What wine - if any - goes with ice cream?

It’s not impossible to pair wine with ice cream but it’s not easy. And there are other drinks that match better.

First wine. What’s the problem? Well in addition to being sweet, ice cream is - er - icy so tends to strip the flavour out of sweet wines. One exception is unctuous sticky PX (Pedro Ximenez) sherry which is not only good with ice cream (preferably vanilla or rum and raisin) but on it.

Also if ice cream is served as part of a dessert especially a warm dessert like an apple pie or crumble it warms it up and makes it less difficult to match. In fact you're best to match the dessert rather than the ice cream. See the best pairings for apple desserts.

But in general it’s better to turn to liqueurs which are super-sweet and syrupy themselves. For example:

Cherry brandy with a cherry (or raspberry) ripple ice cream

Apricot brandy with apricot or peach ice cream

Salted caramel liqueur with praline (or other nut) ice cream

Amaretto with an almond semi-freddo

Fragolino (wild strawberry liqueur) with strawberry ice cream

A coffee liqueur (or an espresso martini!) with chocolate icecream

And if you want to experience something really left-field try this pairing of tonka bean ice cream with Pacharan (aniseed-flavoured Basque liqueur) I had a while back.

So basically enhance the flavour of the ice cream with a similar liqueur.

It works with sorbets too - think how good frozen vodka is poured over a lemon sorbet or of sipping a rhubarb gin with a rhubarb sorbet. A lot of fruit flavoured gins (which are essentially liqueurs) are sweet enough to go with a sorbet or ice cream.

You could of course just take the view that ice cream is enough of a treat as it is and that you don’t really need a shot of liqueur on top. Oh, go on then, if you must. I won’t tell!

Photo © MaraZe at shutterstock.com

What wine goes with Easter eggs?

I wouldn’t want you to agonise too much about which wine to pair with Easter eggs - it’s most likely a question of what’s conveniently to hand but you don’t need me to tell you that Easter eggs are sweet so you need a wine with a corresponding touch of sweetness.

And also bubbles. Easter is a celebration of spring after all. Champagne is a bit dry for me but undeniably celebratory and if it’s what you have open you go for it. Prosecco, especially rosé prosecco, is better especially with inexpensive milk chocolate eggs (the best kind!)

Then there are the strong sweet wines that work with chocolate, port, sherry and particularly at this time of year, Marsala

Or, if you’re thinking outside wine, a liqueur or fruit-flavoured gin ...

The best wines to drink with an Easter egg

Brachetto d’Aqui

This light, sweet red Italian sparkling wine is perfect with Easter eggs but not easy to get hold of, especially at the last minute

Prosecco

Prosecco comes into its own at Easter, I reckon, especially the new rosé proseccos. (Also great with Colomba di Pasqua, the Easter version of panettone.)

What sort of food to pair with prosecco?

Asti

If you’ve a sweet tooth go for Asti or, even better Moscato d’Asti

Young ruby port

Maybe a touch strong but if you’ve got a good dark chocolate egg …Or chilled pink port (anathema i know to some port lovers!) with a milk chocolate egg. For some reason marsala (dolce rather than secco) is better

A full-bodied fruity red - especially with a dark chocolate egg

Not too old, not too oaky, lots of lush ripe fruit. Think shiraz or malbec.

Pale cream sherry

Also chilled. (Sceptical? Check out my ebook 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Sherry!)

And - not wine but great if you have a sweet tooth - cream liqueurs especially salted caramel liqueurs, orange liqueurs (like a liquid Terry’s chocolate orange), limoncello (it’s spring!) and gin liqueurs especially rhubarb and raspberry flavoured ones. (OK, I DID say if you have a sweet tooth …)

Happy Easter!

