Dessert wines are waiting for you

Bonsoir, and good evening, everybody, here we come---Thirsty Glutton! I ate so much ice-cream these days although it’s really cold outside. Maybe you think I’m crazy, maybe……it’s real! OK, just a joke. Let’s return to our subject. Today, I’d like to introduce you the “sweetness”. What’s that? Oh, come on, my dear, I think you will love them------the sweet wine.

First of all, we need to have a little class of dessert wine.

-What determines the sweetness of the wine?

Wine can be dry, medium dry, medium and sweet. In fact, it’s the residual sugar that determines the sweetness. 

-What is dessert wine?

Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to most fortified wines such as Fino and Madeila. But some of the less strong fortified like Pedro Ximénez Sherry and Muscat de Beaume-De-Venise are regarded as dessert wines.

However, in the United States, by contrast, a dessert wine is legally defined as any wine over 14% alcohol by volume, which includes all fortified wines - and is taxed more highly as a result. But this classification is outdated. And some modern way is trying to replace them. 

-Types of sweet wine

Natural sweetness: “leave it to nature” is currently out of fashion   Constantia

Chaptalization: sugar is added to boost the alcohol levels of flabby Languedoc

Süssreserve: “The reserve sweetness” is added to the wine after the fermentation  

Fortification: some fortified wine like sweet sherry that is less strong Fortified

Raisin wine: made from air-dried grapes Passum

Ice wine: made from the grapes free zed with the temperature below at most -7℃  Eiswein

Noble rot wine: made from mouldy grapes, but not just any mould    Sauternes

Here, what can we do for the pairing?

Sweet Wines and Food

There are no hard and fast rules when pairing food with wines. However, a few guidelines can help.

• Salty foods contrast nicely with sweetness.
• When trying to match a sweet or dessert wine with dessert, it's best to match a sweet wine with a dessert that downplays the sugar. For example, try a honeyed Muscat Canelli together with an apple tart.
• Pair rich wines with rich foods. 

      

Intriguing Treats

Be ready to try a sweet wine/food pairing? Try the following:

• Fie Gras with Sauternes
• Stilton and Port
• Chocolate and ice wine
• Macon Almonds and Sherry