Pancakes and waffles

Pancakes and waffles

Assuming pancakes or waffles served sweet, with maple syrup, berries or cream, sometimes with crisp bacon.

Pancakes and waffles are soft, buttery and toasted, and the syrup makes them sweet, so the wine must be at least as sweet or it tastes thin and sour. Light, fresh sweet wines suit a fluffy batter better than heavy ones. Where bacon joins the maple, a sweet wine with a caramel edge carries the salt as well.

Pairs Perfectly. Late harvest Riesling from the New World, New Zealand or Chile. Honey, apple and lime over bright acidity and clean sweetness, sweet enough for maple syrup and fresh enough for a light batter. It is modest in price and often sold in half bottles.

Pairs Well. Brachetto d'Acqui, Piedmont, Italy. Sweet, pink and lightly sparkling, with strawberry and rose that suit pancakes with berries.

Pairs Well. Madeira in its richer Bual or Malmsey style, Portugal. Toffee and burnt sugar, the natural partner to maple syrup, with an acidity that handles bacon.

Worth Seeking Out

Samos Vin Doux from Greece. An island Muscat, honeyed and floral, for pancakes with honey and lemon.

Avoid

Dry wines and heavy, tannic reds. A dry wine turns sour against syrup, and tannin clashes with sweet batter.

Failing That

A Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, Italy.

If All Else Fails

Cream Sherry, Jerez.

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