Sauternes from Bordeaux, Tokaji from Hungary , Coteaux du Layon in the Loire, icewine, sweet Germans, late harvest from Alsace, well, there’s no shortage of options when it comes to dessert wine. Personally, I’m a huge fan. I find the unique production methods to be fascinating and the sheer quality of the wines can be staggering.

But most of all, I love watching people melt as they sip on a glass after a great dinner. It’s the icing on the cake. So don’t forget that before the Port, you’ll need to serve some dessert wine with a cheesecake, a fruit tart, a selection of cheese, and various other delights.

Sauternes is arguably the king of all sweet wines. It certainly wins the prize for being the most expensive with Chateau d’Yquem ranking amongst the most pricy wines in the world. Expect to pay a few hundred dollars for a half bottle from an average vintage. And if you come across a bottle from the 1800’s then expect to remortgage your house. But there are plenty around $35 too, so you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy it.

Sauternes is part of the Bordeaux region, in south west France. In the fall, autumn mists lift off the river Garonne where it intersects with the Ciron, because of the temperature differences in the water. This mist shrouds the vineyards and creates very humid conditions which are the catalyst for the development of botrytis, or noble rot. It doesn’t sound good, and it doesn’t look good either, but this noble rot attacks the berries and punctures small holes in the grapes which cause them to shrivel. As a result the water content of the berry evaporates and you’re left with a high degree of sugar, and ultra-ripe tropical fruit flavors.

But botrytis doesn’t affect all of the grapes at exactly the same time. This means that picking has to be done by hand, with harvesters passing through the vineyard in waves, selecting only the berries with noble rot. At some estates the pickers may go through the vineyard several times, armed with no more than a pair of nail scissors. To put it in perspective, a single grape vine will often produce one 75cl bottle of red or white wine, but in Sauternes the yield is so low that you’d be lucky to extract one glass of the sweet liquid gold from a single vine.

Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc are the grapes of choice. The former is highly susceptible to botrytis and the latter helps counter-balance the sweetness with a refreshing acidity and a spectrum of different flavors. The fermentation is halted at approximately 14% alcohol leaving plenty of unfermented sugars in the wine, and then it is transferred to oak barrels for around two years of maturation.

Expect honey to predominate, with notes of pineapple, brown sugar and crème brulee, in a full bodied style. The French love to serve it with foie gras as a starter, but I prefer it with a cheesecake at the end of a meal. When it comes to sweet wines, Sauternes is still my first choice.

But those Hungarian Tokaji’s can be so good too. It’s like picking your favorite child. I take back my comment about Sauternes. Tokaji is gorgeous, replete with an expansive bouquet of marmalade and honey, and a thread of acidity that can enable them to last for decades.

True, Tokaji is not as well-known and perhaps the fact that it is made in Hungary doesn’t exactly help win consumer’s affection. But it is the Wine of Kings and the King of Wines, as they say. And the way they make it is entirely unique.

Botrytis is triggered by the same phenomena as in Sauternes, caused by temperature differences in the waters of two rivers that intersect. But here the grapes are different. You have Harslevelu and Furmint, which are hardly household names. A dry white wine is made from Furmint and then the botrytis affected Harslevelu is added. On the label you will see a statement about the number of Puttonyos. The number of Puttonyos ranges between 3-6, and if you buy a 6 then expect it to be sweeter than a 3,4, or 5. Puttonyos is the name of the wicker baskets that the pickers use, filled with botrytis affected grapes.

Let’s face it. If you bring out a bottle of Tokaji, which may cost you around $50, and relay the story of the wicker baskets and the Puttonyos, you’re probably cruising for an “accidental” goodbye kiss on the lips from your flirtatious neighbor.

Moving on. The Loire, including Coteaux du Layon, Quartz de Chaume and Bonnezeaux, made with Chenin Blanc, can display succulent honeyed flavors, in a wine that tends to be a little lighter and more acidic than Sauternes. One of the nice things is the price, which tends to be less than Sauternes and Tokaji, at least for Coteaux du Layon. I’ve found some stunners that are around $30, which is half the price of icewine. Try these with some blue cheese, as the saltiness is offset by the sweetness of the wine.

Germany and Alsace can produce some fabulous sweet wines too. In Alsace look for the words Vendange Tardive (late harvest), or Selection de Grains Noble for the botrytis affected ones. Riesling and Gewurztraminer is king, and I love the incredibly intense aromas of an Alsatian Gewurztraminer. Red roses, spice, honey, apricot and a rich oily texture are the hallmarks.

I always look for the wines of Domaine Weinbach, a family-owned producer, established hundreds of years ago. This is traditional winemaking at its best. When I asked Catherine Faller how she handles the winemaking, she replied that she does nothing more than pick the grapes at the perfect moment, press them, and then let nature take its course.

But whilst sweet wines are a rarity in Alsace, Germany specializes in them. Look for the designations Auslese and Beerenauslese on the label if you want something with an undeniable amount of sweetness. These rather complicated terms refer to the amount of sugar in the grape at harvest. This is the basis of the German wine laws, where sugar is prized above all else.

The great thing about these wines is the phenomenal balance between sweetness and acidity, delicacy and power, and the unusually low alcohol. Most of the sweet wines from the Mosel have an alcohol degree around 8.0%. This is a good thing, because nobody likes being hung-over.

The Mosel valley in Germany produces many of the benchmark, classic wines. Some of the vineyards are planted on slopes that are so steep that one slip and you could end up in hospital. Fritz Haag, Egon Muller, Selbach-Oster and Dr Loosen all produce stunning wines.

Of course, if you had a guest from the Middle East I might consider serving them Canadian icewine. It’s local and the fact that the grapes have to be picked at -8 Celsius would be as foreign to them as the desert heat is to us.

Canada produces more icewine than any other country, especially in Ontario where there are massive volumes made. Riesling and Vidal are widely used, and producers wait until frigid temperatures freeze the grapes on the wine. This can happen as late as January, which highlights the fact that many sweet wines are made by taking a tremendous risk.

Once the grapes are picked, which is often during the night, they are pressed whilst still frozen and the small amount of sweet juice is inoculated with a powerful yeast to trigger the ferment. A few months later, usually at around 11% alcohol, the ferment is halted and a colossal amount of unfermented residual sugar remains. These are some of the sweetest of all wines, and sometimes can be syrupy, and cloying. Frankly, icewine would be last on my list, especially given the ridiculous prices many producers charge for a ½ bottle. At least you get some fancy packaging thrown in.

There are other sweet wines that you should track down, like the amazing Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, from the southern Rhone. Although this is a fortified wine, it is only lightly so, and the gorgeous floral, orange and honeyed aromas will blow everyone away. At around $25 for the half bottle you’ll be the hit of the party.

The list could go on. But that’s enough to get started. So next time you are planning a dinner party, or have romance on the brain, make sure you don’t forget the sweet stuff. There’s a reason why they call it the nectar of the Gods.

WINE, PRODUCER & FOOD PAIRING

Sauternes, Ch. Doisy Vedrines with Blue cheese

Tokaji, Ch Dereszla with Strawberry Cheesecake

Alsace VT, Domaine Weinbach with Crème Brulee

Mosel Auslese, Selbach-Oster with Tropical fruit plate

Canadian icewine, Inniskillin by itself, well chilled