While the US labels any wine with more than 14% alcohol by volume (ABV) as dessert wines, sweet wines are much more sophisticated. It is often considered the new scotch due to the wide variety available in today’s market. Although the trick is to serve wine sweeter than your food, dessert wines can even be enjoyed on their own after food.
Read on to find out the classic varieties of dessert wines, how it’s made, and top wine clubs offering these delights.
What Exactly Is Dessert Wine?
Also called pudding wines, dessert wines are sweet wines that are often paired with sweets. In the 19th century, dessert wines surpassed other wines due to favorable tax laws. While the production fell significantly after prohibition, it is now reclaiming the glory days.
Here are the various types of dessert wine::
Fortified
- Types: Sherry, Port, Madeira, Marsala, Rutherglen Muscat, and Banylus.
- Regions: Jereze (Spain), Douro Valley (Portugal), Morocco (Portugal), Sicily (Italy), North East Victoria (Australia), and Catalan Pyrenees (France).
- Varietals: Pedro Ximénez (PX), Touriga Nacional, Sercial, Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey, Grillo, Inzolia, Cataratto and Grenache.
Late Harvest/ Noble Rot
- Types: Riesling, Sauternes, Tokaji, and Chenin Blanc.
- Regions: Pradikat System (Germany), Bordeaux (France), Tokaj (Hungary), and Coteaux du Layon (France).
- Varietals: Kabinett, Spatlese, Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle, Furmint, and Chenin Blanc.
Passito Or Straw Mat
- Types: Vin Santo Del Chianti, Recioto Della Valpolicella.
- Regions: Tuscany (Italy) and Veneto (Italy).
- Varietals: Trebbiano Toscano, Malvasia, Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara.
How Is Dessert Wine Made?
Produced from super-sweet grapes, sweet wines are typically expensive owing to the scrupulousness and risks that accompany production. While bad weather can obliterate vineyards, good weather might deteriorate pruning. On top of it, multiple pickings and meticulous pressing makes this a unique wine.
Here are four ingredients for making stellar dessert wines:
- Naturally sweet grapes: Composed of sugar for deriving alcohol and sweetness.
- Sugar: You can add sugar before or after fermentation here.
- Distilled spirit: Mixing brandy with the base wine prior to the transformation of sugar into alcohol called mutage or fortification.
- Dehydration: You can dry grapes in a temperate climate to produce raisin wine, freeze the grapes for making ice wine, or introduce fungal infection for noble rot.
What Are The Different Types of Dessert Wine
Read on to discover the six varieties of top-quality dessert wines that will hit your sweet spot.
Rutherglen Muscat
A richly sweet fortified wine made from white grapes bearing red-hued skin, Rutherglen Muscat is an Australian sweet wine that tastes of burnt caramel and roasted nuts. It pairs well with dark coffee and strong cheeses.
Banyuls
Made from a variety of Grenache, Banyuls is a full bodied wine with fruity bursts of baked cherries and spice. The obvious tannin in this wine makes it perfect with chocolate and caramel desserts.
Late Harvest/Noble Rot
When grapes are left on the vine late into the harvest, they ripen, shrink, and intensify with sugar. These grapes can then be subjected to fungal infection from Botrytis cinerea, which dehydrates and condenses the acidity and sugar besides adding zesty orange and ginger notes.
Riesling
A type of late harvest wine, Riesling is a noble rot produce known for its varying tastes of arid dryness to candied sweetness. Botrytized and iced varieties of sweet Rieslings contain low ABV on top of extensive aging.
Sauternes
This is an elite-grade botrytized dessert wine aged in oak with hints of apricots, saffron and dry honey. The rare golden yellow wine is often paired with tarts and custards. With zero tannins and overwhelming sweetness is cellared for 10+ years.
Late Harvest Chenin Blanc
Produced after multiple pickings from Coteaux du Layon, Bonnezeaux, and Quarts de Chaume, late harvest Chenin Blanc is donned with hints of orange blossom and golden apples. The sweet white wine ages with notes of smokiness overtime.
Popular Dessert Wines From The Best Wine Clubs
Get the best dessert wine online by registering with one of the following wine clubs.
WSJwine
Midnight Frost Vidal Icewine available in the white wine club option from WSJ wine is a Canadian rarity from Vidal handpicked at night. You will notice crystallized apricot and warm lychee flavors from this wine, which is best enjoyed with cheesecakes.
Naked Wines
Small and Small Noble Dessert Riesling on Naked Wines from New Zealand smells of marmalade. It is a dessert & fortified wine produced from the risky style of sticky winemaking. Pair it with salty blue cheese and fruity sweets.
Laithwaites
Chateau Haut Coustet Sauternes is a sweet white wine made from Semillon blend grapes. With two gold medals under its sleeve, the wine boasts citrus aromas with mellow vanilla flavors and best to gorge on meringues.
Bottom Line
The rare and expensive dessert wine varieties work well for ceremonious occasions like weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays. Before you dive in and overwhelm yourself, check out the best wine club gift options available from WSJwine, Naked Wines, or Laithwaites to have them delivered directly to your door.