Can I drink White Wine with puddings?

Picture this. You are in a restaurant, and you order a deliciously sweet fruit tart - perhaps a tarte Tatin or a slice of pear and almond tart. You still have a bottle of Sauvignon on the table and take a swig to wash down the first bite.

Suddenly, the fresh, crisp white that was so perfect with your main course tastes sour and acidic. The sweetness of the pudding has killed the aromas of the wine leaving only a sour liquid in its place and the pudding will likely taste as if the chef has miscalculated the sugar.

It's not that either of these things are bad - just that they do not work well together. 

Can I drink Red Wine with puddings?

If you still have a glass of red left on the table, it may be a little more forgiving with a pudding, but neither will appear at their best when faced with the conflict of relatively dry red wine and a sweet dessert.

The red wine will taste dryer, less rich and fruity than it had done when paired with a steak, for example. The pudding itself will struggle to hold its own too - a fruit pudding may seem suddenly sharp or acidic, or it could go the other way and taste clawing or sickly in comparison to the red wine. 

Wine and food are all about balance and to have the best possible experience of both, it’s important to allow them to play together, rather than fight for attention on your palate.

Which Sweet Wine works best with puddings?

Within the basic idea of dessert wines with dessert – there are some matches that work particularly well – although it’s always worth trying out a few combinations of your own.

Apples, Pears, Nuts and Caramel

Our bestselling Coteaux du Layon (See below) made by Patrice Achard at Domaine des Barres is an absolute joy with apples, pears, nuts and caramel – where the flavours of the wine will lift and pair perfectly. A crumble or tart made with these things will prove the perfect pedestal for this sweet wine which has a surprisingly fresh, dry finish – allowing the pudding to catch up.

Strawberries, raspberries, lemons & limes

If you’re serving a pudding with more acidic fruits such as berries or citrus fruits, the Muscat de Frontignon will do justice to strawberries and raspberries as well as lemon and lime flavours. This wine is lightly fortified giving it just enough body to match the acidity of the fruit without overpowering it.

Vanilla, cream, bananas and chocolate

For many, the queen of dessert wines has to be the Riesling Eiswein (Ice wine) from Mosel in Germany. Phenomenally difficult to make, the result is sweet, but floral, with high acidity alongside the sugar.

Delicate enough to enjoy with creamy puddings, particularly those containing vanilla such as Crème Brulée or Crème Caramel – but also a great match for banana-based desserts, cheesecake and the most difficult pudding flavour to pair – chocolate.

What to drink with Chocolate?

Eiswein (Ice wine) works with chocolate but so does the phenomenal red dessert wine Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG 2017 from Le Bertarole. It comes in a perfect half bottle size and until you've tried it lightly chilled with a slice of chocolate mousse cake (or let's face it any chocolate dessert), you have not lived. The combination is ambrosial. Enough said.

But as in everything – rules are made to be broken - and if you are still not persuaded (please try before you make this decision...) then another great chocolate wine combo is Argentinian Malbec with dark Chocolate which will elevates both to a whole new level.

What to drink with Blue Cheese

Coteaux du Layon is also the perfect choice to pair with blue cheese - Christmas stilton, gorgonzola or roquefort to name a few favourites. Try it once - you will never look back.

And Finally

For high days and holidays, treat yourself to a bottle of properly made small batch Grappa - which have been aged in various barrels used to make port, whisky and so on. Warming liquid nuts and caramel with a kick. A delicious way to end any meal.