Delectable dessert wines

Holiday dinners, with their traditional desserts or cheeses, stimulate an appreciation of how well fortified dessert wines complement these foods.

It is a time that calls for port, perhaps the best recognized fortified wine. Two English gentlemen in 1756 introduced the concept: blend some distilled clear grape spirit into your wine in order to arrest fermentation — and consequently leave more residual sugars while raising the alcohol level— and you create a liquid treat that is not as prone to spoilage as conventional wine.

Marsala was also once very important for the holiday season. About the same time that Napoleon was being defeated at the Battle of the Nile, wonderful wines from the city of Marsala in Sicily were being discovered by the English. Different grape varietals, and a solaria system of blending in this region, created a unique, yet consistent flavour and mouth feel. The difficulty was getting these wines back home. Enter Mr. Benjamin Ingham—another English gentleman— who fortified the region’s wine with a distilled grape spirit that allowed it to survive the journey (and to also capture a share of the lucrative market for port). After WWII, the quality of Marsala wine dropped, and it was usually relegated to the role of a cooking wine. That’s changing: with the resurgence of interest in craft wines, Marsala wine producers are once again offering distinctive high quality wine (not readily available in our market, unfortunately).

A third wine of this type is from the Madeira islands—way stations in the mid- Atlantic that were critical to early explorers as a port of call to replenish water. The Portuguese brought along vines that soon after made wine another staple to be purchased for long sea voyages. Once again, fortifying local wine with grape spirit helped to avoid spoilage. And, after a wine shipment was returned unsold to the islands, it was discovered that exposure to tropical temperatures had a most beneficial effect on the wine: it became majestically robust, and almost impervious to spoilage. The Founding Fathers of the United States developed a distinct fondness for Madeira, since it was easier to ship from its mid-Atlantic origins than port, which came a longer way from England. Madeira was used to toast the Declaration of Independence, and was a familiar feature at the Continental Congress.

This Christmas, why not take a step back and consider celebrating in a less conventional, but more traditional style, by sharing the true spirit of Christmas with those less fortunate.

And remember that great gift-giving ideas can be found close to home. Visit Prince Edward County wineries, craft breweries, the Cider Company and distilleries to stock up on holiday cheer, gifts for hosts, and stocking stuffers. Our local artists and artisans have laboured hard all year to create unique and thought-provoking gifts.