Lemon meringue pie

Lemon meringue pie

Assuming sharp lemon curd in a pastry case under a tall, sweet meringue.

Lemon meringue pie is very sharp and very sweet at once, with buttery pastry and a light, sugary top. The wine must be as sweet as the meringue and as sharp as the lemon, or it will taste thin and sour. Dry wines and heavy, low acid sweet wines both fail.

Pairs Perfectly. Vouvray moelleux, Loire, France. Sweet Chenin Blanc with honey, quince and lemon peel on a streak of high acidity, which meets the curd and cuts the pastry.

Pairs Well. Riesling Auslese, Mosel, Germany, sweet. Peach, lemon and honey over sharp acidity, light in body and made for citrus puddings.

Pairs Well. Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy. Gently sweet and softly sparkling with orange blossom and peach, light like the meringue, and an everyday bottle.

Worth Seeking Out

Noble Late Harvest Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch, South Africa. Honey, quince and dried apricot with fresh acidity, rich enough for pastry and bright enough for lemon.

Avoid

Dry wines and heavy, low acid sweet wines. Dry wines turn sour against sugar, and a heavy fortified wine flattens the lemon.

Failing That

A Monbazillac, Bergerac.

If All Else Fails

Asti, Piedmont.

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