Pairings | Sweet

The best food pairings for Sauternes

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on July 20 2019 at 06:39

Sauternes is a famously luscious sweet wine from the Bordeaux region of France but what kind of food should you pair with it? This post deep dives into what you should eat with Sauternes, both sweet and savoury.

The French would immediately say either foie gras or Roquefort - two savoury pairings for Sauternes and Barsac that may or may not appeal to you (not me, in the former case, because I don’t - or try not to - eat foie gras).

There’s also a history in the region of pairing Sauternes with poultry. “Poultry of all kinds marries well with sweet wines; one of the most famous dishes of the region is roast chicken liberally basted with Sauternes, and then served with a bottle of the same wine” writes Jill Norman in an archive post on Sweet Bordeaux and Savoury Food you might find interesting.

Sauternes producers often match their wines with Chinese and other Asian dishes such as lacquered pork to broaden its appeal but while these pairings can undoubtedly work it generally takes a skilled chef working with a specific wine to make it risk-free.

What about pairing Sauternes with desserts though? Oddly the French don’t seem too keen on the idea though to me it makes perfect sense especially with fresh fruit.

So here are my top pairings which are by and large quite simple. The same sort of pairings would work with other sweet wines from the region such as Cadillac and, Loupiac though the latter don’t have the same intensity (more of a problem with savoury dishes than with sweet ones).

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Tags: blue cheese Roquefort foie gras creme brulée pineapple strawberries nectarines peaches dessert wine Loupiac Cadillac barsac sauternes drink:sweet & fortified wines

Comments: 2 (Add)

Alicia on September 6 2019 at 20:28

One NYE I made Butter'd Orange, a 17th Century orange custard with a hint of rosewater, for dessert. We had it with sauternes. It was absolutely sublime. My mum serves Chateau d'Yquem with a tarte tatin every year for my stepfather's birthday. Also brilliant, so I can see how your pineapple upside down cake idea would work with that slightly burnt caramellyness.

Peter Clayton on August 15 2018 at 12:40

Some years ago, I enjoyed a wine tasting and dinner at Chateau Guiraud. Our dinner began with foie gras, served in different ways, followed by a dish of veal in a creamy sauce, cheese and strawberries to finish. The only wines served with this meal were the various vintages of Ch. Guiraud, tasted earlier. We were encouraged to find the best match for each dish and the richness and intensity of the wines complemented the first three courses very well. Only with the strawberries did I find that the wine overpowered the food, but it was February!

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