Did Someone Say Dessert?

By Susan Valentine

Desserts have always been high on my priority list. In fact, I subscribe to the theory that one should always have dessert first, then if you have any leftover calories to account for – go ahead and have dinner!

It doesn’t take a special holiday to explore what should be part of everyone’s afterdinner (or before-dinner, if you are like me) experience – the dessert wine.

“Who has time for that?”, you ask. Well, maybe not on the weekday evenings, when you barely have time to clear the dishes, the kids need homework help, you haven’t figured out what to wear the next day, and you’ve got an important 8 AM meeting with your boss. Then dessert wine is probably not on your radar.

But on a less-stressful weekend, when friends and family arrive and it feels wonderful to stay just a little longer at the table, to talk and savor the moment – the time may be right. Especially when, lo and behold, someone brings a great dessert! Pairing desserts with wine can be fun and add that “special finish” to the occasion.

Now when it comes to dessert, our first thought naturally is of sweetness. That’s because our taste buds recognize “sweet” first. But that is only a first layer. We then recognize spicy, savory, sour, salty, and bitter. And desserts come in all these other flavor sensations as well. Sure, we all think of the rich, pure chocolate cake (which we will get to), but let’s also explore other flavors common in desserts and their possible wine pairings:

Citrus, such as mandarin sorbet, key lime pie, lemon tart: Try a semi-sweet Riesling, nice and cold. A light, floral Muscat is great to pair with this, too.

Desserts with fruit and fruit-flavors: Fruit wines are naturals here, and the Hudson Valley wineries offer many fabulous wines from peaches, pears, blueberries, apples, and more. Fruit wines are great with ice cream too!

Caramel: The winner here is a Tawny Port, as it stand up to, and compliments, the caramelized sugar.

Fresh fruit and nuts: Ruby Port, which is a young, fruit-foward fortified wine. One should always have this one on hand! It works well with soft cheeses too.

And finally, chocolate! Two wines that work wonderfully with chocolate are also classic dinner wines, Shiraz and Zinfandel, so you can just continue drinking these wines through dessert. Fruit wines, especially strawberry ones are also delightful with chocolate. The classic however, is Port. Ruby and Tawny Ports are lovely, but Vintage Port, if the occasion warrants, is the ultimate pairing.

Now in my book, you can’t ever get enough chocolate. So when I discovered a Chocolate Port, right here in the Hudson Valley, well things just couldn’t get any better – it’s also perfect as a stand-alone dessert!

Spring means finally getting back outside, especially after the dread of this past winter, and it’s a perfect opportunity to explore the possibilities of dessert wines at our local wineries. Just be sure to pack some chocolate for the ride!

Susan Valentine has been a student of wine for over 15 years. Having studied at WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) she has also spent considerable time exploring the vineyards of Italy, Napa, and the Hudson Valley. Her newest venture, EventPlannerHudsonValley.com is an event planning site featuring the only comprehensive Hudson Valley event calendar.