Mike Bennie (the critic) and Merrick Watts (the comic) aren't afraid to break with tradition, offering up modern pairings for a classic Italian cheesecake even nonnas would approve of.
Mike: My dirty little secret is a fun-times Moscato d’Asti. Low alcohol, lightly sweet, bit of frizzante. It cuts the palate with acid, livens with bubbles. Boom – you’re done.
Merrick: I’m with you on all of those things, except for me it’s an espresso martini. I don’t normally like them. But I would have it with this cake because the nonnas would have a coffee with it, but I’m not a nonna, and if it doesn’t contain alcohol then I don’t want to know.
Mike: I suppose you could do a caffe corretto, put a slug of grappa in espresso. That’s how the Italians wake up in the morning; that’s how they start the day.
Merrick: There is a famous Italian bakery called Papa’s not far from my home that makes this cake. On a Saturday I love to drive past and see a nonna threatening her grandchildren with an umbrella for fooling around on the footpath while she waits patiently in line to order. So maybe if it’s not an espresso martini it could be a shot of something with a punch.
Mike: One thing I would say is don’t pair sweet with sweet like you’ve been told to. Too much overt sweet, slick richness is a recipe for feeling fatigued. What you need with rich, creamy desserts like this is something high acid, light sugar. Another good thing would be off-dry riesling. Something with searing acidity that will ctrl+alt+delete your palate but also give a little kiss of sugar just to kick through the sweetness of your dish. For me, dessert wines are better with things like blue cheese, pâté…
Merrick: …And regret? Also, it’s good to mix it up a bit. I do this thing sometimes with Alicante Bouschet – if you chill something that’s sweet and don’t think about what you have to match it with in a food sense, but rather in a circumstance. Take it to the beach, go for a swim and you’ve got all the salt in your face anyway, and then you have something sweet with maybe a bit of acid to drink, and it makes sense there.
Mike: Sweet wines. You would like drinking them wearing a clown suit in a swimming pool surrounded by coloured rubber balls.
Merrick: Yes, with handcuffs on.
Mike: I’d eat anything off Merrick’s body.
Merrick: I’m typically a croquembouche.
THE CRITIC’S PICKS
Chambers Old Vine Muscat NV, $25
This potent, lush, fortified wine is made by one the most iconic producers of the Rutherglen wine region. It’s a hedonistic drink offering rich, booze-soaked fruit and nut characters with molasses texture and toffee in the finish. Yum.
Tahbilk Cane Cut Marsanne 2017, $19
A more classic, light and fresh dessert wine here, and near perfect with this cake. It drinks pretty and sweet but has brisk, limey acidity to lift the wine. It feels more like a final garnish to the cheesecake rather than a separate drink.
Albino Rocca Moscato D’asti 2017, $35
This moscato comes from old vines in a small, lovingly tended vineyard and is as good as the style gets. Expect rose water characters, brisk, tight bubbles, citrusy freshness and pretty sweetness.
THE COMIC’S WILDCARD
Four Pillars Bloody Shiraz Gin, $85
For the nonnas queuing outside the bakery, my wildcard is a shot of Bloody Shiraz Gin. The gin is steeped with shiraz grapes and, like the nonnas, presents as delicate and refined but packs a wallop when it’s near a ricotta cake.
For more drink pairings and articles, head here.
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