Make it Sweet
D essert wines make ideal treats for the festive season—and not just for dessert! When the chill sets in, serve them at cozy gatherings with family and friends. Or consider giving them as decadent gifts, being sure to save one for your own personal indulgence, one that makes your palate swoon. After all, every sweet tooth deserves a delicious mouthful or two of this liquid treasure. Here is a simplified breakdown
Perfect Pairing with Tawny Port: Poached Pear with Stilton Cheese
are among the most popular in the fortified category due to the range of styles; these can vary based on grape varieties used in blending, the timing of fortification, the use of oak and the decision of when to bottle. Most port production relies on blending many different vintages. To retain a level of sweetness that adds to the wine’s unctuous texture, grape spirit is added to the base wine during fermentation. PORT STYLES WOOD-AGED PORT These ports are made to be consumed upon release. Wines undergo maturation in wood to develop their flavours. The wines in this category make up most wine sold by the port houses. RUBY AND TAWNY PORT Ruby and tawny ports take their name from the colour of the wine. Aged tawny port wines are a notch up in quality within the port category and are aged for a minimum of seven years in barrel. After this time, the port has lost the ruby colour and tannins of the the younger wine, resulting in an aged tawny port with soft, silky and maturing flavours.
to help you decide where to begin your sweet journey. Stylistically, dessert wines fall into two main categories: fortified and non-fortified. Fortified Wine
Fortification is the addition of grape spirit to the base wine, which raises the alcohol level to 20 percent ABV (alcohol by volume). The timing of spirit addition is crucial because it stops fermentation by killing the yeast, providing the winemaker options to make a wine style as sweet as intended. Examples of fortified wines are port, sherry and Madeira. PORT Hailing from the stunning Douro region of northern Portugal, port wines
TAYLOR FLADGATE 20-YEAR-OLD TAWNY PORT Portugal $72.99 149047 This tawny port is rich and delicious with notes of dried fig, citrus peel, nutmeg and roasted nut.
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