Wines & Petit Gateaux pairings by Dimitris Karatzaferis form combinations, not usually met in restaurants ,uplifting creativity and taste.
I am Dimitris Karatzaferis, Pastry Chef at MADL/N Bakery and as a cook I have always been fascinated by Food & Wine pairings. But what happens in busisnesses, which rely solely on sweets and dough wishing to achieve such pairings masterfully? And yet wine matches well with sweets! Not all of wines ofcource, but some specific varieties, create an inseparable bond with particular flavors of sweets forming luscious and creative Wines & Petit gateaux pairings.
A project among the many that we are currently running at MADL/N is a Wines& Petit gateaux pairing with the main philosophy of combining
local and non-local wines with the sweets served in our menu. We have carefully selected wines that are quite known to the public and we have all more or less savored at home or on one of our outings in a restaurant. Four wines that are featured include a bottle of Moschato Rio-Patron, Lagopati Brut by Hatzigeorgiou Estate from Limnos, widely known to all of us, Mavrodafni by Achaia Clauss and finally one of the most renowned semi-sweet rosés, Treis Magisses by Barafakas Winery.
Moschato Rio- Patron
Moschato Rio Patron is an impressive sweet wine, one of the most popular wines of the market. The first explosion of the typical Moschato aromas in the nose and mouth, followed by its sweet, full flavor offset by perfect acidity. Excellent dessert selection of wine based on the incredibly high quality sweet vinification of White Moschato by the master of its kind Thanasis Parparousis. It will surely amaze our guests! The narrative’s about a wine that can be aged. When I first tried Moschato, I had a few leaves of “broken” French puff pastry at the kitchen that we prepare on a daily basis along with hazelnuts.
So I thought that this excellent wine would be ideally accompanied by a Saint Honore, a one of a kind French sweet wine, but at this particular point we decided to “blend” it. We used amazing Valrhona Gianduja chocolate and prepared a Pate au Tartine with shavings of French Croissant and Milk Chocolate Montee. Choux(cream puff) could not be missed at this falvorful Wines & Gateuax pairing, which I also filled with Pate au Tartine.
Lagopati Brut
Lemnos has always been known since antiquity for its excellent variety of wines. The parallel course of four generations of Hatzigeorgiou family, embodies the tradition the quality and craftsmanship of a rare timeless creation.
Lagopati Brut seems to be doing extremely well and this is instantly apparent as the effervescence is intense and lasting. The fruity character of Moschato jumps unhindered from the glass, offering light notes of rose, pear and unripe melon. I tried this specific wine with milk chocolate and caramel. I immediately reflected, BonBon, the renowned French chocolates, a perpetual explosion of delight. For specifics, I compiled caramel chocolate and milk chocolate cremeux.
Mavrodafni Achaia Clauss
Dark amber color with brown highlights and aromatic intensity of a dessert fruit bouquet with a strong presence of dried figs characterize this singular type of wine. The complexity of aromas and flavors is its trademark. We will sense definitely caramelized fruit and a long lasting aftertaste. I experimented on Black laurel and bitter chocolate. It was an unforgettable experience! It coincided with our Wines & Petit gateaux menu pairing changes, where we added a tart with 100% bitter chocolate.
During my professional career, I had the pleasure to use some of Valrhona’s most special chocolates, which are Guanaco 70% and the annual Komuntu 80%. We decided to be playful creating a savory tart with cocoa and tonka bean flavors. A cremeux from Komuntu 80%, a mousse from Guanaja 70% and a biscuit from Komuntu 80%. A must try tart lifting off senses accompanied with Mavrodafni by Achaia Clauss.
Treis Magisses
The perfectly relaxed wine! Christos Barafakas, unites Agiorgitiko, Moschofilero and Syrah in an explosive combination that will be adorned by women and beyond. One of the best semi-sweet rosé wines, which will change the mindset of those who probably are skeptical with this style of wines. Its color is bright rose. In the nose, aromas of fruits such as cherries and strawberries, compete with those of the flowers resembling
rose and lemon blossoms. In the mouth, semi-sweet with acidity providing refreshness and fruits appearing sweet and ripe. The caramel sensation that remains at the finish leaves quite an impression. This wine is a perfect match with fruit salads. It calls for freshness of fruit and it partnered up with the Croissant Petit Gâteaux prepared at MADL/N. This signature sweet originates from a French Croissant, a mint cream with aromas of lime and a cremeux of strawberry bewitched us as equal as the wine’s name.