Every dinner party host needs to know which flavor profiles pair best with which wine. But wine pairings shouldn’t stop after the main course. Desserts and sweet treats can also be enhanced with the right wine.
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Wine comes in all sorts of colors, textures, intensities, and flavors, all of which can be used to amplify the sweet flavors of dessert after a big meal—or even a sugary snack in the afternoon.
But the process of pairing wine with sweet versus savory food is quite different, which is why we’ve compiled this handy guide for serving up perfectly balanced and delicious wine and sweet food pairings.
🍰 Thank you, Clara, for this wonderful guest post! 🍷
Flavor Factors To Consider When Pairing Wine And Dessert
Similarly to how certain wine varieties tend to pair better with certain savory food products (red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and vegetables, etc.), there are ways to determine whether a bottle of wine will complement your next sweet spread.
Here are three important factors to consider:
- Level of sweetness – All wines have natural sweetness, but some have far more than others. Finding out where your wine sits on the sweetness spectrum can help you decide what sweet flavors will complement it best.
- Texture – Some wines are thick and syrupy, while others are light, crisp, and dry. The texture of your wine provides a strong hint as to how rich a food it can be paired with.
- Flavor intensity – Strong, tannin-y wines can be intense on the palate, making them better suited to equally intense flavors, whereas light, delicately flavored wines pair better with desserts with a softer, milder mouthfeel.
The key to pairing wine with sweet food is finding the balance between these three factors. Neither the wine nor the dessert should overpower the other, so choose combinations that allow both to shine.
8 Wine And Sweet Treat Pairings Every Party Host Needs To Know
Understanding how to make your own pairings is great, but if you’re looking for more straightforward guidance, we can help. These eight popular wine and sweet food pairings consider the above factors while ensuring you and your guests enjoy unique and delicious combinations every time.
1. Oaked Chardonnay and Creme Brulee
Chardonnay, in general, is known for its soft, buttery notes of vanilla and natural sweetness. But oaked Chardonnay comes with an extra mellow, slightly toasty flavor profile that makes it a perfect partner for the burnt sugar crust of custardy creme brulee.
Apricot tart, lemon or lime cheesecake, and vanilla pudding are also sublime paired with Chardonnay, whether it’s oaky or unoaked.
2. Port and Salted Caramel
Port is a heavy, rich red wine that’s often consumed as a dessert wine due to its sweetness and flavors of blackberry, caramel, and cinnamon.
Served in small glasses, it makes a great pairing with sweet but sharp salted caramel flavors. Think salted caramel cheesecake, miso caramel mousse, or any salty-sweet dessert combination you enjoy. Just make sure to serve both in moderation so that neither overpowers the other.
3. Riesling and Lemon Cake
Riesling is a full-bodied white wine known for its notes of apple, pear, gooseberry, grapefruit, and apricots.
With its fruity undertones and citrusy top notes, it’s a great wine to serve alongside lemony desserts, such as lemon cake, lemon posset, or even lemon meringue.
4. Merlot and Dark Chocolate
Merlot is the king of red wines. Rich, velvety, and full of earthy tannins, the intensity of a good Merlot screams for the grounding depth of high-quality, high-cocoa dark chocolate.
You can serve Merlot with just about any dark chocolate dessert, as long as the latter is not too sweet. Too much sugar with a glass of Merlot is not only a bit too intense as a flavor pairing but can also lead to a headache. Pair it with dark chocolate mousse or even just small chunks of your favorite slab.
5. Sauvignon Blanc and White Chocolate
Zesty, bright, and fruity Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp white wine that balances the delicate sweetness of white chocolate very well. Sauvignon Blanc also goes well with the punchy, acidic flavors of passion fruit, pineapple, lime, and other tropical fruits, all of which tend to pair well with white chocolate.
6. Chenin Blanc and Peach Cobbler
Light and bright Chenin Blanc is a white wine variety known for its notes of stone fruit such as peach, plum, and nectarine. Its fruity notes make a perfect companion to peach cobbler or any type of stone fruit tart you can serve up.
Chenin Blanc has other fruity notes that make it good-to-have with any sweet summer spread, as it works with a wide variety of juicy, sweet, and slightly sour notes.
7. Cabernet Sauvignon and Coffee Ice Cream
The bold, juicy, full-bodied flavors of Cabernet Sauvignon are a perfect match for the bitter earthiness of coffee ice cream. Though not often paired together, wine and ice cream can be very complementary food items.
The cold sweetness of the ice cream and the tart richness of the wine balance each other out very well, especially with a juicy red wine and toasty coffee ice cream.
8. Champagne and Strawberries & Cream
This is one of the most classic wine and sweet food pairings in the world. Wimbledon is as synonymous with tennis as it is with strawberries and fresh cream, served alongside a flute of quality champagne. You can recreate this universally loved pairing easily at home!
Plus, there’s no need to stop with strawberries. The light, sparkling, and delicate floral notes of champagne make it an ideal pairing for any berries and cream combo you can think of.
Sip In Style When Serving Up A Sweet Treat
Whether you’re an oenophile with a wine club membership or you simply enjoy matching whatever you have in your cupboard with what you’re eating, when you know how to pair wine and sweet food, you can create a restaurant-quality menu from start to finish.
Remember the core tenets of wine and sweet food pairings: sweetness, texture, and flavor intensity. Once you understand these, pairing wine with your next dessert or snack tray will be a treat!
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