White peaches and Muscat de Frontignan

Last week we were in the south of France where, bizarrely, it wasn't as hot as it's been in England the past couple of days. One night we went round for supper at a neighbour's who served the simplest and most delicious dessert of white pèches de vigne with chilled Muscat de Frontignan splashed over them.

I imagine the two had been macerated together for a while as you couldn't really tell where the wine ended and the peach juice began but it was absolutely delicious.

The only snag is that it's pretty hard to get peaches that are ripe and juicy enough to pull this trick in the average UK supermarket, Marks and Spencer's possibly apart but you should be able to find them at a decent greengrocer's. Or if you're on holiday in France or Italy - or anywhere else where peaches get properly ripe - do try it there.

Image © Orlando Bellini - Fotolia.com

Red wine and peaches

The peaches are so fabulous here in Arles, so gorged with sweet, ripe juice that we’re eating them almost daily. One great way to serve them which I was reminded about the other night when we dined at a local restaurant, Le Corazon is with red wine - just as good as the better-known pears in red wine.

They turned them into a roast peach crumble with a vin chaud (mulled wine) sauce which was a great idea for a dessert. But you could also simply slice up a few ripe peaches and pour over some fruity wine such as a Pinot Noir (sweetening it beforehand with a little sugar syrup if you feel it needs it). It’s a favourite Italian combination.

Red wine also goes well with other fruits, especially strawberries and orange. Another interesting combination I had at a restaurant yesterday, L’Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel, was Ossau Iraty (a Basque sheeps’ cheese) served with an orange compote instead of the more usual cherry one they favour in south-west France. The combination wasn’t totally convincing on its own but was great with a glass of accompanying red wine, a Château de L’Ermitage Costières de Nîmes, they offered us. I’ll be writing more about their very intriguing vegetable- and fruit-based menu later this week.