How do you Pair Wine with Fall Dessert?

Don’t switch to coffee when enjoying dessert after a great meal. There are wonderful wines produced to pair beautifully with wine. And they are not always sweet. Here are two wine tips for pairing with desserts.

1. Wine should be sweeter than the food.

2. Wine should have enough acidity to balance sweetness.

Consider these fall dessert and wine pairing ideas:

• Sweet Plum Tart with Rosemary & Sea Salt pair with a late harvest or Riesling ice wine.

• Apple Crumble pairs with a subtle wine like Dry Riesling.

• Crème Brulé pair with a sweet, low acidic Sauterne. 

• Dark Chocolate Flourless Torte with a dry Petite Sirah.

Try some of these types of wines that are considered dessert wines. 

Ice Wine: Grapes freeze when the temperature drops to 20 degrees, and they are harvested/processed frozen.

Fortified wine: these are both dry and sweet with a higher alcohol level in the 17 to 20 percent range.

Port: From the Douro region of Portugal. They are fortified wines that have a flavor hint like chocolate covered cherries.

Sherry: from Spain produced from white grapes fortified with natural grape spirits with an underlying nutty quality.

Madeira: Produced from the island of Madeira off the southern coast of Portugal fortified with brandy. The juice is oxidized and heated to create a unique flavor that can range from dry to sweet.

Tokaji: Produced from Hungarian grapes infected with botrytis fungus (noble rot) which weakens the skins and causes them to dehydrate concentrating the sugar and acidity. 

Sauternes: From Bordeaux region of France have high acidity with fruity, honey notes. 

Late harvest: Wine is produced with grapes left on the vine until they have reached a high sugar level (usually close to raisins). Fermentation is then stopped with sugar remaining. 

LDV Winery produces a dessert wine called Epilogue which is a 100% Petite Sirah fortified with neutral grape spirits. The wine was aged for five years in Minnesota white oak barrels. It is 18% alcohol, 4% residual sugar and is port-like in style. It makes the perfect dessert on its own or paired with cheeses.