
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 25, 1995                   TAG: 9501270020
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BETH CRITTENDEN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SWEET WINES ARE NOT ALWAYS SIMPLE

Many beginning wine tasters prefer sweeter-styled wines. Simple sweet wine is immediately pleasing to our tastebuds and is not a challenge to the tongue and mind, like many drier, more complex wines. This, in part, explains the current rage about White Zinfandel, a simple, straightforward sweet vin geared toward newcomers to wine.

But all sweet wines are not simple; rather, these can be some of the most elegant, complex and even expensive wines in the world.

Wine is created from grape juice by fermentation when yeast converts sugar to alcohol. Sweet wines are those containing unfermented sugar, also known as residual sugar. The sweetness can vary from 1 percent to 2 percent residual sugar in off-dry or semi-dry wines - good with light meals and for sipping - to intensely sweet wines, usually served as dessert.

The finest of the sweet white wines are made from grapes that are harvested late in the season, allowing for the maximum amount of sugar to develop. These grapes may shrivel almost to raisins, develop a coating of fungus or even freeze - all of which sound unappealing to the taster but help to create outstanding wines. Late-harvest wines are created with these grapes and sometimes, if we are lucky, will be affected with Botrytis cinerea a type of fungus, also called "noble rot,'' which can develop on fully ripe, intact grapes while they are still on the vines. Botrytis adds an exotic, more exciting quality to dessert wines such as French Sauternes, German Beerenauslese and some late-harvest wines from the United States and other regions.

Grapes harvested late in the season and pressed while frozen will generate even less juice and can be termed "ice wine." True ice wines can be made only when natural conditions are perfect. Because the weather pattern and timing depend upon mother nature, vintages are unpredictable and expensive. Occasionally, winemakers commercially freeze the grapes for the same effect at a much lower cost.

Ports, sherries and grape liqueurs begin as fermented wine, then have distilled grape spirits added to make these fortified wines. These super-sweet wines are a treat when served as dessert or used as an ingredient in dessert preparation. Other wines with a touch of sweetness can match well with some desserts to bring out the best of both. Sweeter-styled Johannisberg Rieslings and Muscat Canellis can have an almond characteristic, which pairs well with almond-flavored pound cake or almond torte. Rieslings also can have apple or peach characteristics perfect with some fruit pies.

As with any food and wine pairings, one of the easiest ways to make a match is by adding a bit of wine to the dessert preparation. I like to marinate chunks of fresh fruit in a Late Harvest Riesling for a couple of hours, then pour the mixture over pound cake and serve it with more of the same wine. Following are two other recipes using or paired with wine for dessert.

The meeting of the Roanoke Valley Wine Society on Thursday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Corned Beef & Co., Roanoke, will feature wines paired with several desserts and also tasted as dessert. Cheers!

Recipes for:

PEARS POACHED IN PORT

MARZIPAN CAKE WITH BERRY SAUCE

THE WINE LIST runs once a month in the Extra section. Beth Crittenden is director of the Roanoke Valley Wine Society, which meets for wine-tasting programs the fourth Thursday of each month. Call 992-3285. Crittenden also is a Virginia wine wholesaler and because of this affiliation will not make specific brand-name recommendations.

by CNB