Dessert Wines

[dgiglio]

I know very little about wine so I ask for the advice of more seasoned wine "veterans". I would like to buy a dessert wine for New Year's Eve. Any suggestions for a very sweet wine? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

[Innkeeper]

Look for Chateau Dorleac, Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont, 1998. It is a widely available "Sauternes-like" wine, made from essentially the same grapes, for a LOT less money.

[m_cyclops]

What is a Sauternes???

[Innkeeper]

Sauternes is the most prestigious dessert wine in the world if you have a tank or two to fight off the German "Ice" wine aficionados. It comes from Southern Bordeaux, and is made from Semillion and Sauvignon Blanc grapes that are left on the vine until, late in the season, a "noble rot" forms on the berries. It is then carefully hand pick and carefully pressed into an very expensive dessert wine. The king of this hill is Chateau D'Yquem. A lesser Sauternes is Chateau Climens, which you can pick for around $60.00 per 750ml bottle.

[dgiglio]

I am so very appreciative of your advice/comments. As luck would have it, the Food Network, specifically "Cooking Live", had a program on last night on dessert parties. At the end of the program they went over the four major categories of dessert wines: reisling, muscat,sauternes and fortified wines (forgive any mispelling--I was taking notes but they did not have the names on the screen)!

Earlier in the day I had visited a local fruit mkt where I bought a tawny port for a mere $5. But I would very much like to try some wines from the other categories. I suspect that I will need to visit a wine shop to get a wider selection.

Any other brand/region suggestions would be appreciated. Have you heard of Inniskiln ice wines from Cananda? How pricey are North American ice wines?

Again thank you--looking forward to all replies!

[Thomas]

Inniskillen ice wine is quite expensive; the last I remember it was about $30 U.S. dollars for 375 ml. But it is good!

Incidentally, rarely does a dessert wine pair with a sweet dessert. The two fight for your attention rather than complement each other; some are downright terrible matches.

Cheese, nuts and sometimes fruit normally do better with dessert wines. The exceptions exist, like a Malmsey (Madeira) or ice wine poured over ice cream.

[m_cyclops]

I've tried the Canadian Ice Wine from the Hillsburg vineyards, in the Niagara Peninsula, and it was $50 canadian (about 35 usd) the 325 bottle, but it was very, very good. I agree with foddie about the matches, Ice wine goes with soft cheese or some berries but it's too sweet to have with desserts. Almost all the Ice Wine Canadian are too expensive because they marketing this way, and it's a very difficult labor. Any good portuguese Oporto (port) from Madeira will be a good selection too.

[dgiglio]

I wanted to serve the wine as the dessert. Being new to wine, I have not yet developed a taste for the dry wines.

Are there any ice wines made in the USA? If so, are they very pricey? Actually the $30 doesn't seem an awful price if the wine is good--lesser wines by the glass at a nice restaurant can be much more!

Again thank you for your comments--it is wonderful to learn some of these things prior to purchasing!

[Jerry D Mead]

Ice Wines are rare in the states, but a number of California and Washington wineries make Rieslings labeled Late Harvest or Select Late Harvest that are the equivalent in sweetness of German Auslese, Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese...all very sweet wines and usually available in half bottles and pricey...but they are delicious.

Chateau St. Jean and Geyser Peak are two California versions that come instantly to mind.

[Thomas]

You must remember that most wine people on this board have little or no experience with wines produced east of the Mississippi, Curmudgeon included.

Ice wine (and Late Harvest wine) is produced in New York State. Hunt Country Vineyards, Wagner Vineyards and Lakewood Vineyards come to mind. It is about the same price as the wines on the Niagara Peninsula--maybe a little less.

Look up www.nywine.com for information.

[Thomas]

I should also say that barring exceptions like Jekyll in California, NY State (specifically, the Finger Lakes region)is the overall best Riesling-producing state in the United States, but few on this board know that too.

[dgiglio]

Foodie:

Have you any experience with or knowledge of Michigan Rieslings? I have seen several at local markets but have not tried them. Most are from the Traverse City area and were labeled "harvest cherry" or cranberry,etc.

While reading labels I remember noting that some rieslings are dry. I imagine that unless noted, the others would be sweet. Is this accurate?

Incidentally, I have settled on serving the aforementioned tawny port for New Year's Day. It is a casual gathering at which there will be no wine "experts". I am the only person remotely interested in exploring the different types of wine. The others will be taste testers. I plan to eventually try the other categories of dessert wines.

Thank you again for your help.

Happy New Year!

[Thomas]

It has been a long time since I've tasted a Michigan Riesling; didn't much care for it then; too sweet and devoid of the kind of fruit/acid balance I prefer. You are correct, many Americans think Riesling is always sweet and so many producers identify when a Riesling is dry, but with that grape, especially when grown in truly cool regions, dry is a relative term. It could have 3/4 to 1 percent residual sugar but because the acid is so high it will taset dry.

As for the cherry harvest et al, no experience with them on my part.

Re, Tawny: good luck. Tawny isn't exactly what ice or late harvest wines are.

[dgiglio]

Foodie:

The tawny port, though a dessert wine, is not an ice wine. I guess I will be able to judge soon whether it is to my liking or not. If nothing else, I will know what wine not to buy again.