweet Banoffee Pie try a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise or a Tokaji Aszu.


Caramelised Oranges:
Moscato Passito
Caramelised Oranges would go with Muscat de Beaumes de Venise or a Tokaji Aszu, or if you can track down a hard to find an Italian Moscato Passito that would be even better.