Wine & Sweet Treats
With the combination of pastry and noble sweet wine you can experience many a pleasurable surprise!
Facts
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Christmas biscuits
Gingerbread, Christmas stollen, fruit bread, cinnamon stars, speculoos or vanilla crescents
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0.375 litre
is the size of the small slender bottles that contain the precious Beerenauslese (BA), Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA) and Icewine
Wine and baked Christmas treats
The Advent time offers a large selection of lovingly created cookies that harmonize very well with Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese as well as ice wines and bring forth completely new taste experiences.
When choosing the right wine, it is important that it does not merely accentuate the qualities of the pastry, but also adds as broad a range of aromas of its own as possible.
Take Stollen, for instance: The candied or dried fruit it contains, such as orange, lemon or raisins, make for a great alliance with noble sweet Riesling Beerenauslese, because this wine also contains nuances of dried fruit.
And even a noble sweet Riesling still shows a lively acidity, bringing a subtle finesse to the pastry it’s served with.
Vanillekipferl, traditional vanilla crescent shaped biscuits, are a true classic among the Christmas cookies. They get richer in elegant, fragrant nuances when accompanied by a mild Pinot Blanc Auslese. This taste experience will be further intensified if a pinch of salt is used in the making of the sweet pastry. The salt is a real attractant for aromas and also has a positive role to play in the combination with wine.
Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese and ice wine are precious. That is why these varieties are mostly offered in small, 375 ml bottles. Just enough to experience magic culinary moments in an intimate setting. The aromas of these wines develop best when they are served not too well chilled and in small white wine glasses with bigger bowls.
Nothing will get in the way of a sweet alliance if you pay heed to the following suggestions:
The right wine companion for each treat
Buttergebäck
A classic and a favourite with purists, it is popular in all shapes. The subtle aromas of butter and caramel nuances make for an excellent combination with mild to sweet Pinot Blanc or Silvaner Auslese. The fruitiness of the wine adds an elegant note to the combination. If the pastry is very fluffy, a semi-dry to mild Winzersekt makes for an extraordinary and pleasant surprise as well.
Spritz cookies
Varieties such as traditional Spritzgebäck and nut macaroons are prepared with aromatic roasted hazelnuts. A suitable wine may be concentrated and powerful, in order to be the equal of the aromatic pastry. Well-aged Riesling Beerenauslese is an excellent choice.
Coconut macaroons
are masterpieces created from egg white, sugar and grated coconut. Their straightforward aroma goes very well with mild Pinot Blanc Auslese or noble sweet Beerenauslese. The elegant and sometimes nutty aroma of the wine combines beautifully with the coconut, making for a delicious alliance.
Spice cake
contains cocoa and typical warming Christmas spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. A Gewürztraminer Auslese is a harmonious companion in the full sense of the word. Full-bodied, mild to sweet red wines are interesting partners as well.
Cinnamon stars
are less sweet than many people assume. Their taste is defined by almonds and cinnamon and the decorative icing brings a sweet finish to the mix. Cinnamon stars like to be accompanied by noble sweet Pinot Gris Beerenauslese, because this wine accentuates the pastry’s tangy nuances.
Gingerbread
is a full symphony of aromas all on its own. All varieties, from honey cake to Pfefferkuchen, have their typical intense interplay of aromas in common, generated by ingredients such as cloves, coriander, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon – always with a touch of honey. A noble sweet Gewürztraminer or Scheurebe Beerenauslese corresponds perfectly with this honey nuance. The wines reflect the abundant spiciness and add a few interesting notes of their own.
Stollen
comes in several traditional varieties. Typical ingredients are candied orange and lemon peel as well as raisins – often previously pickled in rum – and grated almonds. This Christmas delicacy forms a wonderful alliance with noble sweet Riesling Beerenauslese, which also contains notes of dried fruit. However, a Marzipanstollen requires a wine companion with extra-spicy notes. This is a moment when a Gewürztraminer Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese can display all its strengths.
Fruit cake
is sheer abundance. It’s the ultimate Christmas delicacy, prepared with ingredients like dried fruit – such as apricots, prunes, figs and nuts – seasoned with brandy and garnished with maraschino cherries. A Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese beautifully reflects these typical aromas of dried fruit and harmonizes well with the fruit cake’s sweetness.
At what time of the year is the term "wine" most frequently googled?
Just before the Christmas holidays, the search queries for "wine" on Google reliably skyrocket every year. By the way: The search queries for the topic "fasting" multiply just as reliably every year shortly after Christmas.
Varietals
More recipe ideas
with honey and thyme Goat's cheese tower
with honey and thyme
- 1 großer Apfel
- 1 Rolle Ziegenkäse
- 4 Scheiben Bacon
- 4 TL Honig
- 1 TL Thymian
- 4 Blätter Eichblattsalat
- frische Zweige Thymian zum Garnieren
- nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer
Preheat the grill to the highest setting.
