Dessert Wine

Where it started

Tokaj's vineyards were classified in 1730, and a decree of 1757 closed the production district, partly because other regions borrowed the Tokay name.¹ In Alsace, Vendanges Tardives and Sélection de Grains Nobles became official label terms in 1984.²

Where and how it's made

Noble rot. Botrytis cinerea shrivels ripe berries and concentrates their sugar.³ Bordeaux's Graves-Sauternes lies on the Left Bank between the Garonne and the Ciron.⁴ In Tokaj, shrivelled Aszú berries were once measured in baskets called puttony; since 2013 Tokaji Aszú must have at least 120 g/L of sugar.¹ Only six native grapes are allowed, Furmint and Hárslevelü among them.¹ Eszencia, a wine made entirely of Aszú berries, rarely ferments past 3 percent alcohol.¹

Frozen grapes. German Eiswein grapes are picked and pressed at minus 7°C or colder, so only concentrated juice runs out.³

Ripeness ladders. Germany grades Prädikat wines by ripeness at harvest: Kabinett, Spätlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, Eiswein and Trockenbeerenauslese, the top.³ Prädikat wines may not be chaptalised.³

Fortified and dried-grape wines. Port is sweet because grape brandy stops fermentation while sugar remains.⁵ Pedro Ximénez sherry comes from grapes dried in the sun until they turn to raisins; fermentation of the sugary must is stopped by adding wine alcohol, and ageing is oxidative, giving a syrupy wine of raisins, figs and dates.⁶ Madeira's sweet Malvasia style keeps its freshness through high acidity.⁷ fortified-wine →

Loire Chenin. Chenin picked at the end of the harvest gives the Loire's great sweet and syrupy wines.⁸

Muscat. Muscat Blanc, perhaps the world's oldest wine grape, makes still, sparkling and dessert wines with aromas of mandarin, orange blossom and pear.⁹

How to taste it

Serve cold in small pours. Look for acidity to cut the sugar; without it the wine feels heavy. Botrytis adds honey, apricot and saffron; Eiswein tastes of pure fruit and acidity. The rule for pairing: the wine should be at least as sweet as the dessert. Blue cheese and foie gras also work.

Styles and what the label means

• Spätlese / Auslese — late and selected harvest; not always sweet.³
• Beerenauslese / TBA — individually picked, usually botrytised berries.³
• Eiswein — frozen grapes.³
• Sauternes and Barsac — Bordeaux's sweet appellations.⁴
• Tokaji Aszú / Eszencia — Hungary's botrytised wines.¹
• Vendanges Tardives / SGN — Alsace late harvest and noble rot.²
• Moscato — often low-alcohol and spritzy.⁹