Pairing Wines with Winter Fruits

by Kristine Hansen, Posted Jan 13th 2010 @ 2:00PM

The bowl of clementines on my kitchen table teased me for days, even as I peeled the rind off each until only a few remained. What wine would I pair with these? I wanted a wine to accentuate clementines' sweet, rounded citrus notes. But I didn't want that exact taste, just one that would complement it. Finally, it came to me: Roussanne, a white-wine grape tracing back to France's Rhône region, with its notes of honeyed tropical fruits. California varieties are just as good (I recommend 2007 Rosenblum Cellars Fess Parker Roussanne, Santa Barbara County, $25).

During the summer it's not uncommon to sip wine with sliced fruit. Why should we give that up after the first snowfall? Winter fruits are bold, tart and often of the citrus family. Pairing possibilities are endless, and the fruits bring a burst of color to the table.

Here are some great wine picks for winter fruits.

Pears: Drunk with Viognier, a light-bodied, white wine with floral notes, the pear's earthiness becomes even more prominent. A classic winter salad, but one that never fails to balance savory with sweet, is spinach leaves tossed with sliced pears, crumbled gorgonzola and candied walnuts.

Pomegranates: Shiraz or Syrah (quick lesson: same grape, but it's Syrah if from Europe, parts of the U.S., Argentina, Chile and Uruguay) has that same full-bodied, juicy flavor found in pomegranate seeds. Here it's more about pairing similar flavors, but the match really sings. Add pomegranate juice into your next barbecue sauce and slather on top of ribs, steak or your meat of choice.

Grapefruits: Sauvignon Blanc is among the highest-acidity wines out there, and this is the fruit to pair it with. For a quick, easy after-dinner dessert, simply halve a grapefruit, sprinkle sugar on top and broil it in the oven for between three and five minutes.

Blood Oranges: The acidity in a Rose – whether it's characterized by a sweet or a dry profile – can stack up to a blood orange with ease. A simple blood-orange granita (try this Bobby Flay recipe) celebrates summer, even if it's not here yet. (We can dream, right?)

Kiwi: Paired with a pink sparkling wine, such as a sparkling Shiraz or Pinot Noir brut, the well-loved strawberry-kiwi combo comes into play. To give salmon a new kick, create a chunky kiwi sauce (by combining two peeled and quartered kiwifruits, three tablespoons water, 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon lemon juice) to dress up the pink fish.

Tangerines: A Chardonnay from California's Central Coast would go well with this angel-food cake (especially for its tangerine glaze) from pastry queen Gale Gand.

Filed Under: Drinks
Tags: citrus, fruit, wine

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

1-17-2010 @4:34PM Mike said... What wine goes with Clementines? You're kidding, right? What's next---what wine should be paired with Spam? Those phony-ass "winos" have way too much time on their hands.
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1-17-2010 @5:24PM JC said... Obviously you do too...

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1-18-2010 @12:02AM sharon said... I'm with JC....looks like you do too....LOL !!!!

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1-17-2010 @6:13PM Brenda Hill said... As a wine & food writer with IFWTWA, I found your pairings interesting and right on. Thank you. Brenda Hill, Food Judge with the Tandem Tasters and member of International Food , Wine and
Travel writers Association.
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1-17-2010 @6:13PM Pnutbutrjelyfish said... I don't know about what wine pairs with clementines, of which I have two bags of in my refrigerator, one placed so close to the freezer that each slice has delightful frozen ice inside each of them, but what I do know about is that there is a desperate need for AOL's Sphere comment area to open back up lickety split. Unfortunately it's been closed and under construction since before the Haiti earthquake. Commenters with their thoughts about the situation in Haiti are prevented from exchanging ideas. I would love to read them, and have plenty of my own to post. I'm sure there are alot of pros and cons about how to approach Haiti, and I would really like to read all of them.
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1-17-2010 @6:22PM Gary Mayer said... I'm diabetic and can't eat oranges but why would anyone want to drink wine with oranges? Italian bread topped with butter, even a sweet wine with banana bread; or, dry wine with a salad. But, any wine with oranges? I think not! How about a beer?

I miss oranges and a lot of my favorite foods, but I don't miss wine.
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1-17-2010 @7:31PM Gail Shuman said... How about putting your clementines in a red or white sangria!!!! Red is my favorite and I always add some type of orange--like Cara Cara (sweet and a pretty pink) or Blood Orange. I think I'll try your clementines next and eat it along with my drink.
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1-17-2010 @7:42PM BJ said... WITH ORANGES??? BUT I APPRECIATE THE TIPS GIVEN BECAUSE IT DOSN.T REQUIRE A TRIP TO THE GROCERIES TO PICK UP THINGS YOU EVER KEEP IN THE PANTRY. FOR THE MOST PART THEY ARE EVERYDAY PATRY ITEMS.
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1-19-2010 @7:34AM Alice said... My husband and I drink an orange liquer called "Triple Sec" which is made from oranges. The Clementines go well with it even though it isn't wine as such.
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1-17-2010 @7:59PM glipford said... Loony nonsense from one of a large group of Naked Emperors called wine snobs.

Yeah, let's take a 25-cent piece of fruit and put a $2 glass of wine (VERY conservatively) to "go" with it. I mean, enjoy wine with whatever and however you want ... but have a little shame and stop with the idea that wine is indensible part of every minute and every meal. It's grapes, OK? And it's alcohol ... if you need it constantly, you have a problem.
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1-17-2010 @8:07PM su said... I look forward to trying these pairings. I love Mangos and Chardonay.
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1-17-2010 @8:35PM Mark said... Actually, SPAM has come to be accepted as Hawaii's favorite luncheon meat and is prepared with many asian dishes as a substitute for more traditional pork cuts. With just a hint of sweetness, an off-dry Riesling is a quite satisfying pairing to that delightfully salty "question-mark" meat in a can.
Don't be such a snob. Try it, you may like it.
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1-18-2010 @1:56PM bigcaped1 said... If you care about what fruit your having with your wine, your aren't drinking enough.
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1-18-2010 @2:00PM Wade said... What wine to drink with a clementine? May I suggest . . . a '49er?
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1-18-2010 @1:59PM terry said... Clementines ARE Tangerines, not something different to require a different wine from the first one she listed. clementinesw are a seedless variety of tangerines
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1-17-2010 @11:14PM Steve said... Fruit with wine? WTF?! Who in the bloody f*ckin hell drinks wine with fruit? That's like spiking Gatorade, it makes nooooo sense. Unless your're a wine-o then I can see a drunk drinking with fruit.
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1-18-2010 @1:57PM Dave said... Steve and Mike are absolutely right. Wine with fruit is a joke. Who would ever drink wine with some unadorned fruit? The answer can only be Americans...they're the only people who would ever try such a shite idea. Have you ever seen Gary Vanyerchuk...episodes of wine with frozen food or wine with breakfast cereals! I'm not kidding, he tried it on his blog. And I've met people who take him seriously.