KEY POINTS:
I'm not a great believer in the adage that the best things are left to last. That may be considered pole position by some, but too frequently it's the graveyard slot where things are not best appreciated, get lost or are forgotten altogether - which is often the sad fate that befalls the dessert wine.
Existing as they do in the ghetto at the end of meals and wine lists, and appearing when appetites are sated, dessert wines often struggle for selection. Many wine lists offer only a couple of cursory choices, and dessert wines are often tucked away in wine shops.
It's a shame, as to skip dessert wines is to miss out on some of the most seductive and complex specimens of the world. These range from light, low-alcohol German late harvest wines to richly sweet tokajis from Hungary and France's sumptuous sauternes.
Most of New Zealand's wine regions also have the conditions to make very smart stickies. There are some superb ones to be sampled here - but not in the European Union, which has effectively erected a trade barrier against non-EU wines entering the region that have actual or potential alcohol levels above 15 per cent.
While many of our homegrown dessert wines are relatively low in alcohol in themselves, if all their residual sugar was fermented, their alcohol levels would be well above the EU limit. It's a pretty unfair ruling, but the upside is that there's more for us to enjoy at home.
Dessert wines are arguably some of the most difficult (and expensive) wines to make, employing methods that regularly involve hand-harvesting grapes selected specially in a number of trips through the vineyard.
They're often left out on the vine long into the period where the weather becomes risky, and made from grapes that time has dried, frozen or raisined. And that's before the challenges of pressing and fermenting the minute quantities of the unctuous liquid contained in their concentrated berries.
Despite their name, dessert wines do not need to be paired with puddings. In fact matching dessert wines with desserts is notoriously difficult, requiring some knowledge of the sugar levels of both bottle and dish to ensure a decent balance.
To avoid pudding problems, a useful tip is to pick a wine that's likely to be sweeter than the dessert rather than the reverse - which can make a wine taste lean and sour.
"Sweet wines are often stuck with the dessert section when they actually offer great pairing opportunities, such as with starters, many international cuisines, and definitely really spicy dishes,' says Master Sommelier Cameron Douglas,
Not possessing a particularly sweet tooth, and having a tendency to run out of space after indulging in savoury fare, I often opt to have a dessert wine instead of pudding, enjoying it in its singular glory. It's also worth making an occasion of uncorking one of these special wines.
A lover of sweet things I may not be, but I'm still a big fan of the sticky tipple, and that's not as contradictory as it sounds. High levels of sugar might define dessert wines, but balanced with higher levels of acidity, instead of finishing on a cloying note, the best end surprisingly fresh.
Dessert wines are just too good to be left to last.
Noble Picks
A TINY TREAT
Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos Hungary 1999, $38-$40
Like many of the world's top dessert wines, tokaji is made from grapes affected by noble rot (otherwise known as botrytis, or aszu in Hungarian). However, tokaji is distinctive in that it is made by combining a dry wine with a sweet paste made from aszu-affected grapes, added in proportions called puttonyos. This opulent 5 puttonyos example (7 is the highest) is richly sweet, but citrus fresh with layers of raisin, apricot, spice, tobacco and orange zest.
From Caro's, The Village Winery, Liquorland Newmarket.
IN THE BALANCE
Glazebrook Regional Reserve Hawkes Bay Noble Harvest Riesling 2006, $32
This lighter, fresh, floral style with a peachy palate, infused with a twist of citrus peel and pinch of spice has just what a good dessert wine requires: a balance between its not-inconsiderable sweetness and citrus acidity.
From First Glass, The Wine Vault.
AFFORDABLE OPULENCE
Saints Vineyard Selection Gisborne Noble Semillon 2004, $17.95
While most dessert wines are pretty pricey, Saints Noble Semillon delivers dollops of rich and really quite sophisticated sweet spiced marmalade fruit and lively citrus notes for a steal.
From First Glass, Scenic Cellars.
