Whether you drink them with dessert, as dessert, or just to sip and and relax, sweet wines are appropriate throughout the year. In this column, I give you some considerations for sweet wines to top your evening or anytime you desire a delicious dessert wine).
My first choice is Port. Sweet and red! And this time of year I just can’t resist it. The only challenge is there are a variety of styles, so it can be difficult deciding which to buy. This Portuguese elixir is a different sort of sweet wine. High alcohol (fortified with brandy) and bursting with red and black fruit flavors, it is powerful, even in styles that fashion a sense of elegance. The richness, intensity and natural sweetness balanced with refreshing tannin and finished with an alcoholic kick always warm my soul.
To many, the intensity and power of Vintage Port make it the most prized but it also usually is the most expensive approaching and sometimes exceeding $100 per bottle. A more affordable place to start is with a Ruby Port, the youngest and most accessible style. It is blended from several different vintages and offers fresh, straightforward, grapey fruit that is ready to drink upon release. Graham’s “Six Grapes” Reserve ($24) is one of the classics with its deep black fruits and aromas of ripe plums and dark cherries.
Or take a step up for Graham’s Six Grapes “Special Old Vines Edition” ($42), a very special elaboration of the style produced to commemorate 100 years of the Six Grapes emblem. It is more expensive but it’s pure cherry and berry flavors are concentrated yet fresh with a luscious texture and hints of chocolate.
Some Port aficionados consider Tawny Port – known less for power and concentration than for complexity, purity and finesse – to be the ultimate expression of Port. Tawny Ports also marry several vintages but spend extensive time in casks, for periods ranging from ten to forty years.
While 20, 30 and 40 Year Old Tawnies are ethereal taste experiences; they also can cost from $50 to more than $100. For the best introduction to the style, 10-Year-Old Tawnies are the most accessible and affordable choice. I’ve been enjoying the Graham’s 10 Year Old ($36), which presents dried fruit notes (cherry and orange) that are still pure and vibrant, balanced with almonds, brown spices, and a touch of caramel.
Although some experiment with Port during a meal, it is best enjoyed slightly chilled at the end of the meal, either with dessert, cheese, dark chocolate or as dessert itself.
For those of you who prefer the lighter touch, though still quite rich nature of a white dessert wine, I suggest an Austrian from Kracher Wienlaubenhof. In recent years, Austria has drawn a lot of attention for its challengingly named but fresh, spicy and weighty Grüner Veltliner. What many people may not realize is that, like Germany, Austria produces some amazing sweet wines.
They typically also are labeled according to the same ripeness and sweetness levels as are German wines. And Kracher is the most famous name in Austrian wine. A family-owned winery now on its third generation, Kracher is especially renowned for its dessert wines. Here are three special ones from the top three tiers that actually are reasonably priced.
As you go up this list of wines, they get sweeter, deeper and richer, increasingly complex and concentrated, potentially even influenced by the presence of botrytis. Again, these are enjoyed best with dessert or on their own but they actually can work well with spicy foods.
- 2011 Auslese Cuvée ($23, 375ml) 60% chardonnay, 40% welschriesling (unrelated to
ermany’s riesling). A late harvest selection with bright and crisp peach, honey and lemon.
- 2011 Beerenauslese Cuvée ($34, 375ml) 60% welschriesling, 40% chardonnay. From individually selected berries, this one switches the grape ratio with the result of stronger honey notes, spice, balancing acidity.
- NV Trockenbeerenauslese ($28, 187ml) 55% welschriesling, 40% chardonnay, 5% traminer. From grapes so super ripe they are basically raisins with just a few drops per berry. They produce a wine so rich and lush with apricot and cream it is best drunk alone and savored in small doses.
Again, these wines are enjoyed best with dessert or cheese or on their own but they actually can work well with spicy foods. Enjoy!