Wine with Ice Cream: Red or White? It Depends

If you bring a branch of forsythia inside, it's supposed to bloom early. Mine didn't. Just leaves. You can't force spring; it comes when it wants to. But one sure sign is a line at the Dairy Queen.
You generally don't associate wine with ice cream, but it can be done. It's not for the faint of stomach and definitely not for the lactose sensitive. But it does have its charms, and it's not like it's never been done before.
The Romans ate a form of ice cream--flavored ice and snow brought down from Alpine glaciers. It was probably more expensive than Ben and Jerry's and they served it with fruit purees and honey to sweeten it. Since they drank a lot of wine and some beer, it seems logical that they mixed them. But still there's that queasiness factor you get when you mix acidic and dairy foods.
One way to get around that is to serve a sweet dessert wine. The ice cream is cold and creamy, but the wine is sweet and the acids tamed. That was the custom in Thomas Jefferson's day when he graced his dessert table with Sauternes and Tokays.
The problem with ice cream and wine pairing lies in the venue. Friendly's doesn't have a wine list. And my favorite, the chocolate dipped soft serve cone--that lick of faint vanilla inside a shell of chocolate and a crunchy cake cone--is usually eaten outdoors. I'd pair this with something slightly sparkling, but not champagne--too sweet, too heavy. I'd go for a Pinot Grigio, a Pouilly-Fume, or even a Savenierres, which is made from Chenin Blanc.
I want a wine with a little citrus to it. And these have a lemonade quality to them. If you can't find a Pouilly-Fume, then a young Sauvignon Blanc will do or make a light Gin Rickey:
-One shot gin
-3 shots lime juice (one lime)
-1 1/2 teaspoons sugar dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water
Combine in a highball glass and fill with club soda.

There's nothing like lemonade and ice cream on a summer day. For the complete meal, add a Subway tuna sandwich. You'll think you're on the Rivera. If you're just having the sandwich, go with a White Zinfandel or Rose.
The general rule with ice cream, that I just made up, is sweeter white wines with the vanillas--the Heath Bar Crunches, the Rum Raisins; red wines with the chocolates; and sparkling wines with the sorbets. Consider some sinful deep chocolate and a good Pinot Noir. Or a chocolate Malted with bittersweet hot fudge sauce and a Cabernet Sauvignon. The chocolate really strips the wine to its essence. The fruit is gone and you taste the structure, the layers. It's like an X-ray.
A medium body champagne or sparkling wine will become toasty and light with a raspberry sorbet. Or peach frozen yogurt and the easy-to-make Bellini Cocktail, invented at Harry's Bar in Venice:
-One-third Peach Nectar or freshly juiced peaches
-Two-thirds Prosecco
It's like a Gondola ride without the smells and dampness. And if it's too peachy for you, substitute a lemon or pineapple sorbet.

The only area of caution is with dessert wines. Ports are great with vanilla and light chocolate, but Sauterne, Muscat, or Ice Wine are a little rowdy. They need center stage and often clash with very sweet desserts like Cr�me Brulee, Bananas Foster, or Hershey's chocolate chips right out of the bag. They're best with a small slice of cheesecake, green tea or ginger ice cream, or a brownie--cake-like, not fudge-y or ultra rich.
An alternative to wine is beer. Beer for dessert? Sure, there are several premium beers with fruit flavors. These are lambic beers, brewed with wild yeasts and flavored with fruit. My favorite is the raspberry. A dark ale is great with anything cinnamon.
Taking a tip from Bruce a reader from North Haven, Connecticut I tried Ommegang, a "Belgian-style Abbey Ale-top fermented and bottle conditioned, yielding a rich, fruity, aromatic, burgundian brew."
It took me longer to read the label than it did for me and the Wine Rookies, a group of novices with excellent palates to finish the 750ml bottle. But it was great. It's also less expensive then its European brothers and is actually made in Cooperstown, New York. Ommegang means "walk around" and now refers to a medieval fair. It's hoppy and zesty with a sweet smooth aftertaste and tons (and I mean tons) of herbal flavors: lemon verbena, sage, lavender, and Portuguese sweet rolls with cardamom. It's excellent with a simple gingerbread cake.
The first ice cream/alcohol pairing I ever had was the Cr�me de Menthe Parfait. Vanilla ice cream with two tablespoons of green Cr�me de Menthe on top. Yummy!

With all the ice cream I didn't have much room for wine of note, but the Wine Rookies tasted these:
Clos du Bois 2001 North Coast Zinfandel: $11.99. Fruity and 13.8 percent alcohol. Not as mellowed as I would like, but the Rookies would drink it again in a pinch.
Finca El Portillo 2002 Merlot, Mendoza, Argentina: $9.99. It's not as vibrant as Chilean Merlot. Rookies didn't enjoy this one.
Terra Unica 2000 Reserve, Alicante, Spain: $8.49. This light, fruity wine, overflowing with flavor is 50 percent Tempranillo, 50 percent Monastrell grapes. The Rookie favorite.