See also

15 Easter wine pairings to learn by heart

101 Great Ways to Enjoy Chocolate and Wine

Photo By Africa Studio at shutterstock.com

The 4 best wine pairings for a classic Pancake Day pancake

If you live in the UK and are enjoying pancakes this week it’s most likely the classic kind, simply topped with lemon juice and a sprinkling of crunchy sugar. But what to drink with them?

A combination of sweet and sour is never that easy to handle in wine terms. The sweetness can make accompanying whites (I doubt if we're even thinking of reds here) taste thin and tart.

So a sweet wine I reckon and, even better, a sparkling one . . .

* Moscato has to be the number one candidate. Widely available, off-dry to sweet (like Asti), low in alcohol, it’s just perfect with a sugar and lemon pancake. Authentic Moscato d’Asti is the tops if you can lay your hands on one.

* Prosecco would be my next choice. Most have a touch of sweetness, some (usually the cheaper ones) more than others. Check the back label.

* If you want something a bit more offbeat and have a good wine merchant nearby see if they have a Clairette de Die a delicious fragrant sparkling wine from the Rhône.

* or for a sweet wine I’d go for a late harvest or Beerenauslese riesling. Rieslings have a high level of acidity that can cope with the lemon juice - better than sweet wines like Sauternes or late harvest Sauvignons whose citrussy flavours will be wiped out by the lemon on the pancakes.

* A good cup of tea. Probably the most likely option if you’re making them for the kids, if truth be told. And better with this type of pancake than coffee (think tea and lemon).

For wine pairings with other types of pancakes see here.

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The best wine and liqueur pairings for trifle

There’s no doubt about it, trifle is tricky when it comes to drink pairings. If it includes booze already do you serve more on the side? And what kind of booze should that be?

Now that there are so many types of trifle one drink match isn’t going to fit all.

Some trifles are light - custardy and creamy - others much richer and more intense in flavour. Read the recipe carefully before you decide on your wine, liqueur or other drink match - you may find the clue in the ingredients.

Whatever drink you choose I suggest serving it in small glasses or shot glasses as most trifles have some element of alcohol already

A ready-bought trifle with jelly, custard and cream. No booze

A sweet sparkler like a moscato d’Asti would be perfect with this, as I've highlighted in my post of top Christmas wine pairings. Or the inexpensive sweet red Italian sparkling wine Brachetto d’Acqui.

A classic sherry trifle such as this one

Depends how boozy it is but more sherry is obviously an option - though you could try a light cream sherry (like Crofts) rather than a dark one. Orange flavours work well with sherry too so you could try an orangey flavoured sweet wine like a Passito di Pantelleria or an orange liqueur which is also what you might try with an . . .

. . .orangey trifle

If the trifle is already quite intensely flavoured you could create a contrast by serving an ice-cold shot of Cointreau. Or go for a sweet dark sherry or madeira.

A trifle with berries

Photo by Marcelo Verfe

Work round the berry flavours. For instance a raspberry liqueur with a raspberry trifle or a limoncello as a contrast to this Nigella recipe which includes blackberries and blackcurrant jam. With a strawberry trifle try the delicious, strawberry-scented ratafia di fragola if you can find it. And see also Brachetto d’Acqui, above.

A rhubarb trifle

Provided it doesn’t contain too much booze of its own go for a chilled Sauternes or similar sweet Bordeaux or late harvest sauvignon or semillon. A rhubarb vodka - or a cocktail based on one - would also be good

Chocolate and cherry trifle

I’m not sure I really regard chocolate trifle as a proper trifle but many do. I’d focus on the cherries for the match - a cherry brandy, for example would go well with this Nigella recipe or with Delia’s Cheat’s Chocolate Trifle. Lidl does an inexpensive one - or did last year. If you don’t have any to hand try a young ruby port or, if you prefer a less sweet pairing, a cherry-flavoured beer.

Banana trifle e.g. Delia’s butterscotch and banana trifle

Muscats tend to go well with banana - try an Australian liqueur muscat with this.

You may also find this post 20 Christmas wine pairings to learn by heart useful.

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