Dessert wine
Encyclopedia
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
s typically served with dessert
Dessert
In cultures around the world, dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food. The word comes from the French language as dessert and this from Old French desservir, "to clear the table" and "to serve." Common Western desserts include cakes, biscuits,...
.
There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a meal, as opposed to the white fortified wines (fino and amontillado sherry) drunk before the meal, and the red fortified wines (port
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
and madeira
Madeira wine
Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...
) drunk after it. Thus, most fortified wines are regarded as distinct from dessert wines, but some of the less strong fortified white wines, such as Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez is the name of a white grape grown in certain regions of Spain, and also a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry...
sherry and Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, are regarded as honorary dessert wines. In the United States, by contrast, a dessert wine is legally defined as any wine over 14% alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume
Alcohol by volume is a standard measure of how much alcohol is contained in an alcoholic beverage .The ABV standard is used worldwide....
, which includes all fortified wines - and is taxed more highly as a result. This dates back to a time when the US wine industry only made dessert wines by fortification, but such a classification is outdated now that modern yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
and viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
can produce dry wines over 15% without fortification, yet German dessert wines can contain half that amount of alcohol.
Examples include Sauternes
Sauternes (wine)
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined,...
and Tokaji Aszú
Tokaji
Tokaji is the name of the wines from the region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary and Slovakia. The name Tokaji is used for labeling wines from this wine district. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region...
.
Methods of production
Sugars in wine
The sugars in wine grapes are what make winemaking possible. During the process of fermentation, sugars are broken down and converted by yeasts into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Grapes accumulate sugars as they grow on the grapevine through the translocation of sucrose molecules that are produced...
and alcohol, yet the alcohol is made from sugar. There are many ways to increase sugar levels
Sweetness of wine
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine to be sure, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Briefly: sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids and bitter tannins counteract it...
in the final wine:
- grow grapes so that they naturally have sugar to spare for both sweetness and alcohol.
- add sugar, either:
- before fermentation as sugar or honey (Chaptalization)
- after fermentation as unfermented mustMustMust is freshly pressed fruit juice that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace; it typically makes up 7%–23% of the total weight of the must. Making must is the first step in winemaking...
(Süssreserve).
- add alcohol (typically brandy) having not fermented all the natural sugar in the grape juice - this is called fortificationFortified wineFortified wine is wine to which a distilled beverage has been added. Fortified wine is distinguished from spirits made from wine in that spirits are produced by means of distillation, while fortified wine is simply wine that has had a spirit added to it...
, or 'mutageMutage- Typical mechanism :The typical process involves the addition of alcohol to the must so that the fermentation process is prematurely stopped. Most yeast dies when the alcohol content in their environment is raised to approximately 13-15%. By stopping the fermentation of sugars, a sweet taste of...
'. - remove water to concentrate the sugar:
- In warm climates, by air drying the grapes to make raisin wine
- In frosty climates, by freezing out some of the water to make ice wine
- In damp temperate climates, by using a fungal infection, Botrytis cinereaBotrytis cinereaBotrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...
, to desiccate the grapes with noble rotNoble rotNoble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes. Infestation by Botrytis requires moist conditions, and if the weather stays wet, the malevolent form, "grey rot", can destroy crops of grapes...
Natural sweetness
In the absence of other techniques, makers of dessert wine have to produce their sugar in the vineyard. Some grape varieties, such as MuscatMuscat (grape and wine)
The Muscat variety of grapes of the species Vitis vinifera is widely grown for wine, raisins and table grapes. Their color ranges from white to near black. Muscat almost always has a pronounced sweet floral aroma. Muscat grapes are grown around the world...
, Ortega and Huxelrebe
Huxelrebe
Huxelrebe is a white grape used for wine. Huxelrebe is primarily found in Germany, where the cultivated area covered in 2006, with a decreasing trend. It is primarily found in the German wine regions Rheinhessen, Palatinate and Nahe. Small plantations are also found in England.- Properties...
