The making of great dessert wine

Dessert wines are perhaps one of the most misunderstood creations in the wine world. The assumption from Moscato to Sauterne to ice wine is that they are overly sweet, lack balance and are high alcohol. Assumptions that are understandable — given some of the not-so-great dessert wines that are on the market — but in fact are not accurate. You will get it when you have the chance to try your first great dessert wine.

We just held a wine dinner this past week at Fleur de Sel, always a wonderful evening with Laurent and Patricia doing the excellent work we have come to expect. Our guest was Buddy Dunn from Wilson Daniels, an importer from Napa that represents many of the biggest names in “Old World” wine, including the Royal Tokaji winery from Hungary. The winery, now owned by Hugh Johnson, produces classic dessert wines from Fermint and Pinot Gris varietals. We tasted one at the dinner and it was nothing short of fabulous.

True dessert wine is never fortified, meaning no neutral spirits are added to increase the alcohol levels. The really great dessert wines therefore are typically lower not higher alcohol, dispelling one of the more common misunderstandings. The reason the alcohol levels tend toward the lower side has to do with the sweetness of the wines. When dessert wine is made fermentation either naturally stops or is stopped through winemaking leaving unfermented residual sugar from the grapes in the wine. Residual sugar runs 7 to 8 percent and sometimes even higher in many dessert wines.

Even with these sugar levels, the best dessert wines don’t show themselves as being overly sweet or cloying. How can that be? In a word, acid. All big wines, whether the palate is delivering fruit flavors or sweetness, derive their balance from acid. While part of the balance comes in the winemaking, much of it develops in the vineyard. Harvesting at the right time of day and at the right point in the ripening cycle elevates acids providing the much sought after balance.

Both of the main categories of dessert wine require some pretty specific weather conditions to be produced. This is the reason you will see certain vintage years when none is made or available. Ice wine, one of the two main categories, requires that the grapes freeze while they are on the vine. They are then harvested frozen which concentrates the sugars and maintains the acids. The grapes are then fermented, lightly pressed and aged, producing delicate sweet wine with the all-important balance and flavors of apricots and honey. To make it, though, you need a hard freeze relatively early in the fall, which does not happen every year.

The other category of dessert wine is late harvest wines which include Sauterne and those from Royal Tokaji. Botrytis is a mold that forms on the grapes, also referred to as the “noble rot.” This mold like covering works to concentrate the sugars in the grapes. Once the mold is in place, sugar levels hit the desired level and the grapes are a bit raisiny, this is the point when they are harvested and lightly pressed, fermentation and aging comes after that and you are left with a delicate sweet wine with the all important balance that is in short delicious.

For me, dessert wines are one of those treats I enjoy more in the cold winter months. After dinner they are lovely as they pair with many desserts, as they are almost always sweeter than the dessert — a must for wine pairing. With their modest alcohol levels they also tend to be less filling. They are great before dinner, too, especially with seared foie gras. My favorite pairing, though, may be with a fireplace on a cold winter evening.

Great dessert wine is available at a range of prices, and many are bottled in smaller formats, so the commitment is not quite as daunting. Check with us at the shop or with your favorite wine professional about some great dessert wine to try and learn with.

If there is a topic you would like to read about, or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and tabletop décor shop by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George has also worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles and other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.