Dessert Wine: How Cold?
Courtesy of
30 Second Wine Advisor
By Robin Garr
It doesn't take most of us long to learn the basic
rule of wine- serving temperature: Red wines at room
temperature. White wines cold. (The nuances and exceptions can come
later.)
But what about dessert wines? These sweet, strong after-dinner
goodies don't seem to fit neatly into either category.
 Rather
than merely follow the conventional wisdom, I thought it might be
more fun to TEST it. With a half-bottle of
Quady "Essensia" California Orange Muscat ready for tasting (as
promised in Monday's "Muscat Ramble"), I set the scene by popping
the bottle into the refrigerator in the morning. A half-hour before
serving time, I moved it to the freezer for a short final chill.
I started taking notes immediately, while the wine was still cold
enough to frost the glass, and continued jotting down my impressions
over the course of the evening as it warmed to room temperature.
At its coldest, the wine seemed surprisingly light-bodied, almost
thin, and the flavor - dominated by orange-peel - came across as
rather one-dimensional. It "opened up" as it warmed, though, and
after about an hour, when the glass was still quite cool to the
touch but no longer ice-cold, its texture seemed thicker, almost
velvety, and the orange peel had added attractive notes of mint and
spice with a pleasantly bitter finish. Toward the end of the evening
when it had come all the way up to room temperature, it was still
tasty but seemed almost syrupy.
The wine struck the best balance, it seemed to me, when it
reached the middle of the coolness range - which, not
coincidentally, approximates the natural temperature of caves and
underground cellars, around 55F or 13C. In this instance, the
conventional wisdom seemed justified, and I wouldn't hesitate to
advise drinking any quality dessert wine, from Muscat to Sauternes
to Vintage Port, at a similar point.
There's no need for obsessive precision, though. Put your dessert
wine in the refrigerator for an hour before serving, or maybe 20
minutes in the freezer (don't forget it's there!) until the bottle
is perceptibly cool to the touch but not icy, and you'll be fine. If
you err on the cold side, no problem, just give the wine a few
moments to warm in the glass.
Your assignment for further study, if you choose to take it, is
to try a similar experiment the next time you open a red wine, or a
white. Challenge the conventional wisdom by tasting a red wine cold
and a white at room temperature, and draw your own conclusions.
Paying attention to the standard advice is always good. Checking it
out for yourself can be even better.
QUADY 2000 "ESSENSIA" CALIFORNIA ORANGE MUSCAT ($11.49/375 ml)
This is a clear, bright golden-bronze wine with ripe, appealing
aromas of orange peel and delicate spice, adding a pleasant minty
nuance in the background. Very sweet and fairly full-bodied, light
acidity and a pleasant bitter note in the finish add a bit of
complexity to sweet-orange flavors. (Jan. 29, 2003)
FOOD MATCH: Best served by itself after dinner, although I could
imagine it with creme brulee or a dessert flavored with orange
liqueur. For some dessert ideas, see Quady's desserts page,
http://www.quadywinery.com/recipes.html
VALUE: Very good value by the relatively pricey standard of
quality dessert wines.
WHEN TO DRINK: I like sweet Muscat young and fresh, but its 15
percent alcohol would help preserve the wine should you choose to
cellar it. Expect it to change after a few years, but it might be
interesting to see what happens.
WEB LINK: You'll find the winery's Essensia fact sheet here:
http://www.quadywinery.com/essensia.html. |