, naturally produce a lot more sugar than others. Environmental conditions have a big effect on ultimate sugar levels - the vigneron can help by leaving the grapes on the vine until they are fully ripe, and by green harvesting and pruning to expose the young grapes to the sun. Green harvesting reduces the number of bunches on a vine early in the summer, so that the sugar production of the leaves is divided between fewer bunches. Unfortunately the vigneron cannot control the sun, but a sunny year can help sugar levels a lot. The semi-sweet Auslese wines in the German wine classification
German wine classification
German wine classification consists of several quality categories and is often the source of some confusion, especially among non-German speaking wine consumers. The official classification is set down in the wine law of 1971, although some changes and amendments have been made since then...
are probably the best example of this approach; most modern winemakers perceive that their customers want either fully dry or 'properly' sweet dessert wines, so 'leave it to nature' is currently out of fashion. But most of the Muscats of ancient times were probably made this way, including the famous Constantia
Constantia (wine)
Constantia, or vin de Constance, is a South African dessert wine. It is made from Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes grown in the district of Constantia, south of Cape Town. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it was widely exported to Europe...
of South Africa.
Chaptalization
Honey was added to wine in Roman times, for sweetness and to increase the final strength of the wine. Perhaps surprisingly, today sugar is usually added to boost the alcohol levels of flabby, unripe wines rather than for sweetness, although a degree of chaptalization is permitted in the wines of many countries. German wines must declare whether they are 'natural' or not; in any case, chaptalization is banned from the top tiers of German wines.Süssreserve
The 'reserve of sweetness' is a German technique in which unfermented must (grape juice) is added to the wine after fermentation. This increases the sweetness of the final wine, and dilutes the alcohol somewhat - in Germany the final wine can contain no more than 15% Süssreserve by volume. Süssreserve allows winemakers to fully ferment the wine without having to worry about stopping fermentation before all the sugar has gone. Since sulphites are used to stop fermentation, this technique reduces the usage of sulphites. Süssreserve is used by other makers of German-style wines, particularly in New ZealandNew Zealand wine
New Zealand wine is largely produced in ten major wine growing regions spanning latitudes 36° to 45° South and extending . They are, from north to south Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury/Waipara and Central...
.
Fortification
The main fortified wines drunk with dessert are sweet sherrySherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
, particularly Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez is the name of a white grape grown in certain regions of Spain, and also a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry...
, and vins doux naturels. The Pedro Ximenez
Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez is the name of a white grape grown in certain regions of Spain, and also a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry...
dessert wine is unique because it is a raisin wine that is then fortified and aged in a solera
Solera
Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other...
system like other sherries. Other sweet sherries such as Bristol Cream may also be drunk as dessert wine.
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
in the 13th century and they are now quite common in the Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon
Languedoc-Roussillon is one of the 27 regions of France. It comprises five departments, and borders the other French regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Rhône-Alpes, Auvergne, Midi-Pyrénées on the one side, and Spain, Andorra and the Mediterranean sea on the other side.-Geography:The region is...
of southwest France. As the name suggests, Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Muscat de Rivesaltes
Muscat de Rivesaltes AOC
Muscat de Rivesaltes is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for fortified wines made in the Roussillon wine region of France. They are similar to Rivesaltes AOC wines, except for the grape varieties used...
, Muscat de Frontignan, Muscat de Lunel, Muscat de Mireval and Muscat de St-Jean Minervois are all made from the white Muscat
Muscat (grape and wine)
The Muscat variety of grapes of the species Vitis vinifera is widely grown for wine, raisins and table grapes. Their color ranges from white to near black. Muscat almost always has a pronounced sweet floral aroma. Muscat grapes are grown around the world...
grape, whilst Banyuls
Banyuls AOC
Banyuls is a French appellation d'origine contrôlée for a fortified apéritif or dessert wine made from old vines cultivated in terraces on the slopes of the Catalan Pyrenees in the Roussillon county of France, bordering, to the south, the Empordà wine region in Catalonia in Spain.The AOC...
and Maury
Maury AOC
Maury is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for wines made in the Roussillon wine region of France. Almost all wines are red, made from at least 75% Grenache Noir grapes. Other permitted grapes are Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, and Macabeu, Malvoisie and Muscat. Maury is well-known for its sweet,...
are made from red Grenache
Grenache
Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine grape varieties in the world. It ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions such as those found in Spain, the south of France, and California's San Joaquin Valley. It is generally spicy, berry-flavored and soft on the palate with a relatively...
