Choose a wine around the whole plate. A salad with a sharp dressing, a creamy cheese and a rich dessert each give hot honey a different setting. Start with a light drizzle so you can taste the other ingredients, then choose a bottle you enjoy.
These twelve wine styles offer starting points for a meal. The serving ideas are suggestions; the linked recipes belong to their credited publishers.
Choosing a bottle
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust's guide to pairing drinks with spice suggests considering alcohol, sweetness, tannin and acidity. A lower-alcohol wine with a little sweetness and softer tannins can be a useful starting point with spicy food. Acidity brings freshness to a pairing; how the combination feels depends on the food and the drinker.
Check the bottle's description and alcohol content, and ask the shop about its sweetness. The American Wine Society's food pairing guide explains that fruity aromas and actual sweetness are different things. Strawberry or peach tasting notes alone tell you little about the wine's sugar level.
Serve whites and rosés at the producer's suggested temperature. A chilled glass can feel refreshing, but temperature is just one part of choosing a pairing. The sauce, dressing and sweetness of the complete dish matter, too.
Whites
Riesling
Riesling comes in dry through sweet styles. If you want an off-dry wine for a spicy meal, look for that description on the particular bottle. WSET's guide to German Riesling describes this range of styles.
Try it with seafood, such as Mike's Hot Honey-Glazed Salmon by Michael D. Kurtz on Food52.
Gewürztraminer
An aromatic Gewürztraminer is another option for a dish with a sweet-and-spicy sauce. Ask about its sweetness and alcohol level when choosing a bottle.
Try it with a chicken or seafood curry that includes a little hot honey. Choose around the full sauce and its heat level.
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a direction to explore with a tart dressing. Think about the vinegar or citrus in the food alongside the honey.
Try it with a crisp salad dressed with The Delicious Life's hot honey balsamic vinaigrette. Another serving idea is crab cakes with the hot honey aioli included in Meals with Maggie's sweet-potato-fries recipe. The crab-cake pairing is an optional idea here; the linked recipe includes fries and aioli.
Rosés
Grenache rosé
A Grenache rosé could join a cheese-and-honey plate. Use the producer's description to judge the bottle's sweetness rather than relying on its fruit aromas.
Try it with Brie or Camembert finished with a light hot honey drizzle. For a creamy pasta idea, see Mike's Hot Honey's spring carbonara recipe.
Syrah rosé
Compare a Syrah rosé with a dish that combines fruit and cheese. Let the bottle's stated style guide your choice.
Try it with Half Baked Harvest's peach, burrata and Parmesan crostini with hot honey, or with ratatouille finished with a little hot honey.
Sangiovese rosé
A Sangiovese rosé is another possibility for a savory plate. Rosés made from the same grape can differ in sweetness, body and alcohol.
Try it with Sticks Scratch Kitchen's Nashville hot honey glazed pork chops, or a charcuterie plate with hot honey served on the side.
Reds
Choose a red by the particular bottle's alcohol, tannin and flavor. A high-alcohol or strongly tannic wine can be a challenging match for a very spicy dish. Keep the honey drizzle modest while you find a combination you like.
Pinot Noir
Consider Pinot Noir with a mushroom dish. Compare its description with the richness, smokiness and spice of the food.
Try it with White Sparrow Food Company's smoky roasted mushroom pizza with hot honey drizzle.
Grenache
Grenache offers another red-wine starting point for grilled meat. Check the finished wine's style and alcohol level.
Try it with a hot honey glazed rack of lamb or Lindsey Eats' hot honey barbecue ribs.
Zinfandel
If you enjoy Zinfandel, try it with a rich main course and a small amount of hot honey. Choose the bottle with the meal's sweetness and spice in mind.
Try it with ribeye topped with Land O'Lakes' hot honey compound butter, or Orchids + Sweet Tea's hot honey apple, cheddar and bacon grilled cheese.
Dessert wines
Hot honey can finish cheesecake, ice cream sundaes, grilled peaches or pumpkin pie. When choosing a wine, consider the sweetness of the complete dessert and the particular bottle. A light fruit dish and a rich pie give you different starting points.
Sauternes
Sauternes is a sweet-wine option to consider with a fruit dessert. Ask about the bottle and compare its sweetness with the dish.
Try it with Mike's Hot Honey's grilled peaches with hot honey and vanilla ice cream.
Moscato
Moscato includes still, sparkling and dessert styles. Check the bottle's sweetness, alcohol and whether it has bubbles.
Try it with Natasha's Kitchen's panna cotta and an optional light hot honey drizzle. That drizzle is a serving suggestion here. A dessert cheese plate offers another idea.
Port
Port has a range of styles to explore with cheese and richer desserts. Its alcohol content and sweetness both matter to the pairing.
Try it with molten chocolate cake or Red Clay's hot honey pecan pie.
Keep notes on the pairings you enjoy
Pick a dish, choose a bottle and taste the combination before adding more honey. If it works for you, write down the wine's name and the food you served with it. That gives you a pairing to return to for your next meal.