Wine With…Wedding Cake

Wine With . . . Wedding Cake

by Paul Lukacs and Marguerite Thomas

‘Tis the season for taking vows, popping corks, and making toasts–all with a glass of bubbly, of course.  Sparkling wine invariably is served this time of year with wedding cake.  But which wines actually work best at a June wedding? 

To find out, we tried a set of ten different sparklers.  Since we’re already married, we didn’t have an actual wedding cake, but instead used a white cake with white frosting, purchased from a local bakery that does in fact make plenty of wedding cakes.  And since budgets vary, we made sure to include wines with a wide range of price tags.

Whether coming from Champagne, California, Catalonia, or elsewhere, dry or brut bubbly often is poured at weddings.  We found, however, that it’s a poor choice when sipped with cake.  The sugary sweetness of the dessert both overwhelms the wine and makes it seem disagreeably tart.  Any subtleties or nuances get lost.  In our tasting, a dry Cava, a Carneros Blanc de Noirs, and a brut Champagne all proved disappointing.  The Champagne in particular, which had an otherwise tantalizing because toasty bouquet, seemed unpleasant, as its flavors clashed cruelly with the cake.  Our conclusion was that if you’re planning a wedding and want to serve brut Champagne or sparkling wine, do so at the start of the festivities–not with the cake.

When it comes time for the cake, opt instead for a sparkler that itself contains some sugar.  We found that all the off-dry bubblies we tried worked much better than the bruts.  We also found that the wine doesn’t need to be all that sweet.  A demi-sec Champagne was delicious, but so too was a leaner extra dry one.  And an extra dry   wine just might be more fun to sip if any is left in your glass after you’ve finished the cake. 

Wedding cake wine also doesn’t need to be all that expensive.  Champagnes sported the highest price tags of the non-brut wines we tried, but they were not significantly superior to less pricey wines when tasted with the cake.  That’s because the cake invariably sounds the dominant note in this paring, making the wine’s complexity less important than it would be in other contexts.  If you can afford Champagne, by all means buy it.  But less costly off-dry bubbly can be just as tasty.

Selection

Approx. Price

Coppo, Moscato d’Asti “Moncalvino” (Piedmont, Italy) 2003                       

(Imported by Winebow)                              

  $20

Like all Moscato d’Astis, this wine is frizzante, which is to say slightly less bubbly than most other sparklers. It is also considerably lower in alcohol (5.5%), making it ideal at a warm summer wedding.  Typical of Moscato, the Moncalvino has a heady perfume, a hint of sweetness, and is light and lovely on the palate.

Freixenet, Cava (Penedes, Spain) “Cordon Negro” Extra Dry NV

 $11

From the world’s largest producer of sparkling wines, this Spanish crowd pleaser is as easy on the taste buds as on the pocketbook.  Packaged in the signature frosted black bottle, the wine is pale, lively, and fruity.

Jaillance, Clairette de Die (Rhône Valley, France) “Cuvée Tradition” NV

 $15

Clairette de Die is a small sparkling wine appellation centered around the town of Die (pronounced dee) in southeastern France.  Made from a blend of Clairette and Muscat à Petits Grains grapes, this is a fresh and delicate fizz with just the right amount of sweetness to make it a pretty match for wedding cake as well as an attractive aperitif sipping wine.

Mumm, Champagne (France) Extra Dry “Carte Classique” NV

(Imported by Allied Domecq)

  $42

Along with Veuve Clicquot’s sweeter Demi-Sec, this Mumm “Carte Classique” was our favorite Champagne to sip with wedding cake.  Both of these are elegant and refined, with a distinct but never cloying edge of sweetness.  We slightly favored this one because its citrus flavors harmonized so well with the cake.

Vigne Regali, Brachetto d’Acqui (Piedmont, Italy) “Rossa Regale”2004 

(Imported by Banfi)

  $25

We are partial to this wine as it’s the one we served with cake at our own wedding four years ago.  With its festive pink color and rich flavor, it may be somewhat bigger and bolder than a traditional wedding sparkler; but it is so judiciously balanced between refreshing acidity and fruity sweetness that it doesn’t overwhelm the cake.  Note, too, that the Brachetto’s creamy texture will marry beautifully with vanilla, lemon or chocolate buttercream frosting.