Wine and Dessert Pairings
Updated July 19th 2023
Wine and dessert pairings can be incredible. Port wine, Sauternes, Muscat, Riesling, Champagne... There are many delicious sweet wines that pair perfectly with desserts. In this guide we give recommendations for great wine and dessert pairings.
When it is time for dessert after a nice dinner, do you switch to coffee or tea? Consider serving a dessert wine instead. Wine is a great alternative and can be amazingly good with dessert if paired correctly. Keep reading to learn more about how to balance the sweetness in the wine and the dessert.
General rules for pairing wine & desserts
When it comes to choosing the best wine for your dessert, you should consider a sweet wine. The sweetness in the wine will match the sugar in the dessert. Before looking into the different categories of desserts, there are a few general rules you need to keep in mind:
- A darker dessert usually requires a darker wine
- The wine should be sweeter than the food
- The flavors of the wine should match the flavors of the food
You can read more in our guide about how to choose wine for desserts.
Wine with Chocolate & Caramel desserts
Chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, chocolate bar, truffles…. The list of popular chocolate and caramel desserts is long. Portuguese Port wine is the most classic pairing with chocolate. Almost all Port wines pair well with chocolate, but to find the best port and chocolate pairing you should take the wine’s sweetness into consideration. The rule of thumb is to always choose a wine that is sweeter than the dessert.
You can also pair dry wines with chocolate and caramel desserts, but remember that a glass of dry red wine can taste bitter with chocolate (especially with dark chocolate). This is because of the tannins found in both wine and chocolate. If you still want a dry red wine, make sure to pick one with rich berry fruit flavors. Great wine pairings with chocolate desserts are:
- Milk chocolate with Tawny Port or Ruby Port. Pinot Noir is a good alternative for those who prefer dry red wines.
- Dark chocolate with LBV Port or Vintage Port. Zinfandel or Sherry also pair well with dark chocolate.
- Chocolate with fruit or nuts with Vintage Port or Zinfandel.
- Chocolate with caramel or salty nuts with Tawny Port or Madeira.
- White chocolate with White Port or a fruity rosé wine. An off-dry Riesling is also a good choice.
- Chocolate cake with Ruby Port.
- Chocolate mousse with Brachetto d’Acqui, Sherry or Shiraz.
- Banoffee pie with off-dry Riesling or Madeira.
- Peanut butter pie with Madeira or Pinot Noir.
Wine with Vanilla & Custard desserts
Mild, buttery and sweet vanilla desserts pair well with white wines, including sparkling wine. Classic pairings with vanilla desserts are:
- Crème brûlée with Sauternes.
- Tiramisu with a slightly sweet sparkling like Prosecco Secco, Champagne Demi-Sec or Asti Spumante. Read more about sparkling wine sweetness levels here.
- Ice-cream (vanilla, hazelnut or chocolate) with Vin Santo or Muscat.
- Pannacotta with Muscat.
- Cheesecake with off-dry Riesling, late harvest Sauvignon Blanc or a Zinfandel Rosé. A Prosecco Rosé is also a good choice if it is a cheesecake with lots of berries.
Wine with Fruity & Spicy desserts
Many desserts contain fruit, berries and different types of spices like cardamom and cinnamon. Fruit and spices influence the choice of wine for desserts. In general, a wine with high acidity is good choice for this type of dessert because the acidity cuts through the sweetness and fruitiness of the dessert. Some classic pairings are:
- Apple pie with Gewürztraminer or a slightly sweet Riesling (Kabinett, Spätlese, and Auslese).
- Lemon meringue pie with Riesling or a late harvest Viognier, Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc. These wines have citrus-y flavors that complement the lemon in the dessert.
- Berry dessert with a slightly sweet rosé wine or a sparkling rosé. The delicate berry notes from the wines matches with the flavors of the dessert.
- Fruity ice-cream with Zinfandel rosé, Riesling or Prosecco Rosé.
- Pumpkin pie with Tawny Port or sweet Chenin Blanc.
- Cookies with Prosecco Dolce or Champagne Doux.
- Banana dessert with Tawny Port or Sauternes.
With with a Cheese Platter
This guide focuses on sweet desserts, but it is also common to eat cheese after the meal. For a mixed cheese platter, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir are good pairings.
Tips! We recommend you to read our detailed guide about wine and cheese pairing. There you will find the perfect wine for many different types of cheeses.
Enjoy your wine and dessert!
