Port, ice & dessert wines? What goes with what?!
Port, ice & dessert wines? What goes with what?
I've taken an interest in wine recently and have started to understand what wines go with which food and why, but nobody I have met can explain to me much of anything about dessert wines and specifically ice wine. I know how it's made, but if anyone could offer more insight I would appreciate it. Also, I just purchased a bottle of 2001 Chateau d' Yquem as my first real bottle of wine any tips to fully enjoy the experience?
Answers:
2001 d'Yquem huh? that wine will drink well right now, or sit on it for a few years. like 50. If you can afford a small wine cabinet, i would highly recomend getting one.
Ice Wine vs Trockenbeerenausese (TBA) or Beerenauslese (BA)
the tba and ba are both affected by noble rot (botyritis) similiar to your sauternes. so you will have a wine with lower acidty. not higher acidity! the botyritis actually eats the acid in the grapes as well. and sometimes higher sugar levels. so the wines are more intense and less balanced than icewine. pairings? really depends on the varietal used. riesling is probably the most common, and you'll get alot of apricot, sometimes apple and lemon. the botyritis actually has a distinct flavor to it as well, and you'll notice a mustier finish. these wines and your sauternes would go well wth something like a peach cobbler, lemon tart, or a fresh bowl of berries. generally i would think about deserts that use fresh fruit and candy it in some way. Icewines are very similiar but with thier higher acidity you can use them with deserts that are even richer, and often times creamier. lets also not forget aout foie gras.
Ports
there are tawny ports, which spend most of thier life aging in barrel, and ruby ports, which spend moretim in botttle. tawny ports are generally going to be lighter in color and develop nuttier flavors. i love tawny port with a desert that uses hazlenut.
Ruby ports are a biger family and include "vintage ports which are usually the more expensive. these ports usually have richer berry flavors and often some nice floral characteristics. i generally pair these with rich choclate deserts, becuse the flavors are so rich they need something that can stand up to that.
some other interesting things to look into are desert wines made in the loire from chenin blanc. chenin has unusually high acidity which is great for a desert wine with a ton of sugar. also look atwines from Monitlla-Moriles in Spain. very close to the sherry region, there are some excellent wines from there made of the pedro ximenez grape, but they are aged for long periods of time. I have a 1927 PX that wasn't terribly expensive. but is absolutely delicious
I don't know about the Chateau DYquem, but I recently had my first experience with a desert wine. A friend purchased one at a dinner, and it was served with a matching Dessert. Perfect way to end the meal. The wine had a hint of chocolate and was like drinking a chocolate covered cherry. We called it an orgasm because it was so good.
The key is to pair the dessert wine with a dessert that is less sweet than the wine, otherwise the wine will seem dull and flat.
Port traditionally is paired with chocolate, walnuts, dried fruits (I like apricots the best) or Stilton cheese.
The classic pairing for Sauternes is seared foie gras. Poached pears works well too.
Ice wine is as sweet as Sauternes, but has less acidity. Try a tropical fruit flan.
Lucky you, having bought the 100 point Yquem 2001! It's probably showing well now, but you'd do well to lay that one down for a couple of decades for full maturity, and drink some much, much cheaper Sauternes in the meantime (like Rieussec, Suduiraut, Coutet or Lamothe-Guignard). The Yquem will be best enjoyed totally on its own, as nothing will stand up to it. Opening it now would be quite a waste.
Cheers!
Desert wine is the category that includes most wines with high sugar content. Ports, late harvests, ice wines, vin santo, and other wines fit this category. Means wines you'd serve with a desert or as one.
Port is a specific type of wine, not surprisingly from Portugal. It is from the Douro region in the north. Neutral spirits (alcohol) mostly from grapes is added to fortify the wine to around 17% alcohol. This acts as a preservative. The fortified wine is aged in barrels for varying lengths of time prior to bottling.
Ice wine is wine made from frozen grapes that are harvested and processed while still frozen. This removes water and concentrates flavors and sugars. Usually white (riesling, vidal, or others) it is a difficult and financially dangerous product. For example, the winery risks rot and birds eating the ripe grapes while waiting for the grapes to freeze. It does make an amazing desert wine where the sugar, alcohol, and acidity are perfectly balanced. They often have flavors like honey or honeysuckle. Love them.
Sauternes like your Ch. D'Yquem are excellent desert wines. The various flavors (sometimes peach or apricot, honey, sometimes a bit of citrus) go well with many rich foods or desserts. Consider making up a tasting that includes foie gras, smoked salmon, blue cheeses, etc.
2001 D'Yquem? Store it properly and drink it in 20 years with seared foie gras. If you open it now, it will be a waste. You can get the same pleasure out of a $50 Sauternes like Ch. De Malle.
I think Port and blue stilton is a great combination. I don't get dark chocolate as much because I like dark chocolate on its own. Generally, Sauternes will go better with Roquefort than blue stilton, which is creamier and softer.
Ice wines are made right before the grape freezes on the vine. the grape is cold almost at the point of being frozen when they are picked. Since the grapes are really cold, more sugar is produce making it a sweet wine, and is served cold and helps with digesting. dessert wines are just sweet wines with higher sugar content.