With the festive season here, and the nip in the air, tastebuds everywhere suddenly seem to change and crave something intense. The perfect time for dessert wines.
Sometimes referred to as 'stickies' because of the luscious sticky texture of the wines, there is no simple definition of a dessert wine. Each country has a different interpretation - in the US, it is defined as any wine with over 14% alcohol by volume, whereas in the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine downed with a meal.
Generally though, they are called 'dessert' wines because for one, they are made from grapes that are harvested later in the season. This means the grapes are left on the vine through late autumn until they are bursting with sugar. And because these wines are sweet, they are served either with dessert or as a dessert.
Dessert wines have a sweet rich flavour with a sharp acidic finish and usually a deep gold colour with bouquets of dried apricots and pears.
Pairing these wines with food can be a bit of a challenge. So going by a general thumb rule, the wine should always be either sweeter than the dessert, or at least close to it. A perfectly ripe peach is considered the ideal partner and the wines also are a good match with bakery sweets. But with very sweet Indian desserts, and with chocolate and toffee- based puddings, a perfect wine pairing can prove challenging. In such cases, a Vin Santo del Chianti Blanc or a Chateau d'Yquem pair very well.
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