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Dessert Wine
Most dessert wine are sweet. They can be
consumed with fruit, cheese, a creamy dessert or by
themselves. Generally, red dessert wines are best at room
temperature. White and brown dessert wines are good when
chilled.
Port : A rich, full-bodied fortified
wine made in red, white and amber colours. True port from
Oporto, Portugal is widely imitated but not yet duplicated. To
make port, fermentation of the original wine is halted with
brandy. Then young port as aged in wooden casks for two or
more years. This mellows the flavour of the wine. These
"wood" ports are described on the label as Ruby or
Tawny. Tawny port is older, browner and less fruity then Ruby
port. It is usually more expensive.
The best port, vintage port, is bottled
after ageing in a wooden cast for two years. Then it ages in
the bottle for at least 10 years. Vintage port is made from
the best grapes of good harvests. Famous brands of vintage
port include. Warre, Dow, Cockburn and Croft.
Some California wineries make excellent
ports. The wine-makers use the same grape varieties planted in
the Duoro region of Portugal. Some good brands of California
port include Ficklin, Paul Masson, J/W Morris and Woodbury.
Others countries making pleasant port-style wines are
Australia and South Africa.
Varieties:
Banyuls Pronunciation:
bahn-YOOLZ Notes: This
is a red dessert wine that's produced in France. It's
one of the few wines that's good with chocolate. Notes:
Port OR black muscat wine OR porter ale (also tastes good with
chocolate)
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black
muscat wine Notes: This
is a late harvest dessert wine made with black muscat
grapes and sometimes fortified with brandy.
Unlike many dessert wines, it goes well with
chocolate. Notes: Banyuls OR
Port OR porter ale (also tastes good with chocolate)
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late harvest wine Notes:
These pricey wines are produced from grapes that are
picked late in the season, after they've shriveled a
bit on the vine. This concentrates the sugar and
allows producers to turn the grapes into sweet, rich
dessert wines. Some of the best late harvest
wines are made from grapes that have become moldy with
the Botrytis cinerea fungus (also known as "noble
rot"). The fungus pokes holes in the grape
skins, allowing more water to evaporate. Ice
wine = icewine = eiswein is an especially sweet
and expensive kind of late harvest wine in which the
dehydrated grapes are allowed to freeze on the vine,
resulting in a very sweet wine. These and other
late harvest wines are often sold in half-bottles, and
are best drunk by themselves or with fruit or light
desserts. Don't serve them with chocolate or
very sweet desserts.
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Muscat = Moscatel = Muscatel =
Muscadel = Moscato Notes:
This is a sweet and fruity dessert wine made
from Muscat grapes. Don't confuse it with
Muscadet, which is a dry white wine. Substitutes:
port OR Riesling OR Gewürztraminer OR 1C =
1/2 C white wine + 1/2 C water + 1/3 C sugar.
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Sauternes Pronunciation:
so-TERN Notes: Sauternes
is a district in France that produces exquisite and
expensive white dessert wines. The district
includes the commune Barsac, which produces
some of the best Sauternes. Sauternes are sweet
and are delicious with blue cheese, pâté de foie
gras, and light desserts, though they should never be
served with chocolate. Don't confuse Sauternes
with Sauterne, which is a cheap domestic imitation.
Substitutes: dessert wine.
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Tokaj wine = Tokay wine
Pronunciation: toe-KAY Notes:
Ordinary Tokay table wine is mediocre, but some Tokay
grapes are affected by Botrytis cinerea, a fungus that pokes
holes in their skins and makes them shrivel on the vine.
This concentrates the sweetness and makes for an exquisite
dessert wine. Look for bottles labeled Tokay Aszú,
the Hungarian name for botrytised Tokay wine.
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