The place for all things wine, focused on serious wine discussions.

Serving order for dessert wine tasting

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Ryan M

Rank

Wine Gazer

Posts

1720

Joined

Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:01 pm

Location

Atchison, KS

Serving order for dessert wine tasting

by Ryan M » Thu Jan 07, 2016 9:20 pm

Doing a dessert wine tasting for my new group this Saturday. I've chosen the wines to cover the major styles of non-fortified and fortified. Have the following: a Vidal Blanc Icewine from Ontario, a Sauternes (2nd label of Doisy Vedrines), a Vin Santo del Chianti Classico, a Fino Sherry, a 5-year old Malmsey Madeira, and a LBV Port.

The challenge: where to serve the Icewine. Early in the line up due to its high acid and freshness, or later in the lineup due to its high residual sugar?

Possible Lineup:
Fino Sherry
Icewine?
Sauternes
Vin Santo
Icewine?
Madeira
Port
"The sun, with all those planets revolving about it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else to do"
Galileo Galilei

(avatar: me next to the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory)
no avatar
User

Dale Williams

Rank

Compassionate Connoisseur

Posts

11875

Joined

Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:32 pm

Location

Dobbs Ferry, NY (NYC metro)

Re: Serving order for dessert wine tasting

by Dale Williams » Thu Jan 07, 2016 10:40 pm

Well, not knowing individual wines, as a rule I'd put icewine towards end.
I usually find Sauternes richer than vin santo,but if a second wine that's probably right.
Madeira can be a wild card, as sweetness varies- what is the wine?
Fino sherry is pretty dry!
no avatar
User

Ryan M

Rank

Wine Gazer

Posts

1720

Joined

Wed Jul 09, 2008 3:01 pm

Location

Atchison, KS

Re: Serving order for dessert wine tasting

by Ryan M » Thu Jan 07, 2016 10:54 pm

Dale Williams wrote:Well, not knowing individual wines, as a rule I'd put icewine towards end.
I usually find Sauternes richer than vin santo,but if a second wine that's probably right.
Madeira can be a wild card, as sweetness varies- what is the wine?
Fino sherry is pretty dry!


My logic in maybe putting the Sauternes first is because the Vin Santo is a more oxidized style, whereas the preceding wines are fresher. The Madeira is the Blandy's 5-yr Malmsey, so a very rich style. Yeah, technically Fino isn't really a dessert wine, but I included it for contrast (and based on what was available at the shop today).
"The sun, with all those planets revolving about it and dependent on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else to do"
Galileo Galilei

(avatar: me next to the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory)
no avatar
User

Howie Hart

Rank

The Hart of Buffalo

Posts

6389

Joined

Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:13 pm

Location

Niagara Falls, NY

Re: Serving order for dessert wine tasting

by Howie Hart » Fri Jan 08, 2016 4:25 am

I would put the Ice Wine early, as it is the lowest ABV - probably 8-11 %.
Chico - Hey! This Bottle is empty!
Groucho - That's because it's dry Champagne.
no avatar
User

Fredrik L

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

739

Joined

Sun Feb 24, 2008 5:54 pm

Re: Serving order for dessert wine tasting

by Fredrik L » Fri Jan 08, 2016 5:46 am

The Malmsey should come last. It has more dry extract and is richer than any LBV.

Greetings from Sweden / Fredrik L

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazon, APNIC Bot, ClaudeBot, FB-extagent, iphone swarm, SemrushBot and 0 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign