Dessert wines are sweet, high in alcohol, and served in small glasses. They should be paired with desserts of similar sweetness, and include Sauternes, Port, Sherry, Sparkling, ice wines, and late harvest Rieslings. Some dessert wines are best served alone, while others pair well with cheese or chocolate.
Dessert wines tend to be rich, sweet and higher in alcohol than conventional wines and are traditionally served in small dainty glasses. As the name suggests, dessert wines are typically served with dessert, and there are a number of varieties that have varying levels of sweetness, flavor, and mouthfeel texture. When selecting dessert wines to pair, the dessert being served must be taken into consideration, along with the wine, as the two flavors will interact, sometimes negatively.
The family of sweet and fortified wines that are considered dessert wines includes Sauternes, late harvest Rieslings, Madeira, Port, Sherry, Sparkling, ice wines, and other semi-sparkling and dry wines such as some champagnes. As a general rule, the wine selected should be slightly sweeter than the dessert, as the sweetness will balance out when consumed with dessert. If the dessert is sweeter than the wine, it has a tendency to make the wine bitter and tart—if you’re unsure about pairings, ask the staff at a wine shop for recommendations, or purchase several wines to sample with the dessert before serving it.
In some cases, the wine is so intensely rich and sweet that it should actually be served on its own. Ice wines are an example of this type of dessert wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that have frozen on the vines, concentrating a sweet, rich flavor in the fruit that transfers to the wine when the grapes are pressed. Ice wine also tastes very fresh and slightly acidic, because it’s unaffected by noble rot, like Sauternes, another intensely sweet dessert wine. The clean finish of ice wine is often an excellent way to end a rich meal.
Port, Madeira and Sherry go well with cheese platters and are great dessert wines to serve with a cheese platter. Port is traditionally paired with Stilton cheese, although, of course, you can experiment with other cheeses. These dessert wines also pair well with some chocolate desserts, although since chocolate varies in sweetness and intensity, tasting a proposed pairing before offering it is a great idea.
Sparkling wines such as dry champagne and sparkling wine are excellent on their own or served with fruit platters. Rich bittersweet chocolate cupcakes sometimes pair well with these dessert wines as well. Late harvest Riesling is a classic and rich sweet dessert wine, which pairs well with savory cakes, citrus desserts and lightly spiced desserts such as gingerbread. Late harvest Riesling should not be confused with regular Riesling, which is also a delicious wine that can be used in a number of unique pairings.
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