The Ultimate Wine Pairing For Sweet Potato Pie

Sweet potato pie, with its cozy flavors and impeccable use of a root vegetable, easily counts as a fabulous way to end any meal. We love it for its smooth texture and natural sweetness, but it's the familiar spices in this custard-based pie that make it memorable. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla all make appearances here, preserving and elevating this pie's richness. Savor these flavors. They're decadent enough to pair with the perfect bottle of red wine — one that can cut through the pie's starchy creaminess while complementing its big spice blend.

Camille Parson Goldstein, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Muddling Memories (@muddlingmemories on Instagram) specializes in creating exquisite beverage experiences and suggests one that's fruit-forward with a bright pop of acidity. "A pinot noir that is delicate and earthy," Goldstein says, "But light enough to dance with the sweet and rich sweet potato filling."

Save the full-bodied dry red wines for those luscious, meaty main courses. That's a match made in heaven for a tannin-heavy, dry red wine. But they're too overpowering for a sweet potato pie. And while it seems like the (demure) eggs, cream, and butter in this pie beg for white wine, anything too sweet gets lost in the shuffle. While a variety of wines can work with any simple sweet potato pie recipe, the right pinot noir synchronizes each and every flavor. And while not every pinot noir is up for this challenge, it's easy to pick the right one as long as you keep one thing in mind. 

Here's the thing: Pinot noir grapes are produced in both warm climates and cool climates. Warmer-climate pinot noirs from places like Chile, California, and Australia are much more full-bodied than their cooler-climate cousins. They're too big and dry for this delicate pairing. Pinot noirs from Burgundy, France, or the Russian River Valley in California will work, but for the ultimate pairing try Willamette Valley, Oregon. These pinot noirs are prized for their lightness, vivacious acidity, and unique minerality (earthiness). As always with wine, it's all about the soil. Willamette Valley boasts three different types with low pH and that translates to grapes with less acidity and more fruitiness.

A Willamette Valley pinot noir makes for a compatible pair with other sweets, too. It's just the thing for anything with caramel, a faint reminder of candied sweet potatoes. Or try this salted caramel sauce recipe as a yummy alternative to topping sweet potato pie with whipped cream. 

There's also this scenario: Sweet potato pie is in an all-star, dessert buffet lineup. The move here is to have sweet potato pie in addition to something chocolatey like this flourless chocolate torte. That's because sweet potatoes, caramel, and chocolate all sing together. Enjoy them side-by-side with confidence, knowing all three make a fine companion for this Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. For under $25 a bottle, you and yours can have your cake, your pie, your pinot noir, and eat it, too.