DiningBuzz! - Sweet Wines

I am not a big wine drinker. I have tried, but I find I really don't enjoy most of them. What I have discovered that I really like is the sweeter, desert wines. I enjoy them not as desert but with my main meal - particularly if it has meat or cheese.

Many people look at me funny when I do that - the "cultured" folk insist they are too sweet to drink with food. When you discuss this with many wine drinkers, they say you have to learn to appreciate good wine. I say that I want to drink what I actually enjoy drinking, not what I have to be conditioned to like.

What are your feelings on sweet wines, and when to drink them?

i enjoy a good Sauternes or Barsac, Ice Wine (Eiswein), Tokaj, with dessert or a cheese plate after dinner. it just doesn't agree with my palate for an entree or appetizer. then again, we should always aspire to drink what we like, not what others tell us to like :)

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Sweet wines are not only for dessert and cheese....

Nothing wrong with having Port with barbeque, or pot roast. Forget what the experts say...

Knowing nothing about wine as teenagers, Mrs BV and I used to trek over to NY where the drinking age was 18 and buy a bottle of Remy Dupont Sauternes (it's funny I can still remember the label 38 years later) and drink it with a couple rare steaks off the grill. I don't think I'd enjoy the combination today, but I still like a sweet wine by itself: eiswein, port and sherry are still something to savor after a meal or before bed, especially on a winter night.

What are your feelings on sweet wines, and when to drink them?

I like them as a dessert on their own, after the cheese course but before coffee.

Drink what you like, when you like. Odds are that as you continue to drink sweet wines, you'll naturally want to expand your boundaries and try other varietals. But if not, then you've still been drinking what you find to be delicious.

I like ports the most, but also like medium-cost sauternes (which had much more complexity than I was expecting).

Besides heavily sweet wines like port or sauternes, there's another, somewhat obscure option. Since OP is in New England, he may be able to find a Russian grocery nearby, and if that grocery has a liquor license, they are guaranteed to carry some Georgian wines. Many of those wines, while produced with the same process as a conventional dry red wine, have noticeable natural sweetness. Try Kindzmarauli or Khvanchkara (and don't worry: nobody, but native Georgians, can pronounce those names). The only problem is that sometimes you end up with a fake (distribution channels are not reliable enough to prevent this), but the real thing is very likable.

Works very well with foie gras too.

I'm not keen on trying them with meat, but they can be delightful to drink solo.

d'yquem or suduiraut and fois gras is a famous pairing.
vintage port with an apple and stilton pastry is famous pairing.

late harvest reisling is frequently paired with pork or veal.

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One other category for the OP to look into is the sparkling wine.. some of the less dry and fruitier options may appeal to his/her palate.

Drink whatever you enjoy. Life's too short for anything else.

As noted above, there's a whole world out there. I'm fascinated by some of the available Madeiras, and although I think of Marsala as an ingredient in Zabaglione, I've friend's mother, once a young Italian post-War Bride who treats it as the nectar of the Gods. I seem to recall a sweet Lacrima Cristi from near Naples and at least one sweet red from Greece.

Of course, those of us around when wine was almost unknown in the US beyond emptying Chianti bottles for candle holders atop red checked table cloths, recall the drinking explosion among young women introduced to two wines still on shelves (but never to pass my lips)...Mateus Rose and Lambrusco from Riunite. I knew women who, had their sides been pierced by the legionnaire's lance, would have bled Lambrusco.

On the subject of Italian dessert wines...

I suggest seeking out and sampling a nice Passito de Panteleria.... :D ^

a nice sauternes is the Chateau Guiraud. it's reasonably priced and is a great example of what sauternes can be.

i've had the 83/88/05 of the Guiraud and really like where the 88 is. I found a 750ml of it for $70, so the price was right!

For a nicely priced Sauternes... I suggest Chateau Les Justices... ^

I really enjoy my ports and Ice wine and I used to really enjoy a Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Then I found, and tasted, d'Yquem......

I really enjoy my ports and Ice wine and I used to really enjoy a Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Then I found, and tasted, d'Yquem......

Yeah, sure... well d'Yquem is in a different category of sorts... but, what about the economics of the d'Yquem proposition...?!!!

