Everything you need for the perfect Icewine Appetizer – Foie Gras, Mini Toasts and Onion Confit.
It is the time of year when we go to the wine rack and blow the dust off the bottle of Icewine that we got last year and get ready to either re-wrap and re-gift it, or we prepare to open it with dessert during out Christmas spread only to be greeted with cringes and comments on the fact that the wine is “Too Sweet”.
Even though called a dessert wine the name doesn’t mean you have to serve it with your dessert. When you pair sweet with sweet your mouth is set for an overload of sugar. You are essentially amplifying the sugar in both the wine and the food when you serve it this way. I am here to help you re-discover Icewine!
Two things to keep in mind with Icewine is the fact that it is very sweet. The second, is that it is thicker than regular table wine so it essentially coats your mouth. To find your ideal food pairing you need to keep both these things in mind. What is the best way to tackle sweet and syrupy? How about with delicious salty appetizers. You don’t even need to over complicate things when it comes to pairing food with your Icewine at the start of your meal.
Charcuterie – A great pair for Icewine are meats like Prosciutto, Mild Salami or smoked Ham. The idea with pairing these meats is simply having some salt in your mouth to cut through the sweetness of the wines.
Cheese – The perfect way to cut through the syrupy texture is with other food that coats your mouth like cheese. Blue Cheese, Old Cheddar or any Smoked Cheese will all cut right through the sugar and amplify the natural flavours from the grapes that are often overlooked.
Foie Gras – This certainly isn’t the most economical option for your food pairings but it is Christmas. Foie Gras and Sauternes is a traditional pairing in France (Sauternes is a sweet wine produces in Bordeaux) it makes perfect sense to bring this classic wine and food pairing to Canada. If you don’t feel like dropping the cash on foie gras you can also serve Pâté, Liverwust or Pork Terrine.
If you’re looking for something different to serve you can always pick up the Framboise from Southbrook. Made with Raspberries it is sweet like Icewine with nice natural acidity from the fruit to add a little balance to the wine.
Here is a list of a few Icewines recently released through vintages (http://tmblr.co/ZZ_vXw1Wilizs)
2013 Pondview Vidal Icewine – Vintages 390351 – $18.95
2013 Cave Spring Riesling Icewine – Vintages 447441 – $49.95
2013 Henry of Pelham Cabernet Icewine – Vintages 672402 – $39.95
2012 Reif Vidal Icewine – Vintages 544791 – $24.95
NV Southbrook Framboise – Vintages 341024 – $15.95
