CHRISTINE CAMPBELL Christine Campbell is a Vancouver-based freelance and travel writer, educator and host of the Wine Soundtrack Canada podcast. She is WSET Certified, is a French Wine Scholar and holds her Master of Champagne certification. Follow Christine’s adventures in wine and abroad at www.girlsgogrape.com
Dessert wines make ideal treats for the festive season—and not just for dessert!
Perfect Pairing with Late Bottled Vintage Port: Milk Chocolate Mousse
Perfect Pairing with Oloroso Sherry: Cheese, Dried Fruit and Nut Board
BOTTLE-AGED PORT Bottle-aged port is quintessentially vintage port. It is a wine from a single year. LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT Late bottled vintage port wines are selected to mature in barrels and are then bottled after five to six years. These wines continue to age in the bottle for another four to six years to improve flavours. SHERRY Sherry is a fortified wine, famous for the fractional blending and maturation process they undergo, the solera system. Barrels are arranged in stacking tiers, called criaderas . Each tier contains wine of the same age. A percentage of wine from the top tier is fed into the second and so on, until reaching the bottom level of barrels. This oldest tier contains wine that has completed the system of fractional blending and maturation and is ready to be bottled. Grape spirit is added after fermentation in sherry production, to offer a range of styles from bone dry to sweet. Fino is the lightest and driest style, with increasing sugar levels leading to the most luscious style, called cream.
GRAHAM’S LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT Portugal $26.99 191239 This port is a seductive deep purple-red colour and ready to drink now. Expect flavours of orange peel, milk chocolate, plum and sweet spice to fill your palate.
GONZÁLEZ BYASS NUTTY SOLERA MEDIUM SHERRY Spain $20.99 35204 Perfect for sipping around a roaring fire, this is an excellent wine for the winter months. Enjoy raisin, toffee, clove, orange zest, intense nut and coffee notes.
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