What wine to drink with tarte tatin

Dessert wines are, at least in my view, almost always best drunk on their own: a pudding in themselves, a little bit of sweetness that finishes off a dinner. Food is just a distraction, or wine is just a distraction, if you’re coming at it from the spoon-holding side of things. However, I make a few exceptions and tarte tatin is one of those, the buttery caramel, the tang of the cooked apples, and the flake of the puff pastry are only complemented by the right sort of wine. My favourite match is a sweet riesling, which has a refreshing sharpness and often a suggestion of apple strudel to it. Tarte tatin also emphasises the honeyed, orchard-fruit scent of sauternes and other, similar sweet wines – the apple brings out the exotic fruitiness of the wine while the caramel underscores its sumptuous sweetness.

This classic dessert is also delicious with spirits. The apple flavour is a natural with cognac and armagnac, but the ultimate brandy would be calvados from Normandy, or English apple brandy from Somerset.