Sweet Wines
2018 GOLD: 3 SILVER: 7 BRONZE: 2 COMMENDED: 8
2017 GOLD: 2 SILVER: 10 BRONZE: 10 COMMENDED: 9
Sweet wines for restaurants. It’ll be all Sauternes, right?
You’d think so, but emphatically not. Only one sticky medal went to France, and that was to a rather well-priced Cadillac, rather than a Sauternes. Nor were we inundated with Eiswein or Tokaji. The big guns, it seems, largely stayed at home.
Their loss, and all that. As a result, there were some really interesting medals in here this year – styles and regions that are somewhat off the beaten path for most somms, and which suggests that if you’re looking to up your after dinner (or after main course) options it might pay to shop around a bit.
FROM THE TASTING TEAMS
‘I thought some of the Eisweins lacked some acidity, but even those were still delicious in their own way.’ Andrés Ituarte, Coq d’Argent
‘In general, sweet wines are out of fashion, so you really need to sell them. But it’s always good to have something for dessert. The sweet reds I found very interesting, too, with herbal, bitter, pine notes. They’re great for lighter, bitter chocolate desserts, and if someone doesn’t like port-style wines, these could go with cheeses too.’ Mikolaj Harmider, Adam’s Restaurant
‘These were exceptionally sweet, although if you’re a sommelier working with your chef, you can potentially have a glass of something like this next to the right dessert. Prices were high, but it doesn’t hurt so much if you’re serving them by the glass. For the tawnies, with a certain kind of cheese this could be an interesting combination.’ Sarah Jane Evans MW, team leader
‘You have to judge these on their sweetness vs their acidity. Overall, you could really see the application for these on a wine list, and some that you could have a second glass of.’ Lionel Periner, team leader