Check out the pricing on the 2001 vintage and you will see what I mean.... :eek:

a nice sauternes is the Chateau Guiraud. it's reasonably priced and is a great example of what sauternes can be.

i've had the 83/88/05 of the Guiraud and really like where the 88 is. I found a 750ml of it for $70, so the price was right!

Totally agree on this one, great bottle of wine for a good price. I think last years vintage made WS top 100.

As noted above, there's a whole world out there. I'm fascinated by some of the available Madeiras, and although I think of Marsala as an ingredient in Zabaglione, I've friend's mother, once a young Italian post-War Bride who treats it as the nectar of the Gods. I seem to recall a sweet Lacrima Cristi from near Naples and at least one sweet red from Greece.

Of course, those of us around when wine was almost unknown in the US beyond emptying Chianti bottles for candle holders atop red checked table cloths, recall the drinking explosion among young women introduced to two wines still on shelves (but never to pass my lips)...Mateus Rose and Lambrusco from Riunite. I knew women who, had their sides been pierced by the legionnaire's lance, would have bled Lambrusco.

Auggggh. And Lancers. I've had them all. I plead ignorance. Gross ignorance.

I really enjoy my ports and Ice wine and I used to really enjoy a Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Then I found, and tasted, d'Yquem......

In the words of Steve Martin: "well Excuuuuuuusssseee Meeee!"

Personally, I prefer the Chateau de Fargues 1975, that I paid $25 for, or the Doisy Daene 1929 that I bought for $60 in 1980, Than to drink a Yquem a generation too young for it to taste the way it was intended to taste when consumed. And as for buying and drinking mature Ch. Yquem, well I'd rather own a nice car.

Discovered Ice Wine at SEADOO... :cool:

Great stuff... and found even better at another winery for cheaper (1/3 the price... so I got 3 bottles)

Now I need to collect my bottles sometime since we pooled them together in the shipping box :eek: :p

I bought a bottle of this white port:

http://www.bienmanger.com/images/genre/2646-0w0h0_Porto_Niepoort_White.jpg

while I was in Macau. It's really tasty and worth the trouble to schlepp it home.

I have never encountered it stateside, but I'm sure it's available somewhere.

Ah.... white Port.... good stuff !!!! :D

Drink whatever you enjoy. Life's too short for anything else.

Absolutely. Rule #1 ^


As long as you don't put ice in it. Gotta draw the line somewhere. :D

I'll have a Port every now and then but I usually avoid icewines. There's just something that I don't really like about it.

Ah.... white Port.... good stuff !!!! :D

Reminds me of an old Frank Zappa tune (with or without the Mothers of Invention and Captain Beefheart) called WPLJ (White Port & Lemon Juice). I tried it and didn't think much of it. Of course the song doesn't exactly give you the right proportions. :D

late harvest reisling is frequently paired with pork or veal.

That's a fine idea for lunch tomorrow! @:-)

I always have them break out the Port early on International Flights.

I also bring home a bottle or two of Prošek Hectorovich (http://www.bastijana.hr/en/prosek-hektorovic.htm) whenever I can.

Absolutely. Rule #1 ^


As long as you don't put ice in it. Gotta draw the line somewhere. :D

Ice aint that bad..... ;)

Ice aint that bad..... ;)

Unless you're at Morton's. :D

I quite enjoy both sweet and sparkling wines myself. I have a couple of colleagues who do too. We'll go for a couple great bottles of champagne from cocktails straight through the main course and then switch over to the dessert wines - often bypassing any standard white or red pairings.

Not to say I don't appreciate everything... but I say enjoy what YOU like!

Unless you're at Morton's. :D

indeed!!!

I concur with people who say you should drink what you like.

___But___ I would add that it would be courteous and thoughtful to provide a dry wine for your guests who might dislike drinking something syrupy with the non-dessert parts of the meal. (I think this is just like the need to offer plain water along with soda, if you serve bottles of soda with meals.)

I've too often been at people's tables where the only wine they serve throughout the meal is a Moscato d'Asti -- which is white, bubbly and to my mind bears a remarkable resemblance to Seven Up or Sprite. It just happens to be alcoholic. And I personally can't stand it.

