Christner’s Wine and Dessert Pairing Guide

The right wine pairing can enhance any dessert. The key is to find a wine that complements the flavors present in the dessert rather than pairing with this a wine that vies for attention. We’ve laid out the most popular pairings below, but that doesn’t mean our pairing suggestions are the only options.

Follow these guidelines when pairing wine and dessert at home:

• Go for a wine that is sweeter than your dessert dish to accentuate rich flavors
• Prevent clashing tastes by pairing similar flavors together
• Narrow your search to include only wines that have 50 and 150 g/L of residual sugar content

White Wine

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio is a drier wine and not generally a go-to for drinking with richer desserts. But if you just can’t get enough of your favorite Pinot, then we recommend going with desserts that aren’t too sweet. This will keep your dessert from drowning out the intricate flavors within your wine.

This means most chocolate-based desserts should be skipped. Instead, go for lighter, fruity desserts.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Crème Brûlée

Pair your Pinot Grigio with Christner’s sweet vanilla custard with a crisp caramelized sugar top.

Moscato

Moscato is a sweet, light white wine that can be delicious with the right dessert pairing. Match it up with desserts featuring fruits and hazelnuts. It’s also better paired with white chocolate over milk or dark chocolate.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Southern Style Bread Pudding

Served with whiskey butter sauce, our southern style breading pudding is perfect with a glass of Moscato.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc can range in flavor from peachy and light to more tangy and zesty. This dry wine features notes of peach, lime, and green apple. Because it is a dry wine, it’s best to pair it with lighter dessert options. This keeps this white from presenting as bitter or sour.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Sorbet

Pair your Sauvignon Blanc with Christner’s delicious sorbet served in a fruit shell.

Riesling

Riesling can be sweet or dry, generally carrying notes of citrus and green apple with it either way. This is a complex wine that needs a dessert that meshes with its fruity flavors and vibrant acidity. Riesling can enhance the subtle sweetness in desserts featuring fruits, like cobblers and pies.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Strawberries Romanoff

Our delicious, refreshing Strawberries Romanoff is complete with vanilla ice cream topped with strawberries that have been marinated in Grand Marnier and powdered sugar. A perfect match for sweet and dry Rieslings.

Red Wine

Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is more commonly served along with red meats, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be paired with desserts as well. You’ll just need to be especially careful about what you choose to pair it with.

The big and bold flavor profile Cabernet Sauvignon provides needs a dessert that can keep up with its complexity. It should be paired with rich and heavier desserts, nothing too delicate.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Chocolate Cake

Pair Cabernet Sauvignon with a slice of our large three layer chocolate cake with rich chocolate icing.

Pinot Noir

A versatile red, Pinot Noir tends to have a fruit and spiced flavor with aromas of ripe red fruit. This fruit-forward dry red pairs best with dark chocolates.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Chocolate Mousse

Going with Pinot Noir? Pair it with our decadent chocolate mousse topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Sparkling Wine

Prosecco

Many proseccos are extra-dry or Brut. Be careful about what types of desserts you pair these wines with. Remember, sweeter desserts need sweeter wines. If you’re planning for a decadent dessert go with a ‘demi-sec’ or ‘doux’ Prosecco.

Fruit tarts are ideal for less sweet Proseccos while cheesecakes are perfectly paired with a sweet Prosecco.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Mandarin Orange Cake

Our three layer mandarin orange cake is perfect for enjoying alongside Prosecco. It has sweet tropical pineapple-orange whipped cream icing and is served a la mode with orange sauce.

Rosé

This pink wine with its crisp flavor has become quite a favorite among many wine-lovers. You have a number of options when it comes to dessert pairings but you’ll need to keep one thing in mind. Rosés tend to be a dry winemaking them unsuitable for cream-based desserts. But, you can mix Rosé with chocolates for a delectable pairing.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With New York Style Cheesecake

Pair a glass of Rosé with a slice of our New York style cheesecake. This dessert is served with Chambord-infused berries.

Dessert Wine

Sherry

Sherries generally start from the Palomino grape but are then fortified through a process of maturing, cask-aging, and blending to transform it into its final form which ranges from light to dark and dry to sweet. While Sherries are varied in nature, and this will inspire your dessert pairings, you’ll want to remember one important pairing tip: You can’t go wrong with nuts when it comes to Sherry pairings.

This unique savory and nutty quality of Sherries make it great for pairing with vanilla ice cream, tiramisu, and carrot cake.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Carrot Cake

Our three layered carrot cake is iced with Philly cream chesse and pairs nicely with a glass of Sherry.

Port

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in Portugal (it can’t come from anywhere else or it isn’t a true Port). Port wines come in a variety of styles from vintage to ruby and white to tawny. If you’re looking for general Port-approved dessert pairings, we suggest rich desserts.

Christner’s Pairing Favorite

Pair With Praline Parfait

This dessert features caramelized pecas and is excellently paired with a glass of Port.

Selecting a Versatile Wine for Dessert

Serving a number of desserts or just want something versatile? We recommend Port and Champagne when pairing with any dessert. These wines are good go-to’s when you aren’t sure how to pair or you don’t know what dessert you’ll be having.

For informational purposes only.