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by Answer Rabbit on April 11th, 2006

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What is a great after-dinner wine?

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  • by tiffytiff on April 11th, 2006

    tiffytiff

    After dinner wines are usually sweet wines like sherry, brandy, and ports. Dessert wines, as some call them,are becoming more popular again. Exotic, luscious and completely indulgent, they really capture the mood of the party season. Port, with its smooth flavours, is a great after-dinner wine, while relaxing with a glass of brandy can make a great finish to a good meal.

    There are two main ways of making sweet wine. The first (for 'late harvest' or 'noble rot' wines) involves leaving the grapes to ripen on the vines so long that they're half-way between grapes and raisins, with amazing concentrated flavours. This is expensive, because when the grapes shrivel the winemaker needs more bunches than usual to make the wine.

    The other way, for wines like port and sherry, involves picking the grapes at normal levels of ripeness and then stopping the fermentation of the wine part-way through, while the wine is still sweet. This gives a sweet, low-strength wine, to which a little grape spirit is added to bring the alcohol level up. That's the reason they're known as 'fortified wines'. Here are some examples of after dinner wines and why they work:

    Ports
    The different styles of port depend on how the various wines are aged. Here are some examples of types of port wines:

    Ruby
    A blend of different years, ruby doesn’t spend much time ageing in barrels and is released when still very fruity-tasting.

    Special Reserve
    A soft, fruity wine that’s a blend of different years, and has spent a bit longer ageing in the barrel.

    Tawny
    A blend of wines that have all spent a long time ageing in wood, which makes them very smooth and elegant.

    Late Bottled Vintage (LBV)
    From one particular year, LBV spends at least four years in the barrel, then, often, a few more years maturing in the bottle. It’s smooth, fruity and full-bodied.

    Vintage
    Made from the best grapes in the best years and can last for decades. It’s bottled young (two years old) and matures slowly over a long time. Deep, rich and powerful.

    Serving your wines correctly
    Sweet wines should be lightly chilled. Ports should be served at room temperature. Vintage port should always be decanted to remove sediment. Most LBVs are filtered, but some may need decanting, so check the bottle. Port is best served in wine glasses to enjoy its full flavour.

    Info on Brandy:

    For brandy: when serving it neat, brandy balloons or wine glasses will concentrate the flavours

    Hope This Helps,
    Tiff

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