"Dessert Wine" news and stories

Dessert wines are great to pull out as after-dinner drinks when entertaining at home. After fussing through the preparations of a dinner party, by the time dessert rolls around you'd probably rather linger with coffee than fret about a souffle. Pair any of these dessert wines with a slice of cake or scoop of gelato and you've got dessert with a wine course.

2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah, Sonoma Valley, Clayton Road Ranch ($18)
Of the Petite Sirahs sampled, this one was the deepest and darkest. Syrupy blueberry on the nose with a touch of smoke was followed by a full, luscious body. If there was a Petite Sirah to use as a dessert wine, the Seven Artisans wine is it. (This would be fabulous with blueberry pie!)

2008 Bella Late-Harvest Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County ($25, 375mL)
Lots of raspberry, black currant and chocolate notes -- what's not to like? There's a sultry hint of chocolate and cinnamon on the finish too. Each year the winery designates different vineyard blocks for its dessert wine, leaving grapes on the vine longer to develop a higher level of sugar and ripeness. The late-harvest Zin is 97 percent Zinfandel and 3 percent Muscat.

After the jump find five more dessert wines to try.

While exploring the Italian cuisine of Cinque Terre, I tried an exquisite dessert wine, called Sciacchetrà. It's sweet and has expressive notes. The drink was brought to us with a plate of homemade pistachio biscotti and biscotti flavored with apricots. Ah, what a splendid way to end a meal! As a lifted the glass of Sciacchetrà to my lips, I could smell a distinctive aroma of apricots and acacia honey.

Just a small glass of Sciacchetrà pairs perfectly with biscotti. As with all dessert wines, this one should be sweeter than the food accompanying it. The slight bitterness of the biscotti balances the intense sweetness of the wine. Sciacchetrà also works well with a slice of panettone.

This rare white wine of very limited production has become a symbol of Cinque Terre. It is produced from the best grapes of the white wines being left to dry in the sun. Several wine shops sell Sciacchetrà. Alternatively, you can find it online. A half a liter sells for approximately $75. It's well worth the splurge.

Peter Lehmann Barossa Valley 2006 Botrytis Semillon is 12.5% abv. / 25 proof and bottled at 13.5 brix. According to Aussiewines.com the Botrytis affected fruit was picked on the 26th April, sourced solely from the Peter Lehmann Semillon vineyard on the banks of the River Para. Chief winemaker Andrew Wigan declared 2006 the best vintage for botrytis development that he has ever experienced. The vintage conditions were perfect. Weather in the latter part of the growing season gave ideal conditions for the natural development of Botrytis on the late picked Semillon grapes which were allowed to develop their intense characters while still on the vine. Approximately 20% of this wine was fermented in new French oak hogsheads. Botrytis affected wines are the most complex and longest lived of all sweet table wine styles. The 2006 vintage is an outstanding edition, and the winemakers are fully confident that it will give pleasure for many years to come. It was a Medal Winner at the Sydney & Melbourne Wine Shows. Peter Lehmann 2006 is a great release from an outstanding vintage for the Barossa's Botrytis Semillon.

The color is a nice medium-light gold with a hint of yellow/green to it. I expect the color to mature over time to a full, rich gold. The aroma is of bright fresh fruit like, pineapple, lemon, pear, with hints of hint of citrus and honeyed botrytis notes. The taste is that of fresh, ripe apricot, lemon zest, orange blossom honey, citrusy acid and botrytis flavors, over the classic semillon taste. This is a young, bright, and fresh tasting dessert wine that should age very well for decades, developing depth and complexity.

I have to pick up a few bottles to lay down to age and see how they develop, because the wine is an excellent young desert wine that shows promise of aging into an amazing mature one. The suggested price of just under $20 for a 375 ml. bottle is a good buy but if you shop around you can pick it up for much less. I paid $13.99 at the New Hampshire State liquor store and that was a steal.

I think we've said it before, but it never hurts to say it again: Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

Statistically speaking, "40 percent of all champagne and sparkling wine sales in America occur in the last six weeks of the year." This accounts for champagne given as hostess gifts during the holiday season and any drunk at holiday parties, but there is no doubt that the most popular night of the year to enjoy some bubbly is New Year's Eve. Are you going to be one of the many enjoying some bubbly tonight?

I suspect champagne will make an appearance in my evening, as will a bottle of the lovely Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen Muscadelle, a dessert wine. I do wish that I had a bottle of Vodka O2, the sparkling vodka, to try out this evening, but I suppose that there will be plenty of time for that next year.