This delicous dessert was created by pastry chef, Susanne Salvestrin, expressly to highlight Montevina Aleatico.

Crust:

1-1/3 cups ground gingersnap cookies
1-1/2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350¡, and butter a 9-inch diameter springform pan. Or you can use a 9-inch pie dish and serve as you would a pie.

Grind the crystallized ginger with the ground gingersnaps until ginger is finely ground. Transfer to bowl, blend in sesame seeds and melted butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crusts sets, about 10 minutes. Cool.

Filling:

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup whipping cream
6 oz. good white chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
1/4 cup sour cream

Sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Microwave on low heat to dissolve. Stir and set aside.

Bring 1/3 cup cream to simmer in small pan. Add chopped white chocolate and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add gelatin and ginger. Stir and refrigerate until cooled, about 15 minutes.

Beat remaining 1/4 cup cream and sour cream in small bowl to soft peaks. Fold cream mixture into white chocolate mixture and spoon filling into crust. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Pears:

2 cups Montevina Aleatico
1/4 cup sugar
4 small Anjou pears, peeled, quartered and cored
2 star anise

Combine Aleatico, sugar and star anise in saucepan. Add pears. Simmer pears for 10-15 minutes, or until tender, in the Aleatico sauce. Remove pears from sauce, cover and chill until ready to use. Continue cooking sauce until thick and syrupy. Remove sauce from heat, cover and chill until ready to use. Slice pears and arrange decoratively on tart. Drizzle on sauce. Slice, plate and serve.

Serves eight.

Recipe courtesy of Montevina

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