The Secret to Pairing Sweet Wine with Savory Food

Tuesday, 20 February, 2018
vinepair.com, Courtney Schiessl
The general rule of thumb is that sweet wines should always be paired with sweet food (hence the term “dessert wines”) and that the wine should always be sweeter than the dish. But there’s something to be said for the combination of sweet and savory.

Do you dare to pair a sweet wine with the main course, rather than relegating it to the end of the meal? A few simple guidelines can lead to an adventurous and show-stopping pairing.

Follow these eight simple rules for out-of-this-world sweet and savory pairings:

Compare or Contrast

There are two overarching philosophies when it comes to pairing food and wine: either compare the flavors, matching notes in the food and wine, or contrast them, using the wine to add flavors and aromas that the dish is missing. That’s why Sauternes, which typically tastes of orange marmalade and honey, pairs beautifully with duck a l’orange, matching the juicy citrus, as well as with intensely savory blue cheese. If, on the other hand, your dish has dark, rich flavors or distinct berry notes — think slow-roasted pork with cranberry sauce — Ruby Port is a natural pairing, sharing many of those flavors.

Acidity Matters

Not all sweet wines are created alike, which is why Manischewitz and Liebfraumilch don’t really sit in the same category as Madeira and Tokaji. Balance is one of the key factors of a great sweet wine, and in order to have balance, a sweet wine needs good acidity. That acidity will also help balance a sweet wine pairing, cutting through the richness of certain dishes and standing up to the tartness of others. That’s why fatty foie gras is a classic (and expensive) Sauternes pairing, or why off-dry Riesling could actually work well with a salad dressed in sharp vinaigrette.

Match the Body

For a pairing to work well, the body of both the food and wine should be comparable. A rich, sweet wine would overpower a light dish, and vice versa. Unctuous Tokaji is great with rich foie gras, since neither the food nor the wine will fall by the wayside. Do you dare to pair sweet wine with fish? Make sure it’s a lighter sweet wine, like Moscato d’Asti, in light of the dish’s delicacy.

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