Wine (and other) pairings for peaches and nectarines

Being surrounded by peaches and nectarines at the moment has reminded me what a brilliant match they are for a glass of dessert wine. And, surprisingly, even for a red!

Peaches in red wine is a popular Italian dessert that’s easy to replicate with any light fruity red as I pointed out in this match of the week.

With other peach or nectarine puddings your wine choice depends on how sweet your dessert is, whether it’s served hot or cold and what it’s served with (a good dollop of cream always helps). A warm peach pie or a peach cobbler, for instance, needs a sweeter wine than a classic French peach or nectarine tart served at room temperature. But in truth with peaches and nectarines you can’t go far wrong.

Fresh or simply poached peaches or nectarines

Great with a light Moscato d’Asti or a still muscat like a Muscat de Frontignan. Other off-dry sparkling wines such as demi-sec champagne work well too, especially with white peaches

Peach sabayon

Can be served warm or cold and may include some kind of booze which could provide a steer (or do away with the need for an accompanying wine altogether) but Sauternes or other late harvest Sauvignon Blanc is a reasonably safe bet

French style peach or nectarine tart

Frankly any light dessert wine you enjoy - Sauternes, other late harvest sauvignons and semillons, Coteaux du Layon and other Loire dessert wines, late harvest Chenin, South African straw wine, late harvest riesling . . .

Grilled peaches or nectarines

As in this recipe with Greek yoghurt and honey. I’d go for Moscato or muscat again. Possibly even a rosé one.

Peach melba

The raspberry sauce muddles the situation here. You want a sweet wine with a high level of acidity like a late harvest riesling

Peach sorbet

Super-cold, near-frozen peach liqueurs, if anything

Hot peach or nectarine desserts like peach pie, peach cobbler, upside-down cakes or crumbles

Intense late harvest sauvignons like those from New Zealand ought to cope as should a late harvest chardonnay but I’d also consider a chilled peach-flavoured liqueur like Archers or Southern Comfort which tend to handle warm and hot desserts better than wine.

Peaches and nectarines can, of course also be used in savoury dishes, particularly salads, with rich cheeses such as burrata and with ham, pork and duck. With salads I’d be inclined to go for a lush white with some tropical fruit flavours - a Viognier or a Colombard, maybe. With ham and peaches I’d probably drink a rich beer like a saison and with duck and peaches an off-dry pinot gris.

The best food pairings for Sauternes

Sauternes is a famously luscious sweet wine from the Bordeaux region of France but what kind of food should you pair with it? This post deep dives into what you should eat with Sauternes, both sweet and savoury.

The French would immediately say either foie gras or Roquefort - two savoury pairings for Sauternes and Barsac that may or may not appeal to you (not me, in the former case, because I don’t - or try not to - eat foie gras).

There’s also a history in the region of pairing Sauternes with poultry. “Poultry of all kinds marries well with sweet wines; one of the most famous dishes of the region is roast chicken liberally basted with Sauternes, and then served with a bottle of the same wine” writes Jill Norman in an archive post on Sweet Bordeaux and Savoury Food you might find interesting.

Sauternes producers often match their wines with Chinese and other Asian dishes such as lacquered pork to broaden its appeal but while these pairings can undoubtedly work it generally takes a skilled chef working with a specific wine to make it risk-free.

What about pairing Sauternes with desserts though? Oddly the French don’t seem too keen on the idea though to me it makes perfect sense especially with fresh fruit.

So here are my top pairings which are by and large quite simple. The same sort of pairings would work with other sweet wines from the region such as Cadillac and, Loupiac though the latter don’t have the same intensity (more of a problem with savoury dishes than with sweet ones).

One other thing to bear in mind: the best pairing will also depend on how old a wine is - an old Sauternes needs more respectful treatment - perhaps even no food at all - than a young one. Maybe cooked rather than fresh fruit for example (see the roast pineapple suggestion below)

What to eat with Sauternes

Dessert pairings for Sauternes

Ripe peaches and nectarines

Strawberries and cream

Simple French fruit tarts - especially apple and apricot tart

Roast pineapple - maybe the perfect match for Chateau d’Yquem on one of the rare occasions I’ve drunk it. I suspect a pineapple upside down cake would be rather delicious too.

Creamy desserts such as crème brûlée and panna cotta (especially with passionfruit, mango or early season forced rhubarb - see this post on Sauternes and Rhubarb).

Mille-feuille, custard tarts and other simple patisserie

Savoury pairings for Sauternes

Foie gras - if you must - but I always think it’s hard to start a meal with a sweet wine. As a high class snack though, maybe. It will also work with similar dishes like a duck or chicken liver parfait

Sauternes and cheese pairing
Not just salty blue cheeses like Roquefort and Beenleigh Blue but, more surprisingly, washed rind cheeses like Epoisses, provided they’re not too mature and gooey.

Creamy blue cheese spreads or terrines work too as does a creamy savoury cheescake

Glazed or lacquered pork or quail

Shellfish dishes with a sweet edge such as scallops and grilled lobster (better with older vintages)

Hot/sweet Thai dishes with younger Sauternes

Savoury dishes that include tropical fruit such as duck and mango

Sweet-flavoured vegetables such as confit’d fennel, roast carrots and sweet potato can assist a Sauternes pairing with ingredients such as chicken or pork

What temperature should you serve Sauternes?

The ideal serving temperature for Sauternes and similar sweet Bordeaux whites is about 10-12°C (50-54°F), at the upper end of that scale for an older wine, bearing in mind a half bottle will chill more quickly than a full-size one.

You may also be interested in this post from the archives

Sweet or savoury - what is the perfect match for Sauternes?

Photo © Pascal Moulin at fotolia.com

Dry wines with fresh fruit

One of the welcome reminders of this long hot summer (in the Languedoc at least) is just how well dry wines go with fresh fruit. I’ve been happily drinking whites, ross and even reds with fruit such as peaches, apricots, melons and figs. Sweet wines, of course, go well with all of these but sometimes sweet wines seem too intense, particularly if, like me, you don’t have a very sweet tooth.

The ideal wines to pair with fruit are young unoaked - or subtly oaked - and fruity themselves. I particularly like rosé with peaches and melon, slightly aromatic wines like Viognier with both peaches and apricots and fruity lightly chilled reds such as Cinsault with strawberries, peaches and fresh figs. Riesling works well too: For reasons too complicated to go into we happened to have a bottle of Australian Tingletip Riesling to hand which went particularly well with some grapes.

I’ve also noticed how much more frequently the French offer fresh fruit for dessert than we do. Obviously they have better quality, riper fruit but also a taste - in simple restaurants at least - for less rich puddings. On our way down through France we were offered fresh peaches in verveine (lemon verbena) syrup, peaches and mint granita and fresh pineapple with basil. Any accompanying herb or some young goats' cheese will make it more likely that a dry wine will match but if the dessert includes a sweet accompaniment such as ice cream or a parfait or semi-freddo you’re more likely to need to reach for a sweeter wine.

Image by Jordan Feeg at shutterstock.com