Where to find the best wine and dessert pairings in Latvia

The first wine and dessert pairing contest Wine + Dessert Latvia 2025, organized by the Vyno klubas, took place in Riga in February. Thirteen of the best restaurants presented their carefully crafted wine and dessert pairings to an international jury, with the pairing from the Cēsis restaurant Kest being named the best, followed by the pairing from the Barents restaurant in Riga in second place and the pairing from the Michelin-starred Max Cekot Kitchen in third place.

1st place (Golden Fork) – Kest restaurant in Cēsis (Maris Jansons, Ingūna Majore). Dessert Beekeeper's Joy with Latvian sparkling quince and apple wine from the Tērvete vīni winery. The dessert, made from honey, sour cream, sea buckthorn jelly, and hazelnuts, was presented to the judging panel and audience to the sound of buzzing bees.

Such enthusiasm from the participants in the first championship was unexpected: chefs and pastry chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants and the most renowned sommeliers accepted the invitation to strengthen the dessert culture in the country and showcase their best dishes. Therefore, the list of competition winners is an excellent gastronomic travel guide for dessert lovers. This is something that has been lacking in all countries until now – no restaurant guide evaluates desserts separately. 

The wine and dessert pairing championship has been organized in Lithuania since 2010. As a result, the selection of sweet wine is enormous compared to neighboring countries, and the desserts are very diverse, creative, and usually perfectly paired with sweet wines. Restaurants that win the Wine + Dessert championships can enjoy a several-fold increase in sales of desserts and sweet wines. 

Therefore, according to the founder of the competition, Arūnas Starkaus, the team of Lithuanian wine culture promoters decided to export similar changes first to Latvia and then to Estonia, thus creating a Baltic dessert route in the future.

Best Latvian Dessert Award – Lygatnė restaurant Pavāru māja Līgatnē (Juris Dukaļskis, Juris Semjonovs, Artūrs Kļaviņš, Ēriks Dreibants, Jeļena Volkova). Dessert The taste of Lygatne – All From Acorns with Lygatne winery apple ice wine

In Latvia, the route is particularly winding: as many as five of the participating restaurants were not from Riga, but from Cesis, Lygatne, and Jurmala. The Golden Fork went to Cesis, and the prize for the best Latvian dessert went to Lygatne. Perhaps that is why the pastry chefs presented desserts that have been made for a long time and sell very well. This is a good start. Especially if the dessert is perfectly complemented by wine: The Annas Hotel restaurant paired a coconut-flavored dessert that has been sold for a decade with a sweet Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, while the winner, Kest, created a new flavor by pairing the restaurant's oldest dessert, Beekeeper's Joy, with a Latvian sparkling quince and apple wine. As always, the winners demonstrated not only excellent harmony, but something more: the taste of the combination evolved, spread subtly, "spoke" (Barents), the combination elevated the gourmet experience to a new level of perception (Max Cekots Kitchen), the combination was unexpected and pleasantly surprising (36.line Grill Restaurant), and it was presented in an interesting, engaging, and conceptual way (John Chef's Hall).

2nd place (Silver Fork) and the prize for the lightest combination – to the Riga restaurant Barents (Reina Paula Ivanova, Mykhailo Beresnev, Emīlija Zelma Gārša, Laura Podgurska). Dessert Elegant Pear (pear mousse with honey crumble, pear cooked in white wine, vanilla, chocolate and cognac sauce) with Austrian Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Alte Reben Auslesse 2018.

There were simply wonderful classic combinations: Sicilian Pear Dessert with muscat Planeta Passito di Notto (Chef's Corner), Lighthouse Breeze meringue with light Quinta do Folgorosa (Lighthouse), or "Dark (chocolate) sweetness" with red Tenuta Ulisse Passito Rosso (3 Chef restaurant), chocolate "Midnight Rhapsody" with powerful Niepoort 20 YO Tawny port (Whitehouse). It is likely that next year more desserts and combinations will be created specifically for the championship, thus accelerating the growth of dessert culture.

3rd place (Bronze Fork) and the prize for the best wine – to the Riga restaurant Max Cekot Kitchen (Maksims Cekots, Uldis Grigalis, Daina Pope Gulbe, Ričards Gabriels Vilinskis, Natalja Cekote).  Dessert While Nature Sleeps (pumpkin, quince, bee pollen, hazelnuts, sea buckthorn) with French Château d'Yquem 2010

The judges were pleasantly surprised by the combinations with Latvian wine: first place among the pairings (Tērvete vīni) and indirectly among the winners, Lygatnės vīna's Latvian apple ice wine, luxuriously made from frozen apples, which was served with the best Latvian (Pavāru Māja Līgatnē) deep dessert. Overall, the variety of wines at the championship is truly impressive: classic ports (Niepoort), sauternes (Chateau D'Yquem 2010!), Coteaux du Layon (Domaine des Deux Vallees), Pedro Ximenez (Lustau), Recioto della Valpolicella (Villa Girardi) and rarer ones, such as the Austrian sweet Gruner Veltliner (Bründlmayer), Portuguese from the Lisbon region (Folgorosa), successful products from individual wineries:  Planeta Passito di Noto, Tenuta Ulisse Passito Rosso, and sweet champagne Veuve Clicquot Rich, which was used twice – Latvia has a strong champagne culture.

The competition was organized by the Lithuanian Vyno klubas in cooperation with the Latvian Sommelier Association and Pavāru Klubs (Chefs' Association), with the assistance of Irina Rakevič's wine school and the JScom agency. Sponsors: Akvilė mineral water, Liebherr.

 Photographers: Robertas Daskevičius and Marcis Gaujenietis

4th place – John Chef’s Hall restaurant in Riga. Dessert Honey Cake with Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rich champagne, which was turned into a cocktail with bee bread on stage.  

5th place – 36.line Grill Restaurant (Jūrmala). A dessert of quince, caviar, and champagne with Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rich champagne.

6th place – Whitehouse restaurant (Riga). Dessert Midnight Rhapsody with Niepoort 20 YO Tawny port.

Entresol restaurant (Riga). Dark Harmony dessert with Lustau Pedro Ximènez San Emilio sherry.

Light House restaurant (Jūrmala). Lighthouse Breeze dessert with Portuguese Quinta da Folgorosa Late Harvest Lisboa 2019. 

Annas Hotel. Dessert: Green Lemon, Coconut, Wine with French Domaine des Deux Vallees Coteaux du Layon 1er Cru Chaume 2022

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Harper Woolf Restaurant (Riga). Dessert Pear Symphony with Italian Villa Girardi Recioto Della Valpoicella Classico 2018. 

Restaurant and bar Chef's Corner (Riga). Dessert Sicilian Pear with Italian Planeta Passito di Noto.

Restaurant 3 Pavāru Restorāns (Riga). Dessert Tamsus saldumas with Italian Tenuta Ulisse Passito Rosso, Terre di Chieti IGP.

The international evaluation committee consisted of: Arūnas Starkus (Lithuania), Aivars Hansons (Estonia), Aigars Nords (Latvia), Dominika Zagrodzka (Poland), Arminas Darasevičius (Lithuania), Jānis Kaļķis (Latvia), Ērika Šmeļkova (Latvia), Egita Segliņa (Latvia), Guzal Said (Latvia).

For more information, visit: www.bestdessertandwine.com