Pairings & Pours: Chewy & Sippable

Unexpected drinks for fruit leather: rosé with strawberry, gin with lavender, whisky with plum

May 09, 2025

If The Dinner Bell is a love letter to food, Pairings & Pours is the handwritten note tucked in the wine bottle. Each week, I uncork a story, a pairing, and a moment to savor, from vineyard visits to spirited cocktails, non-alcoholic options, and seasonal drinks that bring the week’s recipe to life. Join me for a pour, a pairing, and something extra.

This week, we're celebrating all things May – from special birthdays (including my mother's 83rd!) to Mother's Day festivities. Our calendar is delightfully full with breakfast, lunch, and dinner gatherings alongside friends and family. These celebrations call for toasts and thoughtful sips, which is why today I'm sharing beverage pairings for Sunday's upcoming fruit leather recipes.

While matching drinks with fruit leather might seem unusual at first, it's actually a wonderful exercise to help develop your palate. The concentrated flavors in fruit leather make subtle notes in beverages more apparent, creating an accessible way to practice identifying complementary tastes and aromas.

If you've ever gone wine tasting, you've likely heard hosts describe notes of "wet stone," "vanilla," or "stewed fruits" – and perhaps wondered if they were imagining things when you couldn't detect those subtleties yourself.

The truth is, this sensory skill improves with practice. The more you engage with thoughtful tasting, the better your nose becomes at identifying specific scents and aromatic qualities. You'll gradually master pairing foods with beverages using complementary, analogous, or triadic relationships, much like the color wheel we learned about as children. These intentional combinations create something harmonious and impactful. Just as a green tomato differs aromatically from a ripe red one, your wines and foods can range from garden-fresh brightness to the complex depth of slow-cooked richness.

Today, I'm sharing some of my favorite beverage pairings for the three fruit leather varieties I'll be featuring in Sunday's post: Strawberry/Raspberry, Blueberry/Blackberry with Lemon Lavender Syrup, and Plum. These suggestions come from my own tasting experiences over the years – nothing fancy or pretentious, just combinations I've genuinely enjoyed.

This week's beverages are a few I've enjoyed with concentrated fruit flavors. Nothing fancy or pretentious, just combinations that I've found work well together and thought you might enjoy exploring too.

Strawberry/Raspberry Fruit Leather

Sparkling Rosé: I particularly enjoy the bright berry notes and refreshing bubbles of a not-too-dry sparkling rosé with berry fruit leathers. The effervescence provides a lovely contrast to the dense, chewy texture.
Rose Water Lemonade: I stumbled upon this combination by accident when I was experimenting in the kitchen. Subtle floral notes complement berry flavors. Just add a few drops of rose water to your favorite lemonade. Start with 2 drops, then adjust to your taste.
White Rum with Fresh Mint: A simple white rum with a sprig of crushed mint from the garden creates an unexpectedly refreshing contrast to concentrated berry flavors. Rum is my mom's favorite spirit, so it was a must to include here.

Blueberry/Blackberry with Lemon Lavender Syrup

Gewürztraminer: One of my dad's favorites, though more about the fun of saying the word over and over than the wine itself. Its aromatic qualities enhance the lavender notes in the fruit leather. Any off-dry, aromatic white works well here, so don't stress about finding this specific varietal.
Earl Grey Tea: The bergamot in Earl Grey naturally complements lavender. It’s refreshing, and that pairs well with berry-lavender combinations, hot or cold. If you're not familiar with bergamot, it's a citrus fruit that primarily grows in southern Italy, known for reducing inflammation. I use it in my aroma diffuser to clear the inflammation in my home.
Gin & Tonic with a Twist: The botanical nature of gin seems made for lavender pairings. Add a small twist of lemon peel to bridge the citrus elements in the fruit leather and top with a sprig or two of lavender, from the garden, or pick some up at the farmers market.

Plum Fruit Leather

Medium-Bodied Pinot Noir: Nothing too fancy, but you know where I'm headed...Oregon, Sonoma Coast, or Burgundy if I'm looking for a Pinot Noir. However, I've found that any Pinot with good fruit notes creates a wonderful match with the concentrated plum flavors while adding a bit of earthy complexity.
Oolong Tea: Certain oolongs develop natural stone fruit notes when brewed correctly, and are a perfect non-alcoholic pairing with plum-based treats. It also carries rich antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, like red wine.
Japanese Whisky: I've heard amazing things about this style of whisky. It's lighter and carries a more balanced flavor profile, often featuring floral and fruity notes, enhancing rather than overwhelming the plum flavors.

Glassware Ideas

While I still love the pageantry of drinking sparkling wines & champagnes from flutes, I've been pouring in regular wine glasses at home, which is a new trend with sommeliers. Tulip-shaped glasses are better at enhancing aromas and flavors, elevating the tasting experience
For spirits, any small tumbler, rocks glass, or highball will work beautifully
Clear glasses for tea let you appreciate the colors alongside the fruit leathers

Temperature Suggestions

Chill sparkling rosé, but don't serve it ice cold, or you'll miss the fruit notes
Let red wines like Pinot Noir sit open for about 20 minutes before serving
Japanese whisky is lovely at room temperature or with just a single ice cube
Serve teas fully chilled for the most refreshing experience with fruit leather

Here's the fun part where we get to play with our food (and drinks)! Follow these steps for a mini flavor exploration:

First, taste the fruit leather alone, noticing its flavors and texture.
Take a sip of the paired beverage.
Try another bite of the fruit leather to see how the beverage changes or enhances the experience.
Share your observations in the comments.

Here are a few tools to guide your tasting:

UC Davis Wine Wheel

UC Davis Professor Emerita Ann Noble invented the Wine Aroma Wheel to help wine tasters find the right words to describe what they are smelling.

This visual tool organizes aromas into categories, making it easier to identify and articulate what you're experiencing.

Escoffier Flavor Wheel

Taste: Flavor refers to how food and beverages taste and how they are experienced on the palate.
Aroma: Aroma refers to the distinctive odor characteristics of a specific food or beverage.
Flavor: Mouthfeel refers to how a food or beverage feels in the mouth and palate.

Remember, there's no right or wrong in pairing – it's all about what you enjoy! I'd love to hear which combination speaks to you.

Looking ahead to Sunday's post, I'll be sharing the complete recipes for all three fruit leather varieties. If you want to prepare for a full tasting experience, consider picking up one of the suggested beverages to have on hand when you make your batch!

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