Lemon tart

Lemon tart

Lemon tart is sweet and buttery, but the filling is as sharp as anything on a dessert menu, so the wine must be at least as sweet and carry searing acidity of its own. A sweet wine without that acidity tastes flat and cloying against the lemon. A citrus or honeyed character meets the curd best.

Pairs Perfectly. Sauternes or Barsac from Bordeaux, France. Honey, apricot and candied citrus over acidity that keeps pace with the lemon, with Barsac the lighter and more elegant of the two. Monbazillac from Bergerac delivers the same logic at a fraction of the price.

Pairs Well. Ice Wine, Niagara, Canada. Made from grapes frozen on the vine, intensely sweet and piercingly sharp, one of the few wines as bright as lemon curd.

Pairs Well. Riesling Auslese, Mosel, Germany. Lime, peach and honey over a high, clean acid line and low alcohol, which keeps a rich tart light.

Worth Seeking Out

Petit Manseng from Jurançon, France. Sweet, with grapefruit, pineapple and an acidity that is almost startling, and a precise match for citrus desserts.

Avoid

Dry wines and soft, low acid sweet wines. A dry wine tastes sour and thin beside the sugar, and a soft sweet wine turns cloying against the lemon.

Failing That

A late harvest Riesling from the New World.

If All Else Fails

Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont.

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