Dessert Wines

Dessert Wines from Late Harvest to Port

Dessert wines have been in production as far back as the beginning of viticulture. In fact, back in the day, all wines were sweet. Some of the greatest and most valued wines in the world are sweet wines. Take Tokaji, the wines here were to revered that it became the 1st AOC. The wines of Sauternes continue to be some of the most expensive wines in the world. Coming from a restaurant background, I see dessert wines as great wines for food and wine pairing.

What many servers do not realize is that this an area in which their sales can increase dramatically. Many times after an extensive dinner, the thought of eating a dessert could be off-putting. However, there are times that you are just enjoying yourself so much, that you’d like for the dinner to continue on, without having to eat more. Coffee will just be a buzz kill, so naturally a sweet wine makes sense. It quenches your desire for sweets and keeps the party going.

When I complied this seminar, I really wanted our servers to get a firm understanding about of dessert wines and what makes each so different. My intention being to increase their check average. Many people say they hate sweet wines, but why is it that in tasting rooms across wine country, ports and late harvest wines have such high sales. There is a time and place for sweet wine. For some reason, in the restaurant, dessert wines tend to get overlooked. Most of the time it is because the servers do not know enough about them to recommend. This seminar hopefully will give servers a better insight into sweet wines. It covers the globes different styles of sweet wines. Hopefully there is one out there that fits your taste.