Of course, as the famous saying goes. "de gustibus non disputandum"... but I'd still think that there should be a sweet/non-sweet choice.

(But don't get me started on American propensities for adding sugar to savoury dishes -- dried fruit in the salad, sweet salad dressings, meat cooked with sweet sauces, etc. etc.

That's another issue, but one on which I have similarly strong feelings.)

I've too often been at people's tables where the only wine they serve throughout the meal is a Moscato d'Asti -- which is white, bubbly and to my mind bears a remarkable resemblance to Seven Up or Sprite. It just happens to be alcoholic. And I personally can't stand it.



Next time, why don't you bring a bottle of something you'd like to share. ;)
One way to teach is by example. :o

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I've too often been at people's tables where the only wine they serve throughout the meal is a Moscato d'Asti -- which is white, bubbly and to my mind bears a remarkable resemblance to Seven Up or Sprite. It just happens to be alcoholic. And I personally can't stand it.



Next time, why don't you bring a bottle of something you'd like to share. ;)
One way to teach is by example. :o

That's exactly what we do, most of the time. But sometimes we're asked to contribute something else to the meal. I'm happy to forego wine anyway: it's not a necessity. Just wanted to add my thoughts here!

Try the Mosarto from Brown Brothers, its very sweet:
Mosartohttp://www.brownbrothers.com.au/ourwine/product.aspx?vintageid=1018

I'm happy to forego wine anyway: it's not a necessity.

:eek:

:eek:

Why?

I've too often been at people's tables where the only wine they serve throughout the meal is a Moscato d'Asti

This is one of Mrs. PVDProf's favorites. More recently, she's taken to drinking <shudder> Sutter Home Moscato as table wine. As a (still) moscato, it is not terrible, but it is terrible cheap (<$5), so I can't complain (but I do drink something else).

What surprises me is the number of non-regular wine drinkers who try it and love it. I held a blind "intro to varietals" wine tasting for some friends a while ago and slipped the SHM in (as a joke, really), but almost everyone liked it and it was the favorite of almost half the attendees. From the perspective of showing them something they enjoy and can enjoy in the future, the tasting was a success.

(Personally, I see this as a gateway drug, and hope that in ten years, Mrs PVDProf will acquire a taste for drier wines split a bottle of something really good with me. For the moment, I can only order glasses when we go out to dinner.)

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:eek:

Why?

I agree with Dan....

This is one of Mrs. PVDProf's favorites. More recently, she's taken to drinking <shudder> Sutter Home Moscato as table wine. As a (still) moscato, it is not terrible, but it is terrible cheap (<$5), so I can't complain (but I do drink something else).

What surprises me is the number of non-regular wine drinkers who try it and love it. I held a blind "intro to varietals" wine tasting for some friends a while ago and slipped the SHM in (as a joke, really), but almost everyone liked it and it was the favorite of almost half the attendees. From the perspective of showing them something they enjoy and can enjoy in the future, the tasting was a success.

(Personally, I see this as a gateway drug, and hope that in ten years, Mrs PVDProf will acquire a taste for drier wines split a bottle of something really good with me. For the moment, I can only order glasses when we go out to dinner.)

I think many people equate low alcohol content with sweet. Or pleasant. A vinho verde might be a nice place to start. Slightly bubbly with a low alcohol content. Other wines that are creamy or peachy in flavor would also be good choices. Start at 9-9.5% alcohol and work up from there. There might be some nice compromise choices. Sharing a bottle of wine is so lovely. By the glass--not so.

Here are some good Argentine Dessert Wines in case some of you are interested....

Bianchi Stradivarius Porto de Magoas
Bianchi Stradivarius Elixir d'Amore
Rutini Vin Doux Naturel
Navarro Correas Alegoria Tardio
Lagarde Henry Cosecha Tardia
Terrazas Afincado Petit Menseng
Achaval Ferrer Dolce
Universo Austral Finca Los Gigantes Tardio
Zuccardi Malamado Malbec
Zuccardi Malamado Viognier
Domain St. Diego Oportuno