Dessert Wines

The German Prädikatsweins are the Mercedes-Benzes of dessert wines - specifically, everything sweeter than an Auslese - but they're far from the only option.

There are a lot of wines that follow the German pattern. The Hungarian Tokaji Aszú and the Gewürtztraminier of France and the west coast of America are boytrized late-harvest wines like the German Beerenauslese.

Ice wines are also ideal dessert wines, but the only country that reliably produces a German-quality ice wine is Canada.

Fortified wines are another variety of dessert wine. The finest fortified wines are the Port wines of Portugal. Ports are wines that have been partially fermented and then, at the peak of the fermentation process, have had alcohol added to stop the fermentation. This leaves them sweeter than they would ordinarily be.

The Moscato d'Asti and Asti Spumante, along with any other sweet sparkling wines, also work well as dessert wines.