Virginia’s Dessert Wines: Sweet Offerings for the Holidays

December 23, 2002
Contact: Pamela Jewell
(804) 786-0481
pjewell@vdacs.state.va.us

The Virginia Wine and Food Society, Inc. has issued a special Holiday Supplement to its December newsletter, which focuses on Virginia dessert wines. The Supplement offers readers helpful pointers on selecting dessert wines and features tasting notes on 18 Virginia dessert wines. For those wondering what to serve with dessert wines, the Supplement also provides some suggestions on pairing these wines with desserts.

The Supplement notes that Virginia wineries make a variety of dessert wines, but Late Harvest Vidal Blanc is the most widely produced, mainly because it is easy to grow and has lovely aromatic qualities. Vidal Blancs are often blended with Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Muscato, and other grapes to achieve stylistic expressions which are unique. A few producers make dessert wines from Viognier, Petit Manseng, and Malvasia as well. Virginia’s winemakers are constantly experimenting with different blends and production methods to get the most from the vintage and to make their wines rich and distinctive.

Michael Potashnik, Publisher of the Virginia Wine Guide and author of the Supplement notes: “You won't go wrong in selecting dessert wines, if you get to know who are the good producers and if you do some experimenting to learn about the styles you like. Pairing dessert wines with desserts is also great fun for the holidays.”

The tasting notes confirm that Virginia wine and food enthusiasts should be able to identify a good number of dessert wines to brighten up their holiday celebrations. However, dessert wines are produced in small quantities and sell out quickly at the wineries and in wine shops.

The Holiday Dessert Wine Supplement can be obtained by signing up for the Virginia Wine and Food Society Monthly Newsletter at: www.virginiawineguide.com. The Supplement and the Monthly Newsletter are free.