A Guide to Dessert Wines

People who enjoy sweet cocktails tend to appreciate dessert wines for the same reason: concentrated fruitiness, balanced sweetness, and complex finish. Dessert wines achieve a depth few cocktails reach — they are the product of extreme conditions, rarely produced, and often decades old when drunk.

The pairing principle: the wine should always be at least as sweet as the dish it accompanies, otherwise it tastes dry and bitter by comparison.

Tokaji from northeast Hungary is one of the world's oldest and most celebrated dessert wines. Aszú wines are made from Furmint grapes attacked by noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) — a mould that dramatically concentrates sugar, acidity, and flavour.

Sweetness was historically measured in "puttonyos" (baskets of aszú berries), a scale from 3–6 where 6 was the sweetest. Since 2013 the regulations have been simplified.

Key producers: Royal Tokaji Wine Company (partly owned by Hugh Johnson), Disznókő (owned by AXA Millésimes), Oremus (owned by the Torres family), Szepsy — one of the most uncompromising in the region.

Great vintages: 2017, 2013, 2007, 2000, 1999, 1993. Eszencia — pressed directly from aszú berries without added wine — can age for over 100 years.

Weingut Kracher in Illmitz on the shores of Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, Austria, is the name that put Austrian dessert wines on the world map. Alois Kracher (1959–2007) — known in wine circles as "Alois" or "Mr. K" — took over from his father Ludwig and transformed the estate into one of the world's most celebrated producers of Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA).

His philosophy was to combine Austrian grape purity with French technique. He introduced two styles: "Zwischen den Seen" (between the lakes) — stainless steel-aged, fresh and fruity — and "Nouvelle Vague" — barrique-aged, richer and more complex.

The wines are numbered (No. 1, No. 2, etc.) and made from grapes including Welschriesling, Chardonnay, Scheurebe, and Traminer. Each number represents a different grape, barrel, or harvest date.

Alois Kracher died in 2007 from cancer, aged 48. His son Gerhard Kracher now runs the estate at the same level of ambition. Great Kracher vintages: 2000, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2017.

Eiswein (ice wine) is made from grapes that naturally freeze on the vine during winter, typically in November–December when temperatures drop below −8°C. The frozen grapes are pressed immediately — the ice remains in the press while the concentrated grape juice flows off. The result is extreme concentration: high sugar, high acidity, pure fruit.

Eiswein is only produced when weather permits and grapes remain on the vine long enough, making it rare and expensive.

Notable German producers: Egon Müller (Scharzhofberger, Mosel), J.J. Prüm (Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Mosel), Dr. Loosen (Mosel). In Austria, Kracher and Feiler-Artinger produce eiswein beside Lake Neusiedl.

Canada is the world's largest producer of "Icewine" (Canadian spelling): Inniskillin in Ontario is the most famous, using Vidal as the main grape. Canada's climate allows ice wine production more reliably than Europe.

BA and TBA are the highest levels in the German and Austrian Prädikat system — above Spätlese and Auslese.

Beerenauslese (BA): individually hand-selected berries affected by noble rot. Rich, honey- and apricot-like wines. Produced only in particularly favourable years.

Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): individually selected, near-raisin-like berries — extremely concentrated, extremely rare, among the most expensive wines in the world. Egon Müller's TBA from Scharzhofberger in the Mosel consistently sets auction price records.

The principle: noble rot (Botrytis cinerea) perforates the grape skin and allows water to evaporate, concentrating sugar and flavour compounds without destroying acidity.

Sauternes in Bordeaux is the world's most famous dessert wine region. Grapes: Sémillon (main), Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle, all affected by noble rot.

Château d'Yquem stands alone as Premier Cru Supérieur — the only estate of that classification in Sauternes — and can age for decades. Great vintages: 2009, 2007, 2001, 1999, 1997, 1990, 1988, 1983.

Other names worth seeking: Château Climens (Barsac), Château Rieussec, Château Suduiraut, Château Guiraud.

Port is a fortified wine from the Douro Valley in Portugal, where spirits are added during fermentation to stop it and preserve natural grape sugar. The styles vary enormously:

Vintage Port: the highest expression, declared only in exceptional years by each house. Requires decades of ageing. Great vintages: 2016, 2011, 2007, 2003, 1994, 1985, 1977, 1963.

Late Bottled Vintage (LBV): from a single year, bottled after 4–6 years — more accessible and ready to drink.

Tawny Port: aged in cask for an average of 10, 20, 30 or 40 years — nutty, caramel, and dried-fruit character.

Key producers: Graham's, Taylor Fladgate, Fonseca, Quinta do Crasto, Ramos Pinto, Quinta do Vesuvio, Niepoort.