Wines to go with desserts
After that button-popping meal, you might enjoy a lighter dessert. In France a bûche de Noël is the number choice. A chocolate sponge cake shaped and decorated to look like a Yule log (here’s how to make one at home). This sweet treat should be paired with a wine that is even sweeter, so great choices are a glass of Banyuls, a fortified wine from the rugged Languedoc-Roussillon, a demi-sec Champagne or even a chilled Cointreau on the rocks.
If you can manage one more sip, it’s customary in France to close the meal with a digestif. Try a small serving of mellow brandy, appley Calvados, Armagnac, Cognac or something a little more unusual like herbal liqueur Génépy which is made in the Alps.
Laurent is a wine expert who runs SomMailier.com, a French Wine Club in the USA. Members receive delicious boutique wines, selected by wine experts in France as well as detailed information about wine and food pairing ideas to help you really discover French wine. We think a club membership is the perfect Christmas present! Get a special introductory offer of 10% on any product – just use the code TGLF2020 on the checkout page…