IT'S time for me to come out of the closet and admit that I have a sweet tooth. I love crumbles and tarts and there’s always a sweet wine in the rack to enjoy alongside. The best options for Geoff’s delicious crumble would be a sweet German Riesling or a Californian Muscat.
However, not every dinner party needs to end with a dessert wine, and in fact many people find it too much after the excesses of the wines that went with the starter and the main. Another option would be to have a nice Speyside malt on hand. This could end up saving you money as it will cover a few dinner parties instead of you having to supply a relatively expensive sweet wine for each one. Bear in mind though, if I’m coming to dinner it’s a good idea to have a sweet wine and a malt available.
Donnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spatlese 2013 (Waitrose, £25.99). Helmut Donnhoff is one of my favourite producers, and he makes exceptional wines. They’re never cheap, but I still feel that his wines are good value as you’d be hard-pressed to find better quality Rieslings anywhere in the world. Try a bottle of the Kirschheck with dessert tonight.
Elysium Black Muscat 2013 (Inverarity One to One, £10.99 for a half-bottle). Before he became a winemaker, Andrew Quady made fireworks. You certainly get an explosion on the palate with this full-flavoured Muscat. It works with the cheeseboard, it’s actually great with chocolate puddings and, of course, with plum crumble.
Carn Mor Strictly Limited Inchgower Single Malt 13-year-old (Inverarity One to One, £47.99). The Inchgower distillery is owned by Diageo and much of the production goes into large blended releases. The quality of the spirit is very high, so the blends benefit hugely from its addition, but it also makes an amazing single malt in its own right. This Carn Mor release is the best I’ve tasted from the distillery, and it would be a valuable addition to your drinks cabinet.
Pete Stewart is Glasgow director of Inverarity One to One, 185a Bath Street, Glasgow www.inverarity121.com
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