Buddha Kat Winery is the place for sweet wines. Our wines are fruit forward with blackberry, blueberry, cherry, raspberry and rhubarb. In addition to grapes we use various fruits to create a delicious, balanced, sweeter wine for those who like to break boundaries and drink something different. Our fruit wines pair well with the typical desserts but also with great, savory dishes. We also create a line of ports made from different fruits as well as a ruby port from two Portuguese derived grapes.
What should I serve with this fruit wine?
We get that question all the time and my most immediate answer is to drink and eat what tastes good to you. Drinking wine is about enjoying yourself. But that doesn’t necessarily help when you want to have a great taste experience. It’s a little slice of heaven when the wine you are drinking compliments the food you are eating. Food and wine pairing is definitely an art but there is some taste science behind it. There are some well-established paring rules. We appreciate how the right combination of food and wine create a great tasting experience but we are not too worried about it. Since our wines are unique and full of flavor, we know that there is little information about pairing our wines with food. We like to drink our wines straight but also appreciate cat-tails of our wines particularly spritzers (adding club soda or champagne) or as special mixes, such as rhubarb and strawberries, or our sangria. So here are some general guidelines. Following these general rules are some recipes for both the dishes and our cat-tails.
Sweet wines pair perfectly with sweet desserts. This is traditional use for sweet wines particularly fruit wines. As a general rule of thumb, a wine should be sweeter than the dessert it’s paired with; otherwise, the wine’s sweetness gets lost and you’re mostly just left detecting its tart elements. Our port wines served with cheesecake, ice cream, chocolate anything go especially well.
Dishes featuring fruit pair well with wines with that same fruit or similar fruit. Salads containing fresh fruit, Belgian waffles at brunch topped with fruit compote, all manner of protein entrees topped with fruit chutney, fruit-based desserts, etc. Again sweet fruit wines should be a little sweeter than the dish you are serving. The lighter rhubarb, cherry, and even raspberry are lively drinks with fruit salads, and fruit-based desserts.
Poultry and fish dishes. A simple meal based on baked or grilled seasoned poultry or fish entree get an aromatic, vibrant element kick from fruit wines either as a drink or used as a sauce with other savory elements or as both. Rhubarb is particularly refreshing with light fish or shellfish dishes. Raspberry and blackberry pair well with fatty fish like salmon or cod. The berry wines pair well with poultry and can stand up to savory components.
Semi-sweet fruit wines pair with mild cheeses. Wine and cheese pairing is a well-known entire sub-category under the umbrella of food and wine pairings. If you’re entertaining and laying out a fairly standard collection of mild cheeses and crackers, perhaps with some fresh fruit nearby, a semi-sweet fruit wine is a surprising and tasty alternative to offer your guests.
Pork and beef dishes. Grilled or baked pork or beef dishes pair well with the berry wines. The heavier, substantial sweeter wines can lend a delicious, taste component to simple pork or beef dishes. The cherry or blackberry can be mixed in BBQ sauces and basting pork or beef during grilling. Sauces of blueberry, blackberry or raspberry wines create a fruity component to pork dishes as oppose to applesauce.
We love to drink our fruit wines with just about any dish but hopefully these above rules help you in trying different recipes and experiencing new tastes.