Enjoy Some Sweet Wines This Valentine’s Day!
The sweetest day ofthe year will be here before youknow it. If you’re looking for the perfect wine to serve your date, pair with dinner, or enjoy with a box of chocolates or cupcakes, we’ve got you covered!
We’re here to talk about Sweet Wine, exploring how it’s made, what differnt options there are, and how to serve it!
Enjoy!
*************** ALL ABOUT SWEET WINE ***************
What Is A Sweet Wine?
Wweet wines have fairly high amounts of residual sugar. Whether white, redor rose, there are five main groupings of sweet wines. These include Moscato(Southern Italy), White Zinfandel (attributed to California), Riesling (Germany), Port(Portuguese fortified wine) and Sauternes (Bordeaux region of France).
How Are Sweet Wines Made?
There are several methods which include:
Halting fermentation: Here the winemaker stops the fermentation process before all the sugar is converted to alcohol, leaving the wine with a good amount of residual sugar.
Using very ripe grapes: The winemaker uses riper grapes as the yeast dies down when alcohol levels reach 10-16%. This leaves the wine holding the sweetness of the residual sugar.
Water evaporation: Drying grapes in the sun concentrates the sugars as the water evaporates, resulting in a high sugar level that stays after fermentation.
Filtration: Here the wine is filtered after the desired level of sweetness is reached. This removes the yeast, stopping the fermentation.
Types Of Sweet Wine:
Moscato: Made from the Muscat grape, Moscato is grown in southern Italy with sunny and fruity notes. It features honeysuckle and orange blossom aromas, and it may be still, frizzante or sparkling. Its hues range from white to red.
White Zinfandel: White Zinfandel is a sweet rosé wine made with red Zinfandel grapes by limiting grape juice skin contact time. The red skins impart tannins and a slight blush to the wine. The first rosé made from Zinfandel grapes is attributed to California’s El Pinal Winery in 1869.
Riesling: A German varietal, Riesling is said to produce the perfect combination of sweetness and acidity. With aromas of citrus and fruit orchards, many enjoy the subtle counterpoint of petrol to the honey notes.
Port: Port is made in Portugal by adding distilled grape spirit to the wine in the middle of the fermentation process. This makes for a higher alcohol and residual sugar content. It’s very fruity with what some term a “lush” viscosity. If port is aged in barrels, it gradually oxidises, resulting in a tawny port ̶ full of notes of caramel and a nutty character. Port is generally drunk after dinner as dessert wines, but this is not the rule.
Sauternes: Grown in the Bordeaux region of France, Sauternes are made from grapes treated with botrytis cinerea (a fungus cultivated by vinters), also known as “the noble rot”. It is grown on varietals of Sémillon, Sauvignon blanc, and Muscadelle and it assists in concentrating sugars. This process results in a gorgeous golden-to-copper coloured wine with notes of peaches, honey and nuts and is quite sweet.
Which Sweet Wine Is Most Popular?
Californian Zinfandel are very popular for wine newbies and prices won’t break the bank either. Another popular varietal is the French Vouvrays.
What Is The Sweetest Wine?
Recioto della Valpolicella is thought to be the sweetest wine around. Hailing from the wine region around Verona in Italy, it is famous for bold and dry Amarone wines. Recioto della Valpolicella (“Retch-ee-oh-toe”) uses the same passito process as Amarone where grapes are dried on mats to concentrate sugars. Here the fermentation stops before all the sugars have fermented. Drinking Recioto is likened to liquid chocolates covered cherries.
How To Pair Them:
There is a simple test you can do to see if a food matches with a wine. Take a bite of food, chew a bit and then sip a little bit of wine. When the wine adds a positive congruent or complementary flavor then you’ve got a good pairing. For matching sweet white wines, you want to take note of their basic flavor components of sweetness, tartness (acidity) and medium-light intensity. Then, using these attributes you can combine them with the components of a dish.
Spicy Food: When served chilled, sweet white wines with low alcohol are a great match with hot and spicy food.
Salty Food: Sweet white wines combine with salty foods to produce a highly desirable sweet-salty effect.
Sour Food: Sweet white wines with high acidity (such as Riesling) can handle sour vinegar-based sauces.
Light Meats: Sweet white wines have light-to-medium intensity, so match them with light-to-medium intensity meats/tofu.
Sweet Sauces: Asian sauces with sugar, tamarind or honey match well with sweet white wines.