Dessert wine
/dɪˈzɜːrt waɪn/
A dessert wine is a noticeably sweet wine, often with elevated residual sugar and sometimes higher alcohol, traditionally served with or after dessert rather than during the main course. It includes both fortified and unfortified styles made by concentrating grape sugars (through late harvest, drying, noble rot, freezing, or fortification) to produce rich, intensely flavored wines.
Examples
- Serving Sauternes or Tokaji Aszú alongside crème brûlée or fruit tart as a classic dessert pairing.
- Pouring a small glass of Port or Pedro Ximénez Sherry after dinner to accompany blue cheese or chocolate cake.
- Offering Canadian Icewine or Moscato d’Asti as a sweet, stand-alone finale to a meal in place of a plated dessert.
Etymology
The term "dessert wine" derives from the English word "dessert," which entered English in the 16th–17th centuries from French "dessert," meaning the final course served after the table had been cleared (from Old French "desservir": "des-" = undo + "servir" = to serve). Wines traditionally served with this last course became known in English as "dessert wines," a usage that appears in British wine writing by the 18th–19th centuries, initially referring largely to sweet, often fortified wines such as Port, Sherry, and Madeira. Over time, the term broadened to include unfortified sweet wines (e.g., Sauternes, Tokaji, German Beerenauslese) intended for post-meal enjoyment; many non-English wine cultures instead use more specific style names or legal categories rather than a direct equivalent of "dessert wine."