. Regardless of the grape, fermentation is stopped with up to 10% of 95% grape spirit. The Muscats are made in a somewhat oxidised style, the Grenaches less so.
Raisin wine
In ancient Carthage, a sweet wine. called passumPassum
Passum was a raisin wine apparently developed in ancient Carthage and transmitted from there to Italy, where it was popular in the Roman Empire. The earliest surviving instruction constitutes the only known Carthaginian recipe...
, was made from air-dried grapes, and across the Malta Channel from the site of Carthage, similar wines are still made, called Moscato Passito di Pantelleria. Such wines were described by the Romans, and northern Italy is home to a number of 'passito' wines, where the grapes are dried on straw, on racks, or hung from the rafters. These wines include Vin Santo
Vin santo
Vin Santo or Vino Santo is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a rosé style known as Occhio di Pernice or eye of the partridge...
(into which almond biscuits ('cantucci') are traditionally dunked), Sciachetrà, Recioto di Soave (drunk with the local version of panettone
Panettone
thumb|200px|right|A non-traditionally shaped panettone loaf.Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan , usually prepared and enjoyed for Christmas and New Year in Italy, Malta, Brazil, Germany and Switzerland, and is one of the symbols of the city of Milan. Maltese nationals are...
) and the sweet red Recioto della Valpolicella (which stands up to chocolate better than most wine). Across the Alps, the French make 'straw wine' (vin de paille) in the Jura, Rhone and Alsace
Alsace wine
Alsace wine or Alsatian wine is produced in the Alsace region in France and is primarily white. These wines, which for historical reasons have a strong Germanic influence, are produced under three different Appellations d'Origine Contrôlées : Alsace AOC for white, rosé and red wines, Alsace Grand...
, the Spanish start off making a raisin wine with Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximénez is the name of a white grape grown in certain regions of Spain, and also a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry...
before fortifying it, the Cypriots have their ancient Commandaria
Commandaria
Commandaria is an amber-coloured sweet dessert wine made in the Commandaria region of Cyprus on the foothills of the Troödos mountains. Commandaria is made from sun-dried grapes of the varieties Xynisteri and Mavro. While often a fortified wine, through its production method it often reaches high...
and there have been recent experiments with the style in South Africa
South African wine
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, and at one time Constantia was considered one of the greatest wines in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and...
and the USA
American wine
American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 89 percent of all US wine...
.
Ice wine
The most famous ice wines are German
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
Eiswein and Canadian
Canadian wine
Canadian wine is produced in mainly southern British Columbia and southern Ontario. There is also a growing number of small scale producers of grapes and wine in southern Quebec and Nova Scotia. The two largest wine-producing regions in Canada are the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and the...
ice wine, but apart from these, ice wine is also made in the United States, Austria
Austrian wine
Austrian wines are mostly dry white wines with some luscious dessert wines made around the Neusiedler See. About 30% of the wines are red, made from Blaufränkisch , Pinot Noir and locally bred varieties such as Zweigelt...
, Croatia
Croatian wine
Croatian wine has a history dating back to the Ancient Greek settlers, and their wine production on the southern Dalmatian islands of Vis, Hvar and Korčula some 2,500 years ago. Like other old world wine producers, many traditional grape varieties still survive in Croatia, perfectly suited to...
, Czech Republic
Czech wine
Wine in the Czech Republic is produced mainly in southern Moravia, although a few vineyards are located in Bohemia. However, Moravia accounts for around 96% of the country's vineyards, which is why Czech wine is more often referred to as Moravian wine ...
, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Australia
Australian wine
The Australian Wine Industry is the fourth largest exporter of wine around the world, with 760 million litres a year to a large international export market and contributes $5.5 billion per annum to the nation's economy...
, France
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
and New Zealand
New Zealand wine
New Zealand wine is largely produced in ten major wine growing regions spanning latitudes 36° to 45° South and extending . They are, from north to south Northland, Auckland, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury/Waipara and Central...
in smaller quantities.
