The desserts for tonight were provided by the CIA's very own "Baking & Pastry." The delicacies included (left to right, top row first): Dried fruit (fig, apricot, cherries), Pecan Cake, Chocolate Souffle cake, Chantilly Cream, Lemon Pound Cake, Peach Cobbler, and Something-Really Good Cake without a name.
Other sweet accompaniments included grilled pineapple, Maldon salt, caramel, orange segments, berry coulis, and candied orange rind. Not to be left out of the sweet wine pairing, two cheeses were included, Abbaye du Belloc (sheep cheese) and a St. Agur (blue cheese).
Now let's talk about the wines (left to right):1. Robert Mondavi Moscato D'oro, 2006 Napa Valley: a very floral, citrusy sweet wine but isn't syrupy. Suggestions for dessert pairings run across the board, but I found the Lemon Pound Cake to match the character of the wine flawlessly!
2. Quady Elysium 2007, California Black Muscat: incredible nose of red raspberry, stone fruits, and a perfume similar to a fresh rose. This wine was very interesting and surprisingly drinkable. Hands down match with the raspberry coulis.
3. Carmes de Riussec Sauterness 2004: SAUTERNESS!!! What more can you say? I love these little Bordeux-esque wines. It was very versatile with the desserts. The peach cobbler, caramel sauce, and candied orange all were good matches. The best match for me was the Chocolate Souffle Cake topped with the Chantilly cream. Maybe even add a little caramel topping to finish it off!
4. Pedro Ximenez Hartley & Gibson. Jerez, Spain, Sherry: Either you love of hate Sherry. Their is not much middle ground with this fortified wine. I tend to dislike them a little as the high alcohol content makes them a little harsh on my palate. Other than the caramel sauce, I thought the Abbaye du Belloc cheese was the winner with this wine.
5. Graham Late Bottled Vintage Porto 2003: Port is the king of dessert wines. It matches almost everything, if you like port. Sweet berries, dark spices, mocha, chocolate. And once again, especially caramel!
6. Blandy's 10 Year Malmsey Madeira: Very unique taste that conquered the pungentness of the blue cheese and was a great match with the grilled pineapple............that was drizzled with caramel!
So, the moral of the dessert and wine pairing story is..........enjoy either your chocolate-based, fruit-based, or ice cream dessert with a little bit of caramel on top for a pleasurable, and sweet end to your meal.
1 comment:
Sherry can be created as a
dessert wine or a cheese wine, The two main types of sherry are the pale, dry fino/manzanilla and the dark, full, dry oloroso sherry. Thanks for this post.
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