Popular Sweet Wine Varietals

Riesling

This varietal is grown in Germany, Austria, Alsace (France), New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. This wine can be either a white or a sweet dessert wine. For the purposes of a dessert wine, it is harvested with noble rot, icewine or chaptalized to add sweetness. Higher in acid and lower in alcohol, this sweet riesling pair well with fresh fruit, soft cheeses, and foods with a higher salt content to balance things out.Read More

Vouvray

A very popular, cold climate Loire Valley wine, considered to be an Appellation d’Origine Controlee (classified wine). These wines can be made as sec (dry) for which you will find additional information on them in the white wine page. The sweet vouvray wines include Demi-Sec (semi-dry), Moelleux (sweet, botrytized) and Doux (sweetest, botrytized and heavy or syrup like). They are higher in acidity and often require 4-5 years of bottle aging. Almost never oak aged, vouvray is produced in traditional steel tank and is popular as a still and sparkling wine. You will find similar notes in vouvray as sauternes, including honey, nuts, Asian spice, gala apple and fig. On the nose you will get a massive perfume that include white flowers and honeysuckle. This wine pairs well with rich foods, pastry, cakes, soft creamy cheeses, and decadent reduction sauces including duck, dove, and grilled poultry.

Chenin Blanc

Another wine from the Loire Valley that has seen cultivation expand to other New World countries including South Africa, Australia, Spain, and spread out over 12-15 states across the U.S. This varietal is typically high in acidity and thus requires smaller yields in the vineyard, and is picked at an exact time often late in the year when the maximum amount of noble rot has infected he grape. You will find notes of green apple and mineral or a chalkiness that opens up to flavors of honey, chocolate/almond or nuttiness, along with citrus and exotic fruits. This wine pairs exceptionally well with spicy Asian cuisine or Mexican foods, however its versatility expands it to other culinary avenues as well.

Muscat

Also known as Moscato, Muscatel or Muscadel and grown in many countries including Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and smaller countries like Greece, Moldova, Lebanon and Slovenia to name a few. Served as both a sparkling and sweet still wine, the grape will range in color from white to black. Muscat grapes are high in sugars, flavonoids (antioxidants) and are used in edible grapes, raisins and sweeter style wines including a slightly fizzy wine style called Moscato d’Asti. In Spain and Portugal, this varietal is typically used in fortified wines and brandy. You will find a straw like or golden color to the wine with almonds, honeysuckle, peach, apples and pear on the nose. On the palate you will find a fruit forward profile that will dominate with apricot and peach.

Sauternes

The big boy, or granddaddy of sweet wines. This wine carries decades of history and prestige and are often expensive. From the Graves region within Bordeaux and produced from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes which have been affected by noble rot. As the cold climate and mild dampness affects the area with annual regularity, noble rot and the cold cause the grapes to raisin causing the acidity and chalkiness that will also reveal apricot and honey. With age Sauternes gets darker often starting out pale yellow to straw yellow and getting darker as years progress, sometimes to a lighter brown. With ageing potential over 100 years, Sauternes are highly collectible wines and are served chilled with a variety of dishes including fois gras, crème brule, chocolate, cakes and with soft or moldy cheeses.

Icewine, Eiswein or Ice Wine

A delightful dessert wine harvested while the grapes are still frozen on the vine. Typically harvested in the most grueling conditions, in the dead of the night deep freeze conditions, grapes are picked, without botrytis affecting the grapes. Harvest must take place in a few hours since a deep freeze affects the grape’s cell walls and is destructive if the grapes thaw. As a result, farmers are on high alert and must have a labor pool ready to harvest the grapes in a few hours. Icewines are concentrated, sweet and possess minerality and have a range of flavor profiles since the varietals can shift from Riesling to Cabernet Franc, Merlot or Muscatine grapes. The authority on icewine is Canada, however other cold climate regions like Germany and Oregon have icewine production. Icewine is well suited for chocolate desserts and are accentuated with truffle or caramel toppings or fruit.

Tokaji

Originating as far back as the 1530’s, Hungary and Slovakia are the only countries permitted by law to use the Tokaj or Tokaji name under the brand as it is a designated controlled appellation. Only six grape varietals are permitted under the Tokaj regulation to be used in the fermentation process that includes Furmint, Hárslevelı, Yellow Muscat, Zéta (Oremus), KövérszŒlŒ and Kabar. The Tokaj process of making wine includes a harvest under conditions of noble rot (botrytis), which following a long summer preceded by a brutally cold winter, allows for a raising of the grapes resulting in a super sugar concentration.

Aszu grapes are stomped into a paste like consistency called Aszu dough (puttonyos) that is then blended with wine must for up to 48 hours. Following the blending process, the wine is placed in wooded vats and racked. A slow fermentation process results which can take up to a few years. A Tokaji is classified by the number of Puttonyos added to the casks and can range from 3 to 6 Puttonyos with six being the most prestigious.

Essencia, which is a nectar that bleeds off the racks from the Aszu can also be bottled. As it has such a high concentration and a much smaller fraction of production, it is often consumed in smaller glasses and is quite expensive due to its cellar capacity to last over 200 years in bottle. Tokaji can be consumed with fruit, cheese, or decadent cake, however its scarcity and exclusivity really makes it a standalone wine.

Port, Vinho Porto, Porto

Produced in the Duoro Valley in Northern Portugal, port can be produced by over 100 different grape varietals, however it is typically produced using five different varietals, namely Tinta Barroca, Tinta Cão, Tempranillo, Touriga Francesa, and Touriga Nacional. Port is classified into two groups; barrel aged and bottle aged port. The taste profile of ports includes nuttiness (hazel nuts), leather, jerky, bacon and currant. A good way to describe the power of ports is to describe it in terms of “grip” which describes its lasting power on the palate.