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Craving something sweet after dinner? Puddings are the cherry on top of a delightful meal, but pairing them with the right wine? That's an art.
The goal is to balance your chosen dessert’s flavours, sweetness and textures with your wine – you want them to get along and complement each other.
In our guide to pudding wine, we’ve explored the basics and even thrown in some top dessert-wine duos to sweeten the deal for you.
Pudding wine and dessert pairings – the rules
When you’re on the hunt for that perfect pudding-wine match, keep these guidelines in mind:
Complement flavours – Match the wine’s notes to your pudding’s flavours. Got a fruity dessert? A wine with similar fruity undertones is a win. A lemon tart, for instance, works wonders with a wine with zesty hints.
Sync sweetness – Your wine should be as sweet as – or even a touch sweeter – than your dessert. Think a melt-in-the-middle chocolate pud with a lush late-harvest Riesling or a Port. If the dessert out-sweets the wine, the wine may taste flat.
Contrast intensity – With a rich and intense pudding, pick a highly acidic wine to help cut through the sweetness and provide a refreshing contrast. Opt for a sweet Riesling alongside a slice of traditional apple pie or sparkling wine with a plate of fresh fruit.
Consider textures – Look for a wine with a texture that enhances your pudding. A creamy dessert, such as a cheesecake or custard tart, might pair better with a wine with a velvety mouthfeel, while a dessert with some crunch could be matched with a sparkling wine.
Temperature matching – Serve wines and desserts at the appropriate temperatures. Cold desserts might be best with chilled dessert wines, whereas warm or hot pudding can be served with room-temperature or slightly chilled wines.
Regional pairings – Pairing desserts with wines from the same region is often a great idea, with each historically being made to complement the other. For example, an Italian tiramisu pairs well with Italian dessert wines such as Vin Santo.
Don’t overwhelm – Steer clear of very tannic reds, as they have a tendency to pick a flavour fight with puddings and desserts. And super-sweet wines? They risk overshadowing a subtle pudding, so it is best not to mix and match these.
Best pudding wines to serve with popular desserts
Apple pie
An autumnal favourite, an apple pie combines a delicious blend of stewed apples and sweet spices encased in a buttery, crumbly pastry. An Alsace Gewurztraminer (like our Edouard Leiber Gewerztraminer Réserve) has the same blend of spice aromas and a crisp finish, making it our top choice for this wine and dessert pairing. Not strictly speaking a pudding wine (it’s medium dry in style) but delicious with puddings nonetheless!
Dark chocolate torte
Rich chocolate desserts such as chocolate torte need an equally rich wine – ideally, one with plenty of body and fruit flavours to avoid either being overpowered. Some chocolate fans enjoy it paired with a rich, full-bodied red wine, and you'd be hard-pushed to beat The Black Stump. This big, full-flavoured Aussie red is packed with super-ripe black fruit – and will easily match the intensity of the richest chocolate pudding.
Pavlova
Fruity meringue desserts like Pavlova need an equally fresh and fruity wine pairing. If you like, you can match your pavlova fruit of choice with your wine’s flavour. For example, an orange and passion fruit pavlova with a glass of sweet Orange Muscat. Or if you’ve used strawberries, opt for a sweeter-style rosé like a refreshing Californian White Zinfandel.
Cheesecake
This is another food and wine pairing where you need to keep in mind the topping. If it’s a fruity cheesecake, go with a fresh, sweet German Riesling.
With a chocolate cheesecake, opt for a rich yet fruity Ruby Port. Match an Italian-style ricotta cheesecake with Moscato d’Asti. Or treat yourself to a glass of chilled Icewine with a creamy honey cheesecake. The options are endless!
Christmas pudding
Love it or loathe it, Christmas pud is a traditional part of the Christmas Day menu. It's sweet, rich and full of fruity, boozy flavours that call for some careful pairing. Your go-to Christmas pudding wine here is a fortified wine such as a Port or a Pedro Ximinéz Sherry. If you opt for Port, choose a nutty Tawny like Andresen Royal Choice 20-Year-Old Tawny Port – one of the best wines for Christmas pudding to try this year.
Chocolate mousse
Decadence in a bowl, chocolate mousse’s deep flavours need a wine that can stand up to that intensity but also complement the mousse’s light, airy texture. A Spanish Moscatel offers the perfect solution. Or, for something completely different, try L’Occhiolino, a unique sparkling Italian red wine with delicate bubbles and juicy red berry notes.
Tiramisu
Coffee and chocolate are among the most frequently requested flavour combos in the world – and a freshly made tiramisu is heaven on a plate. But it’s tricky choosing a pudding wine to match chocolate and coffee. Instead, pick a red wine with notes of dark chocolate that can hold its own against the bold espresso and cocoa flavours like an Argentinian Malbec or a Tawny Port.
Lemon Tart
Lemon tart is not the easiest to pair with wine as not only do you need to match the sweetness but also the tangy citrus flavours. What you’re looking for is a pudding wine that also has crisp, fresh acidity. This is where Riesling comes into its own. Look out for a Late Harvest Riesling, like a German Beerenauslese or head to New Zealand for the trophy-winning Seifried Estate Sweet Agnes Riesling.
Créme Brûlée
One French classic deserves another and there’s no finer match for Créme Brûlée than Sauternes. Its rich, honeyed flavours will take this simple French dessert to a whole new level. Enjoy with a glass of L’Epiphanie de Sauternes 2019 (from one of Bordeaux’s prestigious First Growth châteaux) and you’ll soon discover why it’s such a classic pairing. But be warned, one glass will not be enough!
About the author
Nikki Jacoby
Nikki has spent all her career in wine, selling it first by the spoken word, then as a writer in the publishing world, before returning to work within the Laithwaites’ copy team for most of the last 30 years. Many years ago, she passed both halves of the diploma, but the greatest education in wine has been a full immersion in it, visiting the places and talking to its many passionate producers. As a topic, it will never cease to fascinate.
