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!

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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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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

Best pairings with sticky toffee pudding

One of the all-time favourite British desserts sticky toffee pudding is super-sweet so will overwhelm most wines you might think of pairing with it so what should you choose?

Your best bet is a sweet fortified wine like tawny port, sherry or Madeira, a beer (believe it or not!) or a whisky liqueur.

* An Australian liqueur muscat has similar toffeed flavours but you might find it just a bit too much of a good thing.

* The same goes for a sweet oloroso or cream sherry. Yummy though. One producer, Barbadillo, even produced a Sticky Pudding Wine.

* You could try a 10 year old tawny port which will be slightly nuttier. Some are sweeter than others.

* I have had (well-chilled) Canadian ice wine with STP. Amazing.

* And great suggestion from The Lemon Tree in Bishop's Stortford: Vin Santo. Haven't tried it but am sure it would work.

* For those who don’t have such a sweet tooth a ginger flavoured beer like Blandford’s Ginger Fly can be a delicious match.

* Or try a ginger wine or liqueur - either on its own or served as a Whisky Mac

* Or, if you fancy something a bit stronger, a nip of Drambuie or other whisky liqueur, a cognac or an armagnac.

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