For decades, "dry" was the only way to go. Even the sweet cocktails of the past (Manhattans, Sidecars, Gimlets, Grasshoppers, Singapore Slings and the like) were pushed aside in favor of tart and salty Margaritas, dry Martinis, and spirits taken straight up or on the rocks. Americans viewed sweet wines with some suspicion.
Beerenauslese, Tokaji Aszu, Vendenge Tardive, Eiswein... whoever even heard of them? We recognized Sauternes, Port, sweet Sherries, and Madiera - but we didn't form long queues to purchase them.
Some of us chuckled when we learned that the Marquis de Laguiche, owner of the famed Chateau d'Yquem, went on record recommending his exceedingly sweet Sauternes as an ideal accompaniment to shellfish dishes and foie gras. Those comments were made decades ago and we are just now catching up to their real implications.
Hold on to your hats now, for a revelation: Sweet wines go better with many foods than dry. Not only the extravagantly sweet "dessert" wines already mentioned, but dry wines made with a sweet edge also.
Sweet wines, or wines containing "residual sugar," are usually the result of stopping the fermentation before all the natural sugars in the grapes are converted to alcohol. When the desired level of sweetness is obtained, the wine undergoes sterile filtration to remove every trace of yeast, which could produce a secondary fermentation in the bottle and ruin the wine.
Naturally, grapes with high sugar content are best suited for sweet wines because winemakers usually aim for alcohol levels of 11% - 14%. Most grapes, when harvested normally, need all their sugars to produce such alcohol levels and are fermented to dryness in order to obtain them.
GRAPES DESTINED FOR SWEET WINES ARE OFTEN FARMED IN SPECIAL WAYS:
1. They may be left on the vine for natural sugars to increase. This will allow reasonable alcohol levels to be achieved with enough residual sugar left to produce a sweet wine. The problem is that as sugar levels increase in the grape, acid levels drop. To obtain a good balance between acid and sugar is often very difficult. Wines made in this manner are often called "Late Harvest" wines, and may be made from the classic white varietals (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Riesling) or red varietals (Zinfandel is most commonly used).
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