Dessert wines AKA Stickies are unfortunately rejected by a lot of wine drinkers, just because they are sweet. That’s a pity, as suitably aged dessert wines can be the perfect partner to a citrus pudding, liver pâté, or strong cheeses like Cheddars and Blues.
In NZ most Stickies usually are made from Riesling, Semillon or Sauvignon Blanc. They fall into two main categories: Botrytised or Noble wines – where a beneficial mould called Botrytis (Noble Rot) has affected the grapes, and natural sugars are intensified by the action of tiny mould organism filaments which suck out water content.
Late Harvest wines – here the grapes are left for an extended period on the vine where they ripen even further and start to shrivel like sultanas.
Because of the preservative quality of high sugar levels in the wine, and despite low alcohol, these wines reward cellaring for ten years or longer.
Because of the preservative quality of high sugar levels in the wine, and despite low alcohol, these wines reward cellaring for ten years or longer.
Now, to Pegasus Bay 'Encore' Noble Riesling 2008
Friends had us over for dinner on Saturday, and Lizzie (mine hostess) cooked a fab beef curry from scratch, with all the accompaniments like fresh pineapple, banana in coconut, plus poppadoms and naan bread. Always hard to match curries with wine, but some hearty reds stood up quite nicely.
Then to dessert - my partner Annie bought some chocolate meringues, popped them in tall glasses and added fresh whipped cream and strawberries. I opened a bottle of the new release Pegasus Bay 'Encore' Noble Riesling 2008. Normally I prefer a cheese board with sweet wines, but in this case, the intense fresh rasiny sweetness and a lively citrus acid balance worked really nicely in partnership with desssert. The Peg Bay sweetie was probably opened a bit young - this wine will develop and gain complexityfor 6 years plus.
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