I’ve never been one to have a sweet tooth…
I rarely order dessert. When I do, I usually share it.
When folks try to share dessert with me, I often turn it down.
When folks get all pushy with dessert, I eventually say yes… only to sneakily throw the dessert away when nobody is looking.
I’m just not a dessert kind of guy.
But…
Recently… and I don’t know why…
Recently, I’ve been obsessed with dessert wine.
I haven’t been drinking much of it… mind you…
I’ve just been obsessing about the idea of it…
I can picture myself in a smoking jacket with a splash of something strong and sweet in my glass. Reading a good book. Listening to classical music. It sounds mother #@*%ing classy.
Recently, I have also been reading a lot of ENOFYLZ (a wine blog my Martin Redmond, the self-professed “Wine Drinkin’ Fool”). In the blog, Martin has been writing a lot about dessert wines… and it has been getting me pumped!
So here is my plan now…
Whenever I am out to dinner, and I’m thinking about some dessert, I’m gonna order me some dessert wine…
The other night, I finished off my meal at Bubbles Wine Bar with this…
Chateau Grand Piquey 2007 Sauternes
I was really stoked on this Chateau Grand Piquey 2007 Sauternes. Primarily made from the Semillon, the grapes in Sauternes are allowed to hang on the vine until “noble rot” sets in. The noble rot (Botrytis fungus) sucks out water from the grapes, leaving concentrated sugar for the dessert wine. The fungus itself also gives the wine a yeasty type of flavor. Good stuff!
The other night, Kara needed sherry for a recipe, so I picked up this…
Pastora Amontillado Sherry
This Pastora Amontillado Sherry is a medium dry, oak-aged, fortified dessert wine. Imagine a sweet whiskey with a lot less alcohol.
It’s not bad. I like it, but sherry seems to be much more of an acquired taste.
The sherry got me thinking…
I’ve known of sherry my entire life, but in almost 33 years on this planet, I’ve never had any until this week. In fact, I don’t think I know anybody my age that drinks sherry…
Anybody!
So I’m wondering…
Does anybody out there drink sherry?
If so, how old are you?
Is it a generational thing, or am I just trippin’?
Please leave a comment, and let me know.
That would be SWEET!
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Tags: Bubbles Wine Bar, Chateau Grand Piquey 2007 Sauternes, dessert wine, ENOFYLZ, Jeff, Matin