DESSERTS

Apple pie, strudel or tarts Sweet German, Austrian, or Loire white; Tokaji Aszú or Canadian

Icewine.

Apples, Cox’s orange pippins Vintage Port (and sweetmeal biscuits) is the Saintsbury [wine]

Club plan.

Bread-and-butter pudding Fine 10-yr-old Barsac, Tokaji Aszú or Australian botrytized Sem.

Cakes and gâteaux See also CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, GINGER, RUM. Bual or Malmsey Madeira,

Oloroso or Cream Sherry.

cupcakes Prosecco presses all the right buttons.

Cheesecake Sweet white: Vouvray, Anjou, or fizz – refreshing, nothing special.

Chocolate A talking point. Generally only powerful flavours can compete. Texture matters. Bual,

California Orange Muscat, Tokaji Aszú, Australian Liqueur Muscat, 10-yr-old Tawny Port;

Asti for light, fluffy mousses. Experiment with rich, ripe reds: Syrah, Zin, even sparkling

Shiraz. Banyuls for a weightier partnership. Médoc can match bitter black chocolate, though

Amarone is more fun. Or a tot of gd rum.

and olive oil mousse 10-yr-old Tawny Port or as for black chocolate, above.

Christmas pudding, mince pies Tawny Port, Cream Sherry or liquid Christmas pudding itself:

Pedro Ximénez Sherry. Asti or Banyuls.

Coffee desserts Sweet Muscat, Australian Liqueur Muscats, or Tokaji Aszú.

Creams, custards, fools, syllabubs See also CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, GINGER, RUM. Sauternes,

Loupiac, Ste-Croix-du-Mont, or Monbazillac.

Crème brûlée Sauternes or Rhine Beerenauslese, best Madeira or Tokaji Aszú. (With concealed

fruit, a more modest sweet wine.)

Crêpes Suzette Sweet Champagne, Orange Muscat, or Asti.

Fruit blackberries Vintage or LBV Port.

dried fruit (and compotes) Banyuls, Rivesaltes, Maury. Tokaji Aszú.

flans and tarts Sauternes, Monbazillac, sweet Vouvray, or Anjou.

fresh Sweet Coteaux du Layon or light, sweet Muscat.

poached, ie. apricots, pears, etc. Tokaji Aszú, Sweet Muscatel: try Muscat de Beaumes-de-

Venise, Moscato di Pantelleria or Spanish dessert Tarragona.

salads, orange salad A fine sweet Sherry or any Muscat-based wine.

Ginger flavours Sweet Muscats, New World botrytized Ries and Sém. Or late-harvest Gewurz.

Ice cream and sorbets Fortified wine (Australian Liqueur Muscat, Banyuls). Pedro Ximénez

Sherry, Amaretto liqueur with vanilla; rum with chocolate.

Lemon flavours For dishes like tarte au citron, try sweet Ries from Germany or Austria, or

Tokaji Aszú; v. sweet if lemon is v. tart.

Meringues Recioto di Soave, Asti or top vintage Champagne, well-aged.

Mille-feuille Delicate sweet sparkling, ie. Moscato d’Asti or demi-sec Champagne.

Nuts (including praliné) Finest Oloroso Sherry, Madeira, Vintage or Tawny Port (nature’s match

for walnuts), Tokaji Aszú, Vin Santo, or Setúbal Moscatel.

salted nut parfait Tokaji Aszú, Vin Santo.

Orange flavours Experiment: old Sauternes, Tokaji Aszú. California Orange Muscat.

Panettone Jurançon moelleux, late-harvest Ries, Barsac, Tokaji Aszú.

Pears in red wine Pause before Port. Or try Rivesaltes, Banyuls, Ries Beerenauslese.

Pecan pie Orange Muscat or Liqueur Muscat.

Raspberries (no cream, little sugar) Excellent with fine reds, which themselves taste of

raspberries: young Juliénas, Regnié.

Rum flavours (baba, mousses, ice cream) Muscat – from Asti to Australian Liqueur, according

to weight of dish.

Salted caramel mousse/parfait Late-harvest Ries, Tokaji Aszú.

Strawberries, wild (no cream) Pour over Red Bordeaux (most exquisitely Margaux).

Strawberries and cream Sauternes or similar sweet Bordeaux; Vouvray moelleux or vendange

tardive Jurançon.

Summer pudding Fairly young Sauternes of a gd vintage.

Sweet soufflés Sauternes or Vouvray moelleux. Sweet (or rich) Champagne.

Tiramisú Vin Santo, young Tawny Port, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Sauternes or Australian

Liqueur Muscat.

Trifle Should be sufficiently vibrant with its internal Sherry.

Zabaglione Light-gold Marsala or Australian botrytized Sém or Asti.