Q&A: Wine & Food Questions
White Wine/ Red Wine
I love sweet wind but can only fine it in a white variety. Is there one in red or am I just going to have to stick to white? What is the best white that is a step before desert wine that I can purchase?
Answer From Expert Roger C. Bohmrich, MW
It is certainly much easier to find white wines with degrees of sweetness that it is to find equivalent reds. If you are willing to accept a bubbly, you could try a sweet Lambrusco from Italy, which should be relatively easy to find. You could also search for - or ask your local retailer to order - a rather obscure Italian red, Cagnina di Romagna. This may be exactly the type of sweet red wine you will enjoy. so it could be worth the effort. With respect to a sweet white wine of high quality which falls short of the very high sugar concentration of a so-called dessert wine, I would recommend a German Riesling Auslese from a leading producer. A fine Auslese, produced from selected, very ripe grapes, offers superb aromatic complexity combined with a magical balance of sweetness and acidity. You should also discover a Vendange Tardive or "late harvest" Riesling or Pinot Gris from Alsace, France, which offer varying degrees of sweetness. Neither a top Auslese nor a "VT" will be inexpensive, but they are among the world's great wines when they come from a talented maker.
About The Expert
Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with Europe's leader in direct sales of fine wines to consumers. Previously, he served as senior executive of Frederick Wildman & Sons, traveling regularly around the world to visit wineries and taste the new vintage from barrel. Roger became one of America's first Masters of Wine in 1993.
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