The sweet taste of dessert

We don’t have a big tradition of consuming dessert wines here, but try them over Christmas and you may be surprised – they make the perfect complement to rich festive food

CHRISTMAS IS ONE of the few times in the year when wine-drinkers think about sweet and fortified wines. It may be their unique warming qualities, or possibly we need something sweet to drink alongside all those sugary treats. But even then, both remain neglected in a world full of dry whites and fruity red wines.

Sweet wines, dessert wines, stickies; call them what you like, they are some of the most delectable wines of all. In many cases, these are the most time-consuming and difficult wines to produce. They are also among the most complex and long-lived, yet are frequently sold at comparatively cheap prices. Many of us crave the sweet things in life – desserts, cakes, coffees and fizzy drinks, yet turn our noses up at the idea of a sweet wine. This Christmas, I would put in a special plea: try one. You could be in for a pleasant surprise.

Fortified wines (those that have been strengthened by brandy) are another minority interest, and again prices are reasonable given the quality. The key to enjoying both is to drink them little and often, and on the right occasion. The big advantage they have is durability. Sweet wines, sherry and port will all keep for a week or more once opened. A small glass served with dessert is the perfect way to end a meal. In some countries, they are served as “meditation wines”, to be sipped at a leisurely pace before you face the washing-up.

Over the holiday period, I like to keep half a bottle of sweet wine in the fridge, and a bottle of sherry in the cupboard, so that I can dip into either whenever I see a quiet moment approaching. In an ideal world, you have a bottle of dry sherry or Madeira to drink with those delicious post-Christmas snacks, and something sweet to accompany a slice of Christmas cake, a mince pie or some blue cheese. Port also goes very well with dark chocolate.

Mince pies

In the Wilson household, once the Christmas tree has been put up and decorated, we traditionally reward ourselves with warm mince pies and a glass of port. The two go remarkably well together, all of those raisins and dried fruits echoed in the warming port. Tawny port is lighter, with grilled nut flavours, but I prefer the damson and spice of an LBV port.

Christmas cake

This is the time to bring out your sweet sherry or Madeira, matching all those rich flavours with something equally luscious. A liqueur Muscat from Australia would be equally good, or if you fancy something homegrown, a glass of Irish whiskey also works very nicely.

Plum pudding

The usual advice is to match this with something sweet and sticky; this is sound advice. A very sweet PX Sherry, with masses of raisins, plums and spice, is a vinous plum pudding by itself. However, I frequently find that I am overloaded before I start on the pud, and the idea of a really sweet wine can be a little too much. If you fancy something lighter, why not try a light, refreshing, sweet moscato from Piedmonte? You can pick up a bottle of Asti in most supermarkets very cheaply.

Bottles of the week

Pfeiffer Rutherglen Muscat NV, Australia, 17.5%, €22.40 for a half bottleThis is an incredibly rich wine, full of figs, raisins, dried plum fruits and muscovado sugar. You won't be able to drink much at one sitting, but it keeps indefinitely. Serve a small glass well-chilled with a slice of Christmas cake or plum pudding. Stockists: Cinnamon Cottage, Rochestown, Cork; Vanilla Grape, Kenmare; Karwig Wines Ltd, Carrigaline or karwigwines.ie; The Vineyard, Galway

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji Aszú 5 puttonyos 2005, 10.5%, €28.95The dry version of Chateau Dereszla featured as one of my wines of the year, but the real glories of Tokaji in Hungary are undoubtedly the sweet wines. Puttonyos signifies the level of sweetness. I generally find that five putts gives the perfect balance of richness and acidity. The Chateau Dereszla is an impeccably made wine, full of rich pineapple, toffee and pear fruits, underpinned by orange-peel acidity. Stockists: Mitchell Son, Glasthule and CHQ; D6 Wines, Harold's Cross; Wines on the Green, Dawson Street; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock; On the Grapevine, Dalkey; Nectar Wines, Sandyford

Gibó Dolce Asti NV, 7.5%, €11.79Wine snobs will recoil with horror, but I am very fond of all kinds of moscato. The best examples taste of freshly crushed grapes in a way that no other wine does. I was first alerted to it as a dessert wine by a friend who is a master of wine. Many years ago, he served an Asti at his wedding, arguing correctly that it would be far nicer with the wedding cake than Champagne, and the perfect refresher at the end of a long meal. The same holds for Christmas. The Gibó is fizzy, sweet and full of juicy, ripe fruit. Alternatively, Marks Spencer has a still Moscatel de Valencia for €9.49 that is full of sweet Muscat grapes. Stockist: MS

Warre's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001, 20%, €30Aged for at least four years in bottle, following a few years in barrel, this is the best LBV on the market, in my opinion, and a great alternative to vintage port, which is generally more expensive and requires decanting. Rich with firm, sweet-sour damson fruits, a lovely mid-palate concentration and very good length. Sweet but certainly not sickly, this would do very nicely with mince pies, Christmas cake or a blue cheese. Stilton is traditional, but Crozier (an Irish sheep's cheese) is my current favourite, followed by Cashel Blue, but do make sure they are nicely mature. Stockists: Ardkeen Stores, Waterford; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny; Sweeney's, Glasnevin; Cheers, Delgany; Gibney's, Malahide; Bradley's, Cork; Wine Cellar, Phibsboro, Dublin 7

Beer of the week

Dungarvan Coffee and Oatmeal Stout, 4.5%, €2.99This is the first seasonal beer from Dungarvan Brewery, and sounds very Christmassy. I haven't had the opportunity to taste it yet, and so will rely on brewer Cormac O'Dwyer's tasting note: "The stout is brewed using locally milled oats from Flahavan's in Kilmacthomas, which give a smoothness and fuller-bodied mouthfeel to the beer, while the addition of Badger and Dodo's Sumatra Mandheling espresso gives an earthy roundness, which works well with the roasted barley and chocolate malt used in the brewing." Sounds fascinating. Stockists: Available in independent off-licences. See dungarvanbrewingcompany.com.