Tartufo gelato

Tartufo gelato

Assuming the Italian ice cream dessert, a ball of chocolate and hazelnut gelato around a soft centre, rolled in cocoa.

Tartufo is cold, very sweet and bitter with cocoa, with a nutty note from the hazelnut. Cold dulls the palate and chocolate makes dry wine taste harsh, so the wine must be sweeter than the dessert, rich in flavour and full of dried fruit, nut or cherry to meet the cocoa.

Pairs Perfectly. Pedro Ximénez Sherry, Jerez, Spain. Dark, syrupy and intensely sweet, with raisin, fig, coffee and cocoa, a match for chocolate and hazelnut that is sometimes poured straight over ice cream in Spain.

Pairs Well. Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal. Walnut, toffee and dried fruit with a little freshness, very good with hazelnut and cocoa, and modestly priced.

Pairs Well. Mavrodaphne of Patras, Greece. A sweet, fortified red with raisin, cherry and a hint of coffee, with the weight to stand beside chocolate.

Worth Seeking Out

Rutherglen Muscat, Victoria, Australia. Raisin, toffee, coffee and roasted nuts, deeply sweet and very good with chocolate and hazelnut.

Avoid

Dry wines and dry sparkling wines. Against chocolate and sugar they taste bitter and thin.

Failing That

A Banyuls, Roussillon, France.

If All Else Fails

Cream Sherry, Jerez.

Want to be able to craft answers like this? The Vinealto Wine Coach takes you from the basics to advanced.