Wine

A Sweet Finish

Discerning the Flavors of Dessert Wines

Kent Rosenblum
Photos by Chris Shorten, Quady Winery

Dessert wine is probably one of the least-understood beverages on the planet, ranking somewhere between yak’s milk and kaffir lime juice. Thus, I thought we might explore this fascinating subject, which is near and dear to every chef’s heart, but generally brings pallor of confusion and trepidation to the faces of consumers.
    Dessert wines come in all shapes, sizes, flavors and traditions. They pretty much have one thing in common, though—residual sugar or sweetness. This can range from 1 percent or 2 percent all the way up to 50 percent. For the most part, dessert wines are meant to be served after dinner. Most of them will pair with sweet desserts, although many will go great with a cheese or fruit course. There are two basic categories: fortified and unfortified.

FORTIFIED FLAVORS

    With fortified wines, the fermentation is arrested or stopped by the addition of a high-proof alcohol such as brandy or neutral spirits. Probably the most famous fortified wine is a hearty red called port. True port comes from Portugal, and is made from a variety of grapes grown along the Douro River Valley. Typically a brandy is added to the fermenting grapes, and in the old days was mixed together by the feet of young maidens.
    Modern methods have left the maidens more leisure time, but the process has been copied all over the world. Port from California is likely to be inexpensive and also require a post-consumption dose of Excedrin. However, there are many fine examples of California Port-style wines, which are traditionally produced and aged in barrels for several years before release. The Rosenblum Cellars’ Carapina Vineyard Zinfandel Port is a fine example of this. A couple of other fine California producers include Madera’s Quady Winery and Sonora Winery and Port Works.
    The ports from Portugal can be a whole year of study in themselves, because they come in different styles and quality levels, but a declared Vintage Port from Portugal is always a good bet. Ports typically go well with chocolates or a blue cheese like Stilton.
    There are many other examples of fine fortified red and white wines. Australia offers many great types such as fortified Tokay and Muscat, which down there are called “stickies.” Great dessert sherries are produced in the south of Spain, mainly from the Palomino grape. For a treat try some of the Oloroso or Pedro Ximinez bottlings from Osborne.
    Madeira is a fortified dessert wine from the island of Madeira, off the coast of Spain. This was a popular drink for American Revolutionaries in the late 1700s. It is a wine that does better with maltreatment, because it has been fortified, oxidized, heated up and left unattended. The best one I have ever tasted was from the vintage 1835.

UNFORTIFIED WINES

    Unfortified dessert wines are produced by getting the sugar levels in the grapes so high that the yeast can’t ferment them dry. The high sugar levels are achieved either by letting the grape hang on the vine and dehydrate or by being infected with a mold called Botrytis cinerea, or “Noble Rot.” The mold sends little feelers called mycelia into the grape and suctions out the water, leaving a concentration of sugar and acid.
    The vast majority of these wines are produced from white grapes with Noble Rot. Riesling and Gewürztraminer grapes are used in Germany, Austria and the United States. Most of these wines exhibit flavors of honey, peach and apricot. In America these will just be called “late harvest wines.” In Germany these will be called Beerenauslese, or Trockenbeerenauslese, reflecting individual berry selection.
    Another method used in cooler climates is to let the grapes freeze on the vine, and when the grapes are pressed, only the sugar comes out. In Canada you’ll find “ice wines;” these are known as Eiswien in Germany.
    The French regions of Sauternes and Barsac produce wonderful dessert wines made out of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Traminer. These are named for the region and there are many quality producers.
    There are several late-harvest red wines around the world, most notably Amarone from Italy, where the grapes are dried like raisins before making the wine, and late-harvest Zinfandel from right here in California.
    Try some of these wines for dessert, either by themselves or paired with fruit, cheeses or chocolate.  Talk to the sommelier in your favorite restaurant about the possibilities.