Dessert wines

At the request of a friend, here are a few suggests for wine pairings with dessert.

When pairing wines, it's important to find a wine that matches the general characteristics of the food. Red wines are typically more full-bodied than whites, thus pair better with red meats and more hearty dishes. The more spice and flavor in a dish, the more bouquet and oak well-matched wines would typically have. Of course, this is all subjective. Wine is a personal experience, and can be enjoyed with any combination of food.

Personally, here are a few suggestions for sweet wines that I enjoy with sweet desserts:

Frosty Dog
- Made from frozen Vidal Blanc grapes (the cold temperature brings out the sweetness) at southern Virginia's Chateau Morrisette (www.chateaumorrisette.com), Frosty Dog features a light taste of apple, pear, honey and spice. Frosty Dog was the winner of the 2004 and 2006 Virginia Governor's Wine Competition. If you're in the area, the winery makes a great day trip, offering wine tastings, tours and a restaurant serving lunch and dinner.

Dezzani sweet wines
For something a little different, may I suggest Dezzani Sweet Red and Sweet White. I first tasted these two wines at a free Harris Teeter tasting (I promise they're not paying me royalties. That just where I shop. There and Trader Joes. Good selection and good prices.) These two wines are an interesting study because they are half wine and half champagne, giving them a bit of the bubbly appeal, with a sweet taste to boot. The sweet red was my favorite of the two, but is admittedly quite sweet.

Blue Nun ($9 at Harris Teeter)
The 2006 Blue Nun Qualitatswein is a crisp Rheinhessen. As the name would suggest (especially if I knew how to add all the special characters), Blue Nun comes from Germany -- more specifically, a region along the River Rhine that has produced wines since Roman times. Blue Nun, one of the most well-known Rheinhessens, however, has only been producing wine since the early 1920s. This semi-sweet wine is crisp, with most notable hints of peach. It would serve as a good dessert pairing for those who are less fond of sweet wines. Also pairs nicely with salads and fish.

Then there are ports
I'm a big fan of port wines, but it would be terribly difficult to pick just one to highlight. The best description of Ports, is summed up on wine.LoveToKnow.com like this:

Port is very popular, and has been around for a long time. Get a pen and pencil and write this down, OK? 1)Port is fortified. 2)Late harvest wines are not. Ta da! What does that mean? Port is a low-alcohol, sweet wine that has a spirit of some sort (usually brandy) added to fortify it—meaning it adds alcohol. Late harvest wines do not have this process done. So port has a higher alcohol content than most dessert wines (usually 18-19 percent). Port can be made—like late harvest—from any grape, but historically the true ports we drink come from Spain and Portugal from grape varieties there. Shipped into England by English companies gave these wines English names: Smith-Woodhouse, Wares, Cockburns, etc. These guys can age a long time and cost a pretty penny, but I’ve had ports from the 1800s that have been delicious! The nice thing about opening a port is that you do not have to consume it like you do wine…it’s fortified, thus it will last a lot longer after being opened.

Types of Port
Now there are mainly two types of port: Tawny and Ruby. Tawny port is done in what they call a solera process, which means that the wine evaporates in the barrel and oxidizes. This process gives the wine a golden/brown color and adds a “nutty” characteristic. Ruby Port is the cheapest and most extensively produced type of port. After fermentation it is aged for three years inside large oak vats to prevent excessive oxidation, preserving the rich red color and bright, fruity flavors.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

If anyone has suggestions of their own, I certainly welcome those.