Noble rot wine
Some of the most famous dessert wines, such as Château d'YquemChâteau d'Yquem
Château d'Yquem is a Premier Cru Supérieur wine from the Sauternes, Gironde region in the southern part of the Bordeaux vineyards known as Graves. In the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855, Château d'Yquem was the only Sauternes given this rating, indicating its perceived superiority...
of Sauternes
Sauternes (wine)
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined,...
and Tokaji Aszú
Tokaji
Tokaji is the name of the wines from the region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary and Slovakia. The name Tokaji is used for labeling wines from this wine district. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region...
of Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja
Tokaj-Hegyalja is a historical wine region located in southeastern Slovakia and northeastern Hungary. Hegyalja means "foothills" in Hungarian, and this was the original name of the region....
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, are made from mouldy grapes, but not just any mould - Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea
Botrytis cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that affects many plant species, although its most notable hosts may be wine grapes. In viticulture, it is commonly known as botrytis bunch rot; in horticulture, it is usually called grey mould or gray mold.The fungus gives rise to two different kinds of...
sucks water out of the grape whilst imparting new flavours of honey and apricot to the future wine.
Mist
Mist is a phenomenon of small droplets suspended in air. It can occur as part of natural weather or volcanic activity, and is common in cold air above warmer water, in exhaled air in the cold, and in a steam room of a sauna. It can also be created artificially with aerosol canisters if the...
from a nearby lake or the sea gets burnt off during the day by hot sun. The wait for noble rot to form is the reason why noble rot wines are usually late-harvested
Late harvest wine
Late harvest is a term applied to wines made from grapes left on the vine longer than usual. Late harvest is usually an indication of a sweet dessert wine, such as late harvest Riesling. Late harvest grapes are often more similar to raisins, but have been naturally dehydrated while on the vine...
.
No doubt the first noble rot wines were created by accident - both the Hungarians and the Germans have similar stories of how the harvest was delayed for some reason, but the mouldy grapes were vinified anyway, and then found to be delicious. Given that propensity to noble rot was a factor in Hungarian vineyard demarcations some 50 years before a messenger was supposedly mugged on his way to Schloss Johannisberg
Schloss Johannisberg
Schloss Johannisberg is a winery in the Rheingau wine-growing region in Germany, that has been making wine for over 900 years. The winery is most noted for its claim to have "discovered" late harvest wine.- History :...
in Germany, the Hungarians probably have a better case.
Noble rot is responsible for many other dessert wines, including Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese
Beerenauslese is a German language wine term for a dessert wine-style late harvest wine. Beerenauslese is a category in the Prädikatswein category of the Austrian and German wine classifications, and is a category above Auslese. Beerenauslese wines, often called "BA" for short, are usually made...
and Trockenbeerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese is a German language wine term for an intensely sweet dessert wine-style wine....
of the German wine classification
German wine classification
German wine classification consists of several quality categories and is often the source of some confusion, especially among non-German speaking wine consumers. The official classification is set down in the wine law of 1971, although some changes and amendments have been made since then...
, Romanian Grasă de Cotnari
Grasa de Cotnari
Grasă de Cotnari is a Romanian wine variety associated with the Cotnari vineyard, Moldavia, where it has been grown ever since the rule of Prince Stephen the Great . With the general decline in demand for sweet wines after the second world war and bad wine making during the communist era, Grasă...
, French Monbazillac
Monbazillac AOC
Monbazillac is an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for sweet white wine produced in the village of Monbazillac on the left bank of the Dordogne River just across from the town of Bergerac in South West France. The appellation covers almost of vineyards.The AOC of Monbazillac was first established...
, Austrian Ausbruch
Ausbruch
Ausbruch or sometimes Ausbruchwein is an Austrian wine term for a quality level in the Prädikatswein category. It is situated between Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese in requirements, which makes it a sweet dessert wine typically made from grapes affected by noble rot. The minimum must...
and other wines from all over the world.
Serving
Quite often, the wine itself can be a dessert, but bakery sweets can make a good match, particularly with a little bitterness like the almond biscuits that are dunked in Vin Santo. A development of this matching of contrasts is a rich savoury dish like the foie gras that is a traditional partner to Sauternes.
White dessert wines are generally served somewhat chilled, but can be easily served too cold. Red dessert wines are served at room temperature or slightly chilled.