Fry the bacon slices without fat in a non-stick frying pan until crispy and drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Leave the rendered fat in the pan.
Wash the apple, core it with a corer and then cut it into four, approx. 1 cm thick slices. Slowly fry the apple slices in the remaining bacon fat until just cooked, using the tip of a knife to check the doneness. Place the apple slices in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with thyme and place a crispy fried bacon slice on top of each one.
Divide the goat's cheese into 4 thalers and place one thaler on each apple slice, sprinkle with thyme again and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of honey.
Bake under the grill until the cheese is lightly browned.
Serve the goat's cheese and apple tartlets on a lettuce leaf or, if you prefer, on a bed of lettuce (add a honey-flavoured dressing)
- Dornfelder (halbtrocken & feinherb)
with cinnamon and sugar Odenwald apple soufflé
with cinnamon and sugar
- 1 kg Äpfel
- 250 Gramm Semmelbrösel
- 125 Gramm Zucker
- 2 EL Butter
- 1/2 TL Zimt
- 1 Msp. gemahlene Nelken
- 50 Gramm Rosinen
- 100 ml trockener Weißwein
- 1 EL Rum
- zum Bestreuen Zimt & Zucker
Sauté the breadcrumbs, butter, spices and 2 tbsp sugar in a pan. Peel the apples and cut into slices. Sauté in white wine with rum and sugar until the liquid has almost evaporated.
<p
Fill the greased springform tin alternately with the breadcrumb mixture and apples (bottom and top layer of breadcrumb mixture).
Bake for one ½ hour at 140 °C. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
- Riesling (lieblich)
with semi-frozen goat's milk Lavender waffles
with semi-frozen goat's milk
- 2 Stück Eigelb
- 60 ml Ziegenmilch
- 500 Gramm weiße Kuvertüre
- 125 ml Sahne
- Abrieb und Saft einer halben Orange
- 2 cl Tresterbrand
- 8 Blatt Minze
- 125 Gramm Mehl
- 50 Gramm Zucker
- 70 Gramm Butter
- 2 Eier
- 1 Messerspitze Backpulver
- 1/2 EL Lavendelzucker
- 175 ml Milch
Semi-frozen goat's milk: Beat the egg yolks and goat's milk in a bowl over a hot bain-marie until creamy. Remove from the bain-marie and beat the cream until cold. Flavour with the zest of the orange and the marc brandy.
Liquefy the couverture in a bain-marie and stir into the lukewarm egg mixture. Whip the cream until stiff and carefully fold in. Line a parfait tin (triangular or gutter shape) with cling film. Pour in the mixture and smooth out. Cover well with cling film and leave to freeze in the freezer for at least 8 hours.
About 20 minutes before serving, remove the mould from the freezer and turn the parfait out of the mould. Remove the foil and cut the semi-frozen parfait into 8 slices.
<p
Lavender wafers: Lightly mash the butter in a mixing bowl with a fork. Add the sugar and stir a little. Add half of the milk, the lavender sugar and the baking powder. Stir in the eggs and finally the rest of the milk. Mix everything well with a hand mixer for about 2 minutes to create a homogeneous, slightly liquid mixture. Bake the batter in batches in a waffle iron until golden brown.</p
Arrange 2 slices of semifreddo on each waffle on a flat plate and decorate with mint leaves.
- Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)
with pumpkin and white wine sauce Pasta with pumpkin and white wine sauce
with pumpkin and white wine sauce
- 750 Gramm Butternut-Kürbis(se)
- 3 kleine Zwiebeln
- 2 Zehen Knoblauch
- 1 Becher Crème fraîche
- 250 ml trockener Weißwein
- 500 ml Gemüsebrühe
- 25 Gramm Parmesan oder ähnlicher Hartkäse
- 400 Gramm Spaghetti oder andere Nudeln
- nach Geschmack Salz, Pfeffer, Zucker
- 4 EL Kürbiskerne, evtl. gehackt
- nach Belieben Muskat, Thymian
Sauté the garlic and onions until translucent. Dice the butternut squash and add, season with pepper and sugar. When the cubes are still firm, pour in the white wine and vegetable stock. Continue cooking until the squash is firm to the bite.
In the meantime, cook and drain the pasta.
Add the thyme, nutmeg, salt and crème fraîche to the boiling pumpkin, bring to the boil and thicken. Stir in the parmesan and season to taste. You can also crush some diced pumpkin to make the sauce sweeter.
Arrange the pasta on plates and top with the pumpkin sauce.
Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
- Scheurebe (trocken)