Wine (checklist item n. 21 - part four)

Dessert wine, how to choose

Sweet wine, the one I have mentioned several times in recent issues, can have its place (only) in a very well-finished wedding dinner.

It is not essential or fundamental like other wines, it should not be paired like whites, reds or sparklings with main courses or so, therefore it is often overlooked. Additionally, these so-called “dessert wines” are quite expensive and come in miniature bottles, and this is not a negligible aspect in the broad economics of the ceremony. 

But if you really want to take care of all the details of the wedding banquet, I find it appropriate that these wines be served.

They should be paired with the courses of the final part of the menu, with the "frivolousness and sweetness" that we often find at the end: bonbons, biscuits filled with creams, fruit jellies or chocolates made with skill; these are the frivolities that at the end of the banquet are often served and, at this point, a dessert wine should also be served.

Dessert wines are wines obtained from grapes that have undergone drying processes and for this reason many of them are called “passito” (from the Italian verb “appassire”: to wither). These dried grapes, with various techniques, are subsequently pressed to extract the juice which, at this point, is really much reduced in quantity compared to the time of harvest, when the grapes are fresh and full of juice. Consequently, the quantity of extracted juice with which the sweet wine will then be obtained is meager. This is one of the reasons why these wines are quite expensive. Also, some of the sweet wines, the finest ones, are obtained from grapes that have been attacked by noble molds, undergoing transformations that give them some truly unique aromas and flavors.

Without further explaining the details of how sweet wines are made, here I would simply say that you have to be very careful in your choice, as these wines, to be pleasant and agreeable, must keep what in the jargon is called "the sour shoulder", i.e. that acidity that is often lost during withering, when the natural sugars of the grapes are concentrated to such an extent that the resulting wines get cloying.

Cloying wines are not drinkable, or at least they are not pleasant.

So, if you carefully choose a sweet wine according to its own acidity component, you will find the perfect wine for that part of the wedding banquet.

However, I would like to remind you that, right at the end of the menu, there will be the wedding cake which, as a rule, will be paired to a sparkling wine to allow you to make the toast (that really has no reason to exist without sparkling wines). If you remember our discussion on sparkling wines, you will also remember that enough has been said about the question of pairing dessert to a dry or a sweet sparkling wine. And on this I refer to that post a few issues ago.

There are countless sweet wines.

Among the many, one of the best known is the Passito di Pantelleria: by choosing one of the producers based in this wonderful island of Southern Italy, you are definitely on the safe side. But I would also like to recommend other wines, especially if you have just a few guests and you want to dare a little: for example, in combination with chocolate, I’d suggest a Barolo Chinato produced in Piedmont, but above all, if you want to pay homage to the bride, I’d suggest serving a Picolit, produced in Friuli, defined as the “wine of princesses”.

The latter is made with homonymous grapes that produce very few bunches and berries (even down to 10/15 per bunch), whose late harvest determines a considerable concentration of natural sugars but which also retains a natural acidity and therefore makes it perfect for combinations with the sweet part of the menu (especially with dry pastries), but also with many cheeses, especially blue cheeses.

Receptions with few guests are perfect for serving these precious wines: the ideal glass can be a goblet or a low glass as long as it is small in size, as a small amount of wine must be poured, and the serving temperature is 10/14 degrees .

Until next Sunday, with the Wedding Cake.