6 perfect pairings for pumpkin pie

if you’re planning to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving here are some great wine and other pairings to serve with it.

Pumpkin pie tends to be very sweet and often a little bit spicy which means that it will overwhelm a lot of lighter dessert wines so you might as well go for broke and serve something equally luscious.

Think fortified wines rather than conventional dessert wines ...

Australian Liqueur muscat

So what could be better than a treacley Australian liqueur muscat otherwise known as a sticky? Stanton & Killeen do a great Rutherglen Muscat or try De Bortoli’s Show Liqueur Muscat.

Aussie ‘port’

The Aussies also make great tawny-port style wines which are a sweeter and less woody than the traditional Portuguese versions. Try the utterly delicious Grant Burge Old Boys tawny (also a great match for Stilton if you’re thinking ahead to Christmas) or Bleasdale’s The Wise One tawny.

Dark cream or sweet oloroso sherry

Delectable raisiny sherry is also a great match for pumpkin pie - and incredibly good value. Your local supermarket should have an own-label one. Sweet malmsey madeiras and marsala dolce will do a similar job.

Sweet riesling

If you find these suggestions just too sweet or if your pie is made in a lighter style like Rowley Leigh’s version here you could go for the contrasting acidity of a late harvest riesling. Or try a French muscat like St Jean de Minervois.

Barley wine

. . .which is not wine but a strong sweet beer - absolutely brilliant with pumpkin pie. Try J W Lees Harvest Ale.

and finally . . . a tot of rich, sweet dark rum

In fact a spiced rums would work particularly well - The Kraken Black Spiced rum would be a great colour contrast for Hallowe’en. Serve in small shot or liqueur glasses.

Here’s my own recipe for a roast pumpkin and pecan pie together with some other suggestions for Hallowe’en entertaining if you’re not having to trick or treat!

Photo ©leekris - Fotolia.com

The best wine and liqueur pairings for a chocolate yule log

A chocolate yule log or ‘buche de Noël has become an increasingly popular dessert at Christmas but what kind of wine should you pair with it?

As usual with chocolate it depends how intense the flavour is and what the log is filled with.

A simple shop-bought log filled with whipped cream or a light buttercream doesn’t need as powerful a wine as a rich home-made one with, say, a chestnut filling.

You may of course feel that a sweet wine is over the top with something that’s already incredibly sweet and that you’d rather have a cup of black coffee or tea with it. But it is Christmas and I suspect most of you probably won’t!

Here’s what I’d suggest:

* For a shop-bought log I’d go for a Brachetto d’Acqui - a sweet, gently fizzy Italian red wine that isn’t too high in alcohol. If you’re serving it with fresh berries you could even serve a sparkling rosé or rosé champagne

* With a slightly richer homemade log with a chocolate cream filling you could try a stronger sweet red wine such as a recioto della Valpolicella, Maury or a black muscat like Elysium. If it’s flled with boozy cherries try a vintage character or late bottled vintage port.

* With a log with orange in the sponge or filling like this chocolate and clementine log try an orange muscat, Passito di Pantelleria, a lovely marmaladey dessert wine from an island off the coast of Sicily or a South African straw wine. Or you could serve an iced shot of Cointreau

* With a rich chocolate and chestnut yule log like this rather delicious-sounding version from Felicity Cloake I’d go for a dark cream sherry or sweet oloroso sherry, sweet madeira or Australian liqueur muscat

* If there are nuts or Nutella on or in your log as in this recipe try a tawny port or, if it includes almonds, a glass of amaretto.

What I personally wouldn’t go for:

Sauternes or similarly citrussy dessert wines - simply because I’d rather have orange flavours than lemony ones with chocolate. Ordinary non-vintage champagne because it’s too dry (though a demi-sec champagne would be fine with lighter recipes) and Asti because it’s a bit too light. But if you disagree go for it!

What other drinks have you enjoyed with a Yule log?

You may also find these other suggestions for what to drink with Christmas desserts useful:

Wine matches for Christmas pudding

Wine matches for mince pies

Wine matches for trifle

Photo © noirchocolate - Fotolia.com