By Aillinn Brennan • Special to The Current
During the middle ages to keep wines from spoiling on long journeys they were fortified with wine distillates like brandy, for their preservation ability, before bottling with corks came along.
Fortified wines are strong, between 15 and 20 percent alcohol and can be either dry or sweet. For pairing with dessert, a sweet wine works best. The sweet red fortified wine, Port, originates from the city of Porto in Portugal where it has been exported for over 300 years. Port can only be produced in the Douro valley in northern Portugal.
There are several styles of Port. Vintage Port is the most expensive style and spends much time in its bottle before it’s ready to drink. Available now through PA Fine Wine and Good Spirits is the famous, and 100 point awarded, W & H Graham’s, The Stone Terraces, 2016, Vintage Port for $249.99.
Always read the fine print. The tasting note says drink from 2029 and beyond! Who can wait that long for dessert? Not to worry. If your Valentine gave you a box of chocolates you need Port now. The style, Tawny, aged in wood till “tawny” in color is affordable, available, delicious and ready to drink.
When the chocolates are done please persevere with Port. Anything dark decadent and chocolatey will work. Mousse, brownies, fudge, flourless torte …. Port!
As the wine growing season comes to an end and harvest begins, some grapes get left behind to slowly ripen in those picture-perfect early Autumn days. Late harvest wines have higher levels of sugar which can make beautiful sweet white wines with deeply concentrated fruit, and even honey flavors. Think fairy juice! Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Sémillon are commonly used grapes. At Galen Glen Winery, a hop, skip and a jump from Jim Thorpe there is a Vidal Blanc late harvest to try. Get fruity with it. Compotes, tarts, crumbles and crêpes make late harvest wine great!
Noble Rot….WHAT? Botrytis cinerea, a mold found in vineyards can be a bad thing, but in the perfect conditions can be a good thing. When the “rot stars” align just right some of the finest, sweetest and most complex white wines are made. Late harvest grapes must be thin-skinned and in perfect weather conditions.
The “fungus among us” covers the grapes and punctures the skin which causes the water to vacate. What’s left are shriveled grapes with highly concentrated sugary juice for the winemaker to turn to liquid gold.
Sauternes, are a famous and very expensive example from Bordeaux, France. If gold is not in your budget, you can find less famous botrytised wines from France in 375ml bottles in the twenty-dollar range. For a sweet treat pair with any creamy (non-chocolate) rich desserts like Crème Brûlée, a classic Cheesecake or a fresh whipped-cream Strawberry Shortcake.
Cheese, cheese, cheese will please any of these wines for those who skip the sweets. And there are many many more to explore: Ice Wine, sweet Olorosso Sherry, Asti Spumanti, Doux Champagne, Muscat and beyond, how sweet it is!
Aillinn Brennan is proprietor of The Marion Hose Bar located at
16 W. Broadway in Jim Thorpe. For more visit www.marionhosebar.com
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