One of life's great pleasures is to complement the dessert course, or a rich pâté with a sweet wine. Try any of these wines with your cheeses or sweets this Christmas.
Sauternes
is a French dessert wine from the Sauternes region in Bordeaux. Made
from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes affected by noble
rot, Sauternes are concentrated and distinctively flavoured wines.
There are five communes – Barsac, Sauternes, Bommes, Fargues and
Preignac, with Barsac wine distinguished from other Sauternes by being
drier with a lighter body.
Australian dessert wines or ‘stickies’
are intensely flavoured white wines, deep gold in colour with bouquets
of dried apricots, rich sweet flavour and a sharp acidic finish. Their
intense flavour means they’re often sold in half bottles. They contain a
delicate, acidic balance and are a sensational accompaniment to fruit
desserts, or blue or soft cheeses.
Since the 1960s,
California's dessert and fortified
wines have dramatically improved. Beringer was one of the first to
create wine from Sauvignon blanc and Semillon grapes that are regularly
harvested and introduced to Botrytis cinerea spores in a laboratory.
Several French and Italian style Muscat wines are produced throughout
California. They’re known for their intense aromatics and balanced
acidity.