When you first get intowine, you develop your own signature set of gripes.
Also: sweet wine is good.Great, even.
The best sweet wines are deeply complex in both aroma and flavor.
Photographed by Bert Stern,Vogue, April 1962
Theyre also versatile in a perception-altering kind of way.
But despite all this, one truth remains: the vast majority do not identify as sweet wine drinkers.
This aversion may even have to do with the name itself.
Indeed, sweet wines are nothing like candy or sugary sodas.
Take Port, for example.
Other examples include Madeira (an absolute favorite of mine), Sherry, and Marsala, among others.
Noble Rot
Sweet wine can also be made by concentrating the grape sugars.
If you fancy yourself a wine connoisseur, youre maybe already familiar with noble rot.
Under the wrong climate conditions, it becomes a gray mold and destroys the grapevery sad.
This late harvest' technique gives the wine a lovely over-ripe dried or tropical fruit flavor.
Ice Wine
Lastly, freezing grapes on the vine is another way to intensify sugars.
Once temperatures dip and the grapes have frozen on the vine, the fruit is picked and pressed.
This is how Eiswein in Germany and ice wine in Canada and upstate New York is made.
And theyre not meant just for dessertthese wines have piercing acidity, which makes them incredibly food-friendly.
Begin with a10-Year-Old Tawny Portfor its delicate nuttiness and mellow notes of butterscotch, walnut, and chocolate.
Enjoy it with creamy gorgonzola cheese for a blow-your-mind kind of duo.
Sauternes
This is a sweet wine made from noble rot in Frances Bordeaux region.
These wines offer flavors like apricot and citrus peel and are usually a bit higher in alcohol and acidity.
Ratafia de Champagne
This ones interesting!
Its an excellent aperitif and a fun one if you love lesser-known wines.
you’re free to enjoy it on its own or with small bites like melon and ham.
PX wines are luscious and can reach 500 grams per liter of residual sugar.
(Serving suggestion: drizzle PX over vanilla ice cream.)
Pairthis 2016 Vinsantowith fresh cheese and fruits for a lovely spring picnic.
She suggests pairing them with artichokes, pastas with cream sauce, or dishes with Thai flavors.
(Quick tip: if a German Riesling hastrockenon the label, that means its dry.)
Make it your breakfast wine and pair it with Pain Perdu,Hotel Chelseawine director Claire Paparazzo suggests.
