graPe sPeak: dessert wines

by nICk franklIn

Dessert wines” can be a bit of a misnomer for the category . It’s better to think of them as “sweet wines,” as some styles are equally great as an aperitif . There are many ways to make sweet wines, each with a different sense of balance between sugar, acidity, and alcohol .

Most styles involve concentrating the sugar content in the grapes . This is done by dehydrating the fruit, and there are various ways to go about it . The simplest way is making a late-harvest wine . This involves picking the fruit much later so that the berries lose water and begin to shrivel on the vine . Ultimately the sugar levels are concentrated well beyond what yeast are able to make use of, so the wine ends up with a lot of residual sugar .

You’ll love late-harvest wines if you enjoy decadent sweetness . When fruit stays on the vine so much longer, the vine continues to metabolize the acidity in the fruit . With less acidity, the wines are unctuously sweet and show syrupy textures .

Botrytis wines are also made from berries dehydrated on the vine . When conditions are just right, a special type of mold called “noble rot” sets into the grape clusters and perforates the berry skins . These shriveled clusters can make dessert wines with singular flavors, and somehow acidity isn’t so compromised . Coastal vineyards in Santa Barbara County can provide this in some vintages .

Other methods involve dehydrating the fruit after it’s been picked . The advantage with that is you aren’t just concentrating sugars, you’re also concentrating acidity . Dessert wines made this way can still be extremely sweet, but they’re lighter and livelier on the palate thanks to the drive and cleansing effect of acidity .

One method is called “straw wines,” or vin de paille. This refers to the traditional method of placing the grape clusters on straw mats to dry out over a period of weeks . Once the grapes lose the desired portion of their mass, they’re ready for fermentation .

Pressing frozen grapes is another method . This technique emulates true ice-wines (or Eiswein), the coveted dessert wines from Germany, Canada, and other places that can naturally freeze grapes . Here in California the grapes are taken to commercial freezers instead . When the grapes are pressed, the sugars, acids, and flavor compounds thaw before water does, so the juice is concentrated in that way .

Fortified wines use a wholly different approach . At a certain point when the wine is still fermenting, winemakers “fortify” the wine by adding a spirit (usually brandy) . This halts the yeast’s work so that there’s residual sugar, and brings the alcohol levels up to between 15-20 percent, which further enhances the perception of sweetness . Port-styled wines are made this way, and many can be found in Paso Robles .

Again, you can’t go wrong pairing these wines with desserts, but savory stuff can work too . Cheese and patê are great pairings, and sweet white wines are terrific with extremely spicy food . Try it out!

Recommended Wines:

Jaffurs 2017 Late Harvest Viognier, Bien Nacido Vineyard Brecon 2017 Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer Tablas Creek 2018 Vin de Paille The Ojai Vineyard 2021 Riesling Dessert Wine Kalyra 2019 Gruner Ize T Peachy Canyon XVII Zinfandel Port

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