The best pairings for sweet oloroso and PX sherry

Sherry gets a bad rap for being granny’s tipple of choice but if you’ve never tried an authentic Spanish style sweet sherry you haven’t lived.

There are two main kinds: sweet olorosos (though no longer officially referred to as that) which are aged without a protective layer of flor (yeast) and which I always think taste like liquid Christmas pudding and intensely treacley PX which is made from raisined pedro ximenez grapes. And cheaper cream sherries which are sweetened olorosos.

They are, of course, delicious to sip on their own but here’s some suggested pairings

Sweet oloroso and dark cream sherries

Blue cheese such as Stilton, Dorset Blue Vinney, Gorgonzola and Cabrales, especially with grilled figs

Mature Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) or Grana Padano

Mature sheeps cheeses such as Manchego

Mince pies

Eccles cakes

Panforte

Stollen

Christmas cake

Turron (Spanish nougat)

Dried fruits such as figs, raisins and dates

Nuts, especially brazil nuts

Pecan pie and walnut tarts

Pumpkin pie

Tiramisu

Chocolate creme brulée

Chocolate chip cookies

Coffee-flavoured cakes and desserts

Barbados cream/muscovado cream (see Nigella recipe here)

Caramelised banana desserts such as banana tatin

Millionaire's shortbread (shortbread with a toffee and chocolate topping)

Bitter orange- and marmalade-flavoured cakes

Gingerbread

Game terrine (I’d generally go for a drier sherry but it can work as you can see here)

Foie gras, if you eat it.

PX sherry

Ice cream especially vanilla, rum and raisin, brown bread and salted caramel ice cream (poured over as well as drunk with)

Dark chocolate

Chocolate brownies

Chocolate sorbet as in this delicious dessert

Intense, dark chocolate tarts

 

More food and sherry matches:

• The best food pairings for dry oloroso sherry
• The best food pairings for amontillado and palo cortado
• The best food pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry

 

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.

Image copyright: HLphoto - Fotolia.com

What wine to pair with a custard tart

My assertion that custard tarts are the new cupcakes provoked such a heated exchange that I thought I’d stoke the fire by suggesting what you drink with ‘em.

By custard tarts of course I’m not referring to the traditional British version known up north as a ‘custard’ with which it would be wrong to drink anything but a strong cup of tea (with at least one sugar) but the much sexier Portuguese version now seen all over London and bakeries throughout the UK.

I reckon there are two ways to go depending on your mood and the time of day.

For a morning tart (there is something slightly risqué about that phrase) I reckon it should be coffee, preferably black

For an afternoon or evening tart, a small glass of strong, sweet wine. Port would be the obvious option, given the origins of the tart (tawny rather than ruby, I’d suggest) but other sweet wines such as oloroso or cream sherry, similar styles of montilla, malaga, madeira and orangey moscatels would be great too. (Whatever you have to hand - and if you don’t, you should. Sweet sherry is an incredible bargain.)

Posh creamy custard tarts of the kind admirably crafted by St John (and, happily nearer to home, Sam Leach of Birch in Bristol) could take a dessert wine such as a Sauternes or a lighter moscatel.

The best wine pairings with Roquefort cheese

Roquefort cheese is unusual in having such a frequently recommended wine match (Sauternes) that you may wonder if it’s worth drinking anything else but depending how you serve it there are a number of other options.

It’s actually used as often as part of a recipe as it is on its own, particularly in salads which may well mean you don’t want to start your meal with a sweet wine.

It’s also unusually salty which can have the effect of making red wines taste thin and mean.

On its own

Sauternes is king but you could also try similar sweet wines from Bordeaux or the surrounding regions such as Barsac, Saussignac, Loupiac or Monbazillac. Late harvest sauvignon blancs from elsewhere would also work. It’s also fantastic with peaty Islay whiskies like Lagavulin as you can see in this match of the week

As part of a cheeseboard

Here there are other cheeses to counterbalance its sharpness but I’d still go for something sweet rather than a dry red. A Banyuls*, Maury or Rivesaltes if you’re want to stick to French wine; an oloroso sherry or a late bottled vintage or vintage port if you want to stray further afield.

If you do want to drink red, Bordeaux is traditional though full-bodied reds from the Languedoc would be the local choice (Roquefort is made up in the plateau de Larzac). Blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot such as Meritage blends and mature Cabernet would also work.

In a salad

The most usual combination is with bitter leaves, pears and walnuts** and maybe a dressing made out of nut oil. I’d be inclined to keep your wine quite dry and even a touch oxidised if the dressing is nutty too: Savignin from the Jura would be great, or try an aged Muscadet or even a crisp fino sherry. If the dressing is lighter try an Alsace riesling.

With a steak or a burger

Cabernet is great with beef and blue cheese.

*I also discovered a Languedoc red called Palais Royal from Domaine de L’Arjolle which worked really well as you can see from this post

** You might also want to try this recipe for hot pears with Roquefort and Walnuts from TV chef Michel Roux Jr which he pairs with a Bonnezeaux, old oloroso sherry or a tawny port.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch