Kara Newman on how to figure out which wine to choose with dessert:
There are three factors to consider: acidity (an acidic wine may pair best with a fruit dish, which also has natural acidity), intensity (the more intense the flavors of a dessert, the more intense the wine), and sweetness (a dessert wine should be sweeter than the dessert itself).
But that’s a bit complex. Simpler:
[A]s the colors of the dessert get darker … the wine gets darker.
As much of a foodie I portend to be, I’m always looking for shortcuts. Years ago, I took a wine and cheese class (note: there is only so much you can consume of both in one sitting). Of all the complex dissertations we were taught, I took away only one simple guideline: If the fields that the cow, sheep, or goat graze share soil with the grapes for a particular vineyard, chances are the wine and cheese are a good match. Simple. Have followed this ever since, and it’s rarely been wrong. Insider guidelines are rarely revealed but are so enormously useful.
