The most unexpected pairing of the year: wine and ice cream, the winning combination at TikTok
In Paris, where everything is reinvented sooner or later, the new rituals of pleasure often begin with a glass. Whether it's wine, ice cream... or both. Maybe it all started at Folderol, a small place in the 11th arrondissement, where the scene is repeated every evening: a glass of natural wine, a metal cup of artisanal ice cream and a crowd of curious onlookers who photograph the combination before tasting it. What was born as an experiment between two chefs trained with the great French chef Guy Savoy (Jessica Yang and Robert Compagnon) has now become a viral phenomenon on social networks.
Wine with ice cream is, this year, the chicest and most disconcerting gesture of contemporary after-dinner dining. On TikTok and Instagram, under the hashtag #redwineandicecream, videos of glasses overflowing with wine being poured over scoops of ice cream abound and accumulate thousands of views. The algorithm does not lie: there is something hypnotic in seeing how the wine slowly stains the cold surface, at that exact point where matter merges with the idea.
A logical pairing
Beyond the viral effect, the encounter between wine and ice cream has a chemical and sensory explanation. The milk fat in the ice cream softens the tannins in the red wine and makes the fruity notes more evident. The low temperature numbs the perception of alcohol for a few seconds, allowing the acidity and aromas to express themselves more clearly. And the creamy texture of the ice cream coats the palate, creating a slow transition between the cold and the warmth of the wine, a sensation reminiscent of the classic Italian affogato, but with a hedonistically French twist.
The result is not a dessert or a drink, but a different sensory experience. Those who have tasted it agree that the wine gains unsuspected nuances: a Burgundy seems more floral, a Grenache more gentle, a Port more rounded. It is a different way of reading wine, as if the wine pairing hierarchy were inverted: ice cream does not accompany, but amplifies and redefines the wine.
The apparent simplicity of combining these two ingredients hides a balanced, precise and surprisingly harmonious pairing.How to prepare it at home
No need to travel to a Parisian bar to try the experiment. Choose a light red wine with lively acidity (like a pinot noir) and a good quality vanilla ice cream. Place one or more scoops in a wide glass and pour the wine slowly, just to cover them. The contrast between the cold ice cream and the warm wine releases fruity, milky and spicy aromas that surprise with every sip.
If you prefer something cooler, try a sparkling rosé and peach or lemon ice cream. For the more daring, a port with dark chocolate ice cream creates a surprising, almost magnetic intensity. The key is that neither should overshadow the other: the wine should join the ice cream without overpowering it.
The pleasure of the unexpected
Today's hedonistic cuisine allows itself to play, mix codes and dismantle hierarchies. Dua Lipa has already demonstrated this by combining vanilla ice cream with olive oil and salt. Now it's the turn of wine and ice cream - two pleasures that used to live in opposite universes. Maybe that's why it works: because there's something deeply liberating about the image of a glass of wine being poured over ice cream. What is new, sometimes, is not in inventing, but in looking from another angle at what has always been there: the pleasure served cold.
And you, would you try it?
Maybe the question is not whether it fits, but whether you dare. Drinking wine with ice cream is not intended to please all palates, although from the success and the comments in the videos it seems to do so. It is a hedonistic gesture, almost playful, that disarms any rigidity around wine. It is about breaking the rules with style and a certain creativity.
Patricia González
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