Ice Cream And Wine Pairings: Who Thought of It?
A few months ago, I heard people sitting next to us in a restaurant talking about ice cream and wine pairings, and boy did it throw me for a loop. I’ve heard of pairing wine with cheese, wine with fruit, and wine with meals. Wine with ice cream is new to me. I guess it’s a thing these days.
Hey, boozy desserts are part of my repertoire. I can’t tell you how many cakes I’ve made booze.
Now I wonder if there’s a science involving wine and ice cream pairings.
How does one figure out the perfect union?
I did a bit of research and came up with some great tips:
When pairing wine with any kind of confection, the wine should be slightly sweeter than dessert items such as cookies, cakes, pastries, brownies, or ice cream.
Next, consider the wine’s tannins. According to vine pair.com, Tannins are naturally occurring compounds that exist inside grape skins, seeds and stems.
The scientific word for these compounds is polyphenols. Polyphenols released from the skins, seeds, and stems when they soak in the grape juice just after the grapes have been pressed and are what give certain wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, their characteristic dryness or astringency. You experience the effect of tannins any time you drink a wine that creates a drying sensation in your mouth. Depending on how dry your mouth feels, you can determine whether a wine is high or low in tannins.
A glass of red wine with high tannins can balance out a creamy savory sauce perfectly, but when you pair it with sweet food, you can end up with a bitter taste and a cotton mouth. So it’s best to seek out a wine with lower tannins.
Most wine has some acidity. Usually, acidity provides a nice balance to the food you’re eating. With ice cream, however, it can be like squeezing a lemon over your sundae.
If you have a “go-to” place where you buy your wines, ask the person behind the counter or anyone else working in the store who might know a little something about tannin and acid content in the wines you choose.
I’m no expert when it comes to wine, but I do have a trained palate to some degree when it comes to pairing herbs and spices. Hopefully that can help me when I experiment with wine and ice cream.
I love a rich creamy chocolate ice cream and berries are among my favorite toppings, so maybe a red wine with berry notes and a hint of sweetness would pair well.
My research revealed that strawberry ice cream goes well with Rosé. Coffee ice cream goes well with a robust red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon. Pistachio ice cream pairs well with Riesling. A crisp white wine is divine with a buttery vanilla ice cream.
I also found recipes online for red wine ice cream floats and milkshakes. If you’re creative enough, I guess you could pair the unlikeliest of foodstuffs. Right now I’m going to concentrate on my newfound ice cream and wine combinations.
Cheers,
Robyn
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