Match of the week

Christmas cake and Rutherglen muscat

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on December 14 2020 at 08:41

Funny, isn’t it, how there are lots of pairings for mince pies but few for Christmas cake. Maybe that’s because we tend to eat it mid-afternoon well before wine o’clock but that could equally apply to Christmas pudding for which I also have plenty of recommendations.

Anyway this week I discovered a new match for Christmas cake following a wonderful Rutherglen muscat tasting. As you may know Rutherglen muscat comes from Australia - specifically the state of Victoria - and is a deep, rich, unctuous dessert wine that tastes like… er… liquid Christmas cake.

Does that make it too similar? Oddly not, especially if you have a sweet tooth. I particularly liked the Stanton & Killeen which is available from indies such as South Downs Cellars with it* though the Campbells (available in Waitrose for £12.99) would be great too.

The other good option would be a cream sherry but Rutherglen muscat is so unctuously raisiny and treacly in consistency that it feels like a particularly festive treat. (And is why it’s known as a ‘sticky’)

Just a sip - nothing wrong with that at 4 in the afternoon on a dark December afternoon, is there?

Obviously the match applies to other rich fruit cakes too.

Image by pixel1 from Pixabay

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