What is a Dessert Wine?
Answer:
The sweetness of a wine often depends on the
time of the season the grapes were harvested. In the case of a dessert wine, the grapes were most likely picked very late in the season, almost to the point of rotting on the vine in some cases. By definition in the United States, a dessert wine must contain at least 14% alcohol by volume, but certain blends such as Asti Spumante can have a lower percentage of alcohol as long as the overall sweetness is present.

Fittingly, a dessert wine is often paired with dessert foods,  such as pastries or fruit compotes.  The rule of thumb among wine enthusiasts when pairing a dessert wine with a dessert food is to make sure the wine is a degree sweeter than the food.  A dessert wine can either be red or white, although many people associate light white wines with desserts.   Perhaps the two most famous dessert wines are port and sherry, although a number of wines made primarily with muscat grapes are also popular dessert wines.  There are also some sweet wines derived from special grapes which have formed a "noble rot", a deliberate and closely observed fungal infection which concentrates the sugar inside the affected fruit.

Dessert wine may also be served by itself following a full-course meal.   Some dessert wines, notably sherry, may be fortified with the addition of a sweet liqueur such as brandy.  This fortification may boost the wine's alcohol by volume percentage to attain the 14% minimum prescribed by American wine laws.  A close relative to the dessert wine is a specialty vintage called ice wine.  The wine's temperature is reduced to near-freezing and the excess frozen water is drawn off, creating a more concentrated and sweeter ice wine.  Dessert wines are usually poured into smaller glasses than table wines, since they are meant to be savored for their extreme sweetness and complex flavors.  A two-ounce pour is typical for a dessert wine served after dinner with an accompanying dessert food.
  more Q&A sessions like this

Trackback(0)
Comments (0)add comment

Write comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Join for free or Login.

busy