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Just Desserts
They are decadent, luscious, celestial. They are also under appreciated, misunderstood and often just plain ignored. They are dessert wines, the sweet but diminutive stepchildren of the wine business that are often left to languish on restaurant wine lists, unnoticed by diners.
But talk about a finale! Whether served alongside dessert or standing in as dessert itself, a good dessert wine punctuates any meal. Traditionally, dessert wines have substantial residual sugar. While they are always sweet, they differ according to several factors: how they are produced; where they are made; the grapes used to make them; and the resulting sugar and alcohol content.
The best wines, though often gloriously sweet, are well balanced - that is, they are neither sticky nor cloying, and have a rather wonderful acid element that offsets the sweetness. It never ceases to amaze me that when a dessert wine is served, both eyes and palates light up.
Fast Facts about Dessert Wines
Many restaurants offer dessert wines by the glass or half glass. 2 ½ ounces is often more than enough of these marvelous elixirs. A full bottle can comfortably serve 8 - 10 people.
The finest dessert wines are grouped according to three categories that are helpful to remember:
1. wines made from Riesling
2. wines made from Muscat grapes;
3. dessert wines from Sauternes, the famous Bordeaux region of France (these wines are produced from the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes); also wines made in this style from other wine regions around the world.
4. and the fortified wines Port, Sherry and Madeira.
Sweet Sensations: Recommended Dessert Wines
Many winemakers experiment by producing sweet wines from non-traditional grape varieties. - Ever have a late harvest Chardonnay? - Check out these fine dessert wines from around the world:
Riesling: Joseph Phelps Late Harvest Riesling (California), The great Riesling wines from Germany labeled as Beerenauslese, Trockenbeernenauslese or Eiswein
Muscat: Bonny Doon Muscat Vin de Glacière (California), Quady Essencia (California), Cascinetta Moscato d'Asti (Italy)
Sauternes: The overall quality of wines from this region is superb. Very expensive: Chateau d'Yquem, Chateau Rieussec, Chateau Climens or Chateau Suduiraut. More moderately priced: Chateau Guard, Chateau Latour Blanche, and Chateau Sigalas-Rabaud.
Sauternes-Style: Far Niente Dolce (California); Port: Graham's Six Grapes (Portugal); any great vintage wine from the fine Port Houses of Grahams, Dow's, Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca and Warres (Oporto, Portugal)
Sherry: Emilio Lustau Pedro Ximenez (Spain)
Madeira: Blandy's Five Year Old Malmsey Madeira (Portugal).
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