The variety was developed in the 1930s by French breeder Jean Louis Vidal, hence the name. His primary goal in developing the variety was to produce vines suitable for the production of Cognac in the Charente region of France. Today, however, because of the French prejudice against hybrids, I don’t believe any is grown there today. Due to its winter hardiness, this grape variety is cultivated most extensively in Canada and in the north-eastern United States. It is somewhat resistant to powdery mildew.

Due to its high acidity and fruitiness, it is particularly suited to sweeter, dessert wines. In particular, because of the tough outer skin of the fruit, it is well adapted for the production of icewine, especially in Ontario and New York.

Inniskillin is one the world’s best producers of icewine. They have two wineries, one in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario and one in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia. This particular wine is from Niagara. The winery produces several different icewines from different grape varieties. Vidal is one of the easier and most consistent producers.

Like the best icewines, it was harvested at the pinnacle of Canada’s crisp winter, the grapes are naturally frozen on the vine and picked when the temperature drops below -10º . Only a few drops of luscious nectar can be extracted from each bunch. The result is one of the most expensive and sought after wines in the world.

The Inniskillin 2006 Vidal Icewine is a deep golden honey color exhibiting aromas of grapefruit, apricot, persimmon, hay, mesquite honey, and wood smoke. It’s full-bodied but not heavy, with nice crisp acidity and a medium length finish. Very good.

Appellation: VQA Niagara Peninsula

Blend: 100% Vidal

Vineyard: ???

Cases Produced: ???

Bottle Size: 375ml

Suggested Retail Price: $77

Johannes Selbach is among the new generation of talented young winemakers in Germany, and he’s tenacious in his pursuit of new ways to improve the quality of his wines. At the same time, he steadfastly upholds the tradition of the estate. He is a devout proponent of the idea that great wines are “grown” rather than “made.”

The Domprobst vineyard is located on the steep slope behind the village of Graach in the Middle Mosel. Medium-size chunks of grey-blue Devonian slate over a thick layer of loam dominate the landscape. It has a comparatively heavy subsoil with excellent underground water supply. This all contributes to a classic style Mosel Riesling.

Very youthful aromas of peach, honeysuckle, lemon zest, and flint marry with a slight botrytis character. On the palate, it bursts with nectarine and mango. It has a pleasant sweetness that is not cloying, with balanced refreshing acidity, and a long finish. At 9% alcohol, I practically drank the whole bottle before I realized it. It was that good. Superb!

Appellation: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Blend: 100% Riesling

Vineyard: Graacher Domprobst

Cases Produced: ??

Bottle Size: 750ml

Suggested Retail Price: $39

The wine is available from JV Wine & Spirits.

While I would love to get into the specifics of German wines and how they are categorized, I just don’t have the room here to explain it all. Those that are familiar with quality German wine know that it can be a complicated prospect with many variables to consider, such as the different quality levels (Tafelwein, Landwein, Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet [QbA], Qualitatswein mit Pradikat [QmP]), ripeness level at harvest for QmP wines (Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenausless, Eiswein, Trockenbeerenauslese), village, vineyard, variety, etc. and so on.

For the sake of this post, it is sufficient to say that this wine is at the highest quality level and ripeness level, from one of the better producers in the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area.

The wine is made from grapes that have been shriveled by botrytis, the “Noble Rot.” Brought on by the misty mornings along the Mosel, the botrytis mold draws water out of the affected grapes, leaving an ultra-concentrated nectar behind. These extremely concentrated, moldy grapes are separated from the unaffected fruit and vinified to make one of the worlds more luscious dessert wines.

Botrytis mold on a cluster of grapes. It may be ugly, but it produces a delicious wine.

The 2005 vintage was one of the warmest in recent history and the wines show a certain ripe character unusual for such a cool climate. It is definitely apparent in the weight of this wine.

On the nose, the wine exhibits slight petrol, gun flint, and botrytis notes, rounded out by aromas of nectarine, apricot, and prickly pear. On the palate the wine shows good weight and acidity, with complimenting sweetness. It is smooth, refined, and clean on the finish. In a word it is: delicious.

Appellation: Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Blend: 100% Riesling

Vineyard: Various estate vineyards in the Mosel

Cases Produced: ??

Bottle Size: 187ml

Suggested Retail Price: $50

The wine is available from JV Wine & Spirits.

For more than 150 years these wines have been made in the same way. Muscat grapes are left to desiccate on the vine for as long as possible – risking spoilage by early autumn rains or botrytis. Once picked, the grapes are pressed for all their sticky juice. The juice is fermented in a mixture of old open fermenters or rotary fermenters until it reaches the desired sugar level of between 14˚ or 17˚ baumé, at which time the fermentation is cut short by the addition of grape spirit (similar to the way Port is made), which kills the yeast and lifts the total alcohol of the Muscat to about 18%. Following the short fermentation period the wines are transferred to oak casks for maturation.

Following fermentation, the new wines are placed in old oak casks of various sizes, to allow the flavors of the Muscat to integrate and mature, but without the overt influence of new oak. The ratio of big or small oak casks depends on each winemaker’s blending program, as the smaller the cask, the quicker the concentration and development of the wines.

Evaporation plays an all-important role in the Muscats of Rutherglen. On average the maturing casks of Muscat lose 5% of their volume each year to the sun. Over the warmer months the air in the cellars is rich with the aroma of Muscat.

The real art of the Rutherglen Muscat is in the blending of the various lots of various ages. Some employ a process of a modified solera system where each of the estate’s Rutherglen Muscat products is drawn down through a series of barrels into which selected parcels of new vintage Muscat or a range of matured wines have been added from time to time. This means that each vintage has a little bit of every past vintage.

Alternatively some winemakers prefer to segregate every parcel of Muscat, only adding suitable new or matured wines to the master blends when Muscat of just the right quality is available. The master blends of the great Muscat houses of Rutherglen have been built up over many generations, and to maintain their consistency a strictly limited quantity of each master blend is drawn off for bottling – as little as 3 to 5% a year.

While this Muscat from Yalumba is not technically labeled with the Rutherglen appellation, it is very much in that style.

Sandi’s (my wife) tasting notes: The wine is very port-like, with aromas of pipe tobacco, mushroom, caramel, redwood planks, wet soil, and mesquite honey. It reminded her of pecan pie in a glass. She felt it would b good with good with a dark chocolate or hazelnut dessert. She loves muscat when it is made in a style like Asti, so didn’t really care for this wine.

My tasting notes: Aromas of butterscotch, caramel, candied oranges, apricot kernel, chocolate, cherry cola, licorice, crème brulee, and bourbon barrel. It had a nice warming alcohol on the palate and a lingering sweetness. I happen to love this style of wine. While this wasn’t my favorite example, it was still quite delicious.

Appellation: South Eastern Australia

Blend: 100% Muscat a Petite Grains

Vineyard: Rutherglen and other traditional areas of northern Victoria

Cases Produced: ??

Bottle Size: 375ml

Suggested Retail Price: $20

More info is available from the Yalumba website.

But for this first post on The Tawny Times, I figured I would taste outside the box. Which is easy enough, when you get to taste a dessert wine made from 100% Spanish Merlot.

That’s right. A late harvest merlot from Pago del Vicario, a winery founded in 2000 near Ciudad Real, in Central Spain. Susana López Mendiondo, the winemaker, who trained with Peter Sisseck, of Pingus fame, makes a point of making non-traditional wines, it seems, as a solid rosado made from 100% petit verdot clearly demonstrates.

The 2004 Merlot Dulce tasted like a light, fresh young port, without the touriga nacional (and co.) character. A bit of spice, but mostly a lot of ripe, fresh fruit, good length and just a lot of yumminess. At 14.5% alcohol, it’s less alcoholic than a lot of “dry” California and Aussie reds, but without the heaviness.

Besides drinking it with great pleasure, I’d love to pour it over vanilla ice cream, or, why not, even make an ice cream flavored with it. Truly lovely stuff.

Here’s a link to PDF format tasting notes on the Dulce. Enjoy!

The grapes used in the production of this delicious icewine actually began growing in the 2004 season. The grapes were left to hang on the vines until the temperatures dropped below freezing and the grapes were good and frozen. They were picked on January 5, 2005 in the middle of the night. I’m sure there were many frozen finger after that night.  Although the grapes were a product of the 2004 growing season, federal government regulations require that the wine be labeled with a 2005 vintage date, as that is the year the grapes were actually harvested. The grapes were then pressed, while still frozen–hence Icewine.

The color is deep golden with a hint of copper. The appearance would suggest a certain weight in body, and there is some but it isn’t heavy. The wine exhibits floral aromas of honeysuckle and roses, with peach, apricot, candied pineapple, and a hint of vanilla oak. Flavors are more citrus on the palate with grapefruit and candied orange. Crisp, bracing acidity with a long, lingering finish. Refreshing and delicious.

Appellation: Yakima Valley

Blend: 100% Semillion

Vineyard: 100% Phil Church

Cases Produced: 920

Bottle Size: 375ml

Suggested Retail Price: $20

There are all the well known B’s in Piedmont: Barolo, Barbaresco and Barbera but there is another B worthy of our sweet tooth’s attention – brachetto. Even Oz Clarke calls brachetto “one of Italy’s more unusual grapes – and that’s saying a lot.”

Brachetto is a light red grape and it’s best expression is found in southern Piedmont around Asti, Alessandria and Roero. It can be made into a still, dry wine, but specifically Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG is frizzante or spumante and medium sweet.

The DOCG zone for Brachetto d'Acqui is that small blob next to "Acqui Termi"

(As The Tawny Times grows, you will see why I hesitate calling this a “sweet” wine.)

The color is a stunning ruby, the nose is intensely aromatic with honeysuckle, strawberries, roses and a touch of clove. The flavors can be as varied by producer as Moscato d’Asti but generally reflect the nose with an additional raspberry lift. It’s low in alcohol at 5-6% and the residual sugar is just enough to be paired with desserts or fruit without being cloying. Brachetto is like a light, fizzy raspberry sauce perfect for a chocolate cake with ganache. Just like all bubbles, it helps cleanse the palate. My favorite pairing suggestion is a tramezzini di panettone except I haven’t had much success in locating Pocket Coffee’s in the US.

Because of its scarcity, Brachetto d’Acqui isn’t exactly inexpensive or easy to find. With Banfi’s proliferation in the marketplace “Rosa Regale” is probably one you’ll find on the shelf at your local shop. However, my personal favorite is Braida di Giacomo Bologna. I find that it leans more toward the raspberries where Rosa Regale leans more toward the floral.

I paid $14.99 for a half-bottle of Braida at Chelsea Wine Market in New York City. (I also brought home a Fat Witch Brownie to go along with it.) Please check Vinquire for selections in your area.

So, how do we at The Tawny Times define dessert wine? We feel that a dessert wine is any wine that is produced in a way that sets it aside from your typical table wine, with the express intention of producing a sweet or fortified wine. Basically, there are three general forms of producing dessert wines:

1. Allowing the grapes to ripen naturally to such a degree that there is plenty of sugar to produce both alcohol and sweetness.
2. Arresting fermentation either through the addition of a distilled spirit (usually brandy) making a “fortified” wine, or through some other means such as chilling or adding CO2.
3. Removing water from the process to concentrate sugar, such as drying grapes like Amarone, freezing grapes like Icewine, or allowing Botrytis Cinerea to dissicate the grapes like Sauternes.

We will explain whichever method in more detail when we cover specific types of wines, as well as offer serving and pairing suggestions.

Founded by dessert wine lovers Michael Wangbickler and Robbin Gheesling, The Tawny Times will be a collaborative effort, with articles written by a diverse range of bloggers. It is open to any and all who have a passion for dessert wines and aren’t afraid to admit it. If interested in contributing, please email Michael Wangbickler (The Caveman).

So, sit back, grab some stickies and enjoy. Salut!