L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano F or those who rel- ish serious din- i n g , e s p e c i a l l y during the holi- d a y s , t h e r e a r e three basic steps to bring an enjoyable meal to a fulfill- ing finish: make room for a t e m p t i n g d e s s e r t ; s i p a soothing post-meal wine like Sherry or Port; match the dessert with the wine. T h e l a t t e r p o s e s t h e biggest challenge, yet offers the most satisfaction. Mis- matching any type of dessert with any style of wine can put a damper on what starts out as a celebratory lunch or din- ner. To help you make the right d e c i s i o n , c o n s i d e r t h e s e guidelines: as the color of the dessert gets darker, so should the color of the wine. The wine should be as sweet as t h e d e s s e r t , w i t h e n o u g h acidity for balance. For more tips on wine- d e s s e r t m a t c h u p s , w e reached out to the experts: chefs, cookbook authors and wine specialists, who develop proven wine-food pair- ings. Our search begins with r e n o w n e d J a m e s B e a r d Award winner, former Food Network host and dessert impresario Gale Gand. Also a cookbook author and culi- nary instructor, she recom- mends focusing on different d e s s e r t c a t e g o r i e s w h e n selecting wine: custard and vanilla, f r u i t a n d s p i c e s a n d c a r a m e l a n d c h o c o l a t e . H e r e ' s h e r g u i d e t o w i n e p a i r i n g f o r e a c h o f t h e s e groups: Custard and vanilla both express light, mild, buttery flavors. Suggested wines are whites like late-harvest Ries- ling and sparklers such as demi-sec Champagne and Asti Spumante. F r u i t a n d s p i c e s , w i t h notes of apples, pears and cinnamon. Recommended are whites like late-harvest Gewirtztraminer, Sauternes and pink Champagne. Multi-flavored desserts should be paired with Port and Champagne. C a r a m e l a n d c h o c o l a t e with rich, dark, buttery tones s h o u l d g o w i t h r o s é s l i k e Pinot Noir, Banyuls, Aus- t r a l i a n S h i r a z , G r e n a c h e , Port and Champagne. F r o m G a n d w e t u r n t o Francine Segan, food his- torian, wine writer, cook- b o o k a u t h o r a n d r e g u l a r guest on the Food Network, Discovery and History net- works, and an authority on Italian cuisine. "There are several differences on how m a n y I t a l i a n s p e r c e i v e dessert compared to people in the US and elsewhere," she noted. "Italians general- ly linger at the table follow- ing a meal to chat and nibble on nuts or fruit, " said Segan. "Desserts are served with wine such as Port, Sherry or sparkling, but never with c o f f e e o r t e a . " S h e o f f e r s t h r e e f a c t o r s t o c o n s i d e r when choosing dessert wine: acidity (acidic wine pairs best with fruit that likewise has natural acidity); intensi- t y ( t h e m o r e i n t e n s e t h e dessert flavor, the bolder the wine); sweetness (dessert wine should be sweeter than the dessert itself). E d u c a t i o n a l r e s o u r c e Wine Folly identifies five t y p e s o f d e s s e r t w i n e : s p a r k l i n g , s l i g h t l y s w e e t , richly sweet, red and forti- fied. Each is produced with extra sweet grapes in which the fermentation process is d i s c o n t i n u e d b e f o r e t h e yeast turns the grapes into alcohol. An example is Mus- cat Blanc, made with grapes much older, for instance, t h a n t h o s e i n C a b e r n e t Sauvignon. When shopping for bub- bly wine, Wine Folly advises you to choose from these words on the label: demi-sec (French for off-dry), amabile (Italian for slightly sweet), semi-secco (Italian for off- d r y ) , d o u x a n d m o l l e u x ( F r e n c h f o r s w e e t ) a n d dolce/dulce (Italian or Span- ish for sweet). Another term that pops up occasionally in wine con- versation is "Ice Wine." A dessert in itself, this wine is rare and expensive for two reasons: it occurs only in years when vineyards freeze a n d t h e g r a p e s m u s t b e picked and pressed while they are still frozen, usually in the middle of the night. Ice wine is commonly pro- duced in colder climates like C a n a d a , G e r m a n y a n d S w i t z e r l a n d , m o s t l y w i t h Riesling or Vidax grapes. F r u i t c o m p a t i b l e w i t h late-harvest wine Our pairing journey con- tinues with a stop at Food a n d W i n e M a g a z i n e , which claims that fruit tarts engage nicely with late-har- vest wines, regardless of the season. Late-harvest trans- lates into wine made from grapes left on the vines past the normal picking times to increase sugar levels. Sug- gested pairings: Cheesecake with fruit or berries, fruit tarts, carrot cake and chocolate all har- m o n i z e w i t h l a t e - h a r v e s t whites like Airfield Estates Riesling, Northwest Totem Cellars Elerding Voigner and Covey Run Reserve. Reds that work well include Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandel and St. Supery Moscato. Apple pie, buttery-crusted pastries, pumpkin pie and E n g l i s h t o f f e e c a n b e m a t c h e d w i t h s u c h s w e e t sparklers as Mumm Napa Cuvee, domain Ste. Michelle and Schramsberg Cement demi-sec. A l l t h i n g s c h o c o l a t e , p e c a n p i e a n d m o c h a a r e perfect partners with Eos Zinfandel Port and Robert H a l l V i n t a g e P o r t . B o t h wines contain a tasty blend of chocolate, coffee, licorice, cherries and herbs. Finally, a visit to Spoon University, an online edu- cational organization with a mission to instruct the next generation of cooks and oth- e r s i n v o l v e d i n t h e f o o d industry. Research studies of wine-dessert combinations have resulted in these find- ings: Chocolate chip cookies go b e s t w i t h f r u i t y r e d s l i k e Barefoot Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon. Oatmeal raisin cookies pair well with Pinot Noirs like Woodridge Mondavi. Vanilla cake tastes better when teamed with classic Chardonnays like Flop. Red Velvet cake is a nat- ural fit with red velvet wine like Cupcake Vineyards. Chocolate cake is compli- mented by the pronounced flavor of Woodridge Mon- davi Cabernet Sauvignon. Cheesecake teams up well with Sherry. Tiramisù is hard to resist when paired with Andre Brut Champagne. S o r b e t b e c o m e s e x t r a refreshing with Barefoot Cel- lars Pink Moscato. C h o c o l a t e i c e c r e a m i s especially toothsome when served with Red Decadence Chocolate Wine. Apple pie is a palate pleas- e r w h e n a c c o m p a n i e d b y Barefoot Cellars Pink Mosca- to. Dark chocolate is particu- l a r l y d e l e c t a b l e w h e n matched with robust Bare- foot Cellars Zinfandel. M i s m a t c h i n g w i n e a n d dessert can spoil an other- wise delectable meal, espe- cially during the holidays. Follow these guidelines to p a i r t h e r i g h t w i n e w i t h s w e e t s t o a s s u r e a g r a n d finale to every dinner. CHUCK PECORARO Wines and desserts: do you know how to pair them to perfection? (Photo: Nomadsoul1/Dreamstime) How to match wine with dessert LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TRADITIONS

• Cover