Wine & Sweet Treats

Christmas dessert: Soaked orange cake with spiced oranges

With the combination of pastry and noble sweet wine you can experience many a pleasurable surprise!

Facts

  • Christmas biscuits

    Gingerbread, Christmas stollen, fruit bread, cinnamon stars, speculoos or vanilla crescents

  • 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.

More recipe ideas

in a bacon coating Lamb

in a bacon coating

  • 4 Stück Lammlachse à 150 g
  • 4 Scheiben Bacon
  • 0,1 Liter Wein
  • 0,3 Liter Gemüsebrühe
  • 1 kleine Schalotte
  • 20 Gramm Butter
  • 4 EL Olivenöl
  • je 2 Zweige Thymian, Rosmarin, Salbei
  • nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer

Season the lamb salmon with pepper and massage 2 tbsp of olive oil into the meat. Finely chop the thyme, rosemary and sage and season the meat in the herbs. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

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<p>Wrap the meat with the bacon slices and sear on all sides in the remaining olive oil. Continue to cook for approx. 4 minutes on each side over a low heat (the cooking time depends on the thickness of the lamb loin - it is best to do a pressure test). Then wrap in aluminium foil and leave to rest in the oven at 80 °C – so they remain juicy and slightly pink on the inside.

 

This goes well with Bärlauch risotto.

  • Dornfelder (trocken)

with strong red wine Wild boar ragout

with strong red wine

  • 800 Gramm Fleisch vom Wildschwein (Keule o. Schulter)
  • 80 Gramm Bauchspeck
  • 100 Gramm Zwiebeln
  • 60 Gramm Karotten
  • 60 Gramm Staudensellerie
  • 1 TL Tomatenmark
  • 200 ml kräftigen Rotwein
  • 100 ml Portwein
  • 1 Liter braune Wildbrühe
  • 1 TL Preiselbeeren
  • 1 EL geschlagene Sahne o. Sauerrahm
  • 20 Gramm Mehl
  • 1 Stück Lorbeerblatt
  • je 1 Zweig Rosmarin und Thymian
  • 4 zerdrückte Wacholderbeeren
  • 1/2 TL Senf
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Clean and wash the vegetables and cut into evenly sized cubes.

 

Remove the fat, skin and tendons from the wild boar meat and cut into 3 cm cubes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Add the vegetables and diced bacon and fry. Add the tomato purée and stir fry. Deglaze with the red wine and port, reduce and pour in the brown game stock. Add the spices to the meat in a small spice bag and leave the ragout to simmer in the oven at 160°C for approx. 1½ hours.

 

Then remove the pieces of meat, remove the spices, strain the sauce, add the cranberries and mustard and leave to reduce for about 15 minutes. If necessary, thicken with a little cornflour. Serve with the whipped cream.

  • Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)

(artificial potted meat) in the style of the house "Kunschthäwwelfläsch"

(artificial potted meat) in the style of the house

  • 1 kg Schweinekamm
  • 2-3 ganze Zwiebeln
  • nach Belieben Lorbeerblätter, ganze Nelken, gemahlener Kümmel, Pfefferkörner
  • 500 ml Rivaner oder Silvaner
  • nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer

A few days before preparation, have a piece of pork neck picked up from the butcher. Alternatively, salt and pepper the pork neck yourself before preparation. The day before, cut into the pork neck with a sharp knife at a distance of approx. 1.5 cm, but do not cut all the way through.

 

Peel 2-3 onions, halve and cut into rings. Prepare the bay leaves, cloves, caraway seeds and pepper. Place a few slices of onion, a clove, some ground cloves and pepper in the incisions and a bay leaf in every other incision. Place the remaining onions, one or two cloves and a bay leaf in a large roasting tube, place the meat on top and pour in the white wine. Close the roasting tube tightly and leave the meat to marinate overnight in the fridge.

 

Then place the roasting tube on the cold oven rack and cook for approx. 1½ to 2 hours at 200 °C (gas mark 4, fan oven 180 °C).

  • Müller-Thurgau (halbtrocken & feinherb)
  • Silvaner (halbtrocken & feinherb)

with fresh chanterelles Autumn bruschetta

with fresh chanterelles

  • 4 Ciabatta-Brötchen
  • 200 Gramm kleine Pfifferlinge
  • 4 EL kleingehackte Petersilie
  • 4 Zehen Knoblauch
  • 80 Gramm Pecorino (Hartkäse)
  • 8 EL kaltgepresstes Olivenöl
  • Eine Prise Salz & Pfeffer

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

 

Clean the chanterelles. Sauté the parsley in a pan with half of the oil, then add the mushrooms and cook over a low heat for approx. 5 minutes.

 

Slice the rolls and bake for approx. 5 minutes until crispy.

 

Chop the garlic into small pieces, spread on the warm bread rolls and drizzle with the other half of the oil. Coarsely grate the pecorino.

 

Stir the chanterelle and parsley mixture into the pecorino and spread over the halves of the rolls.

  • Pinot Gris (trocken)
  • Federweißer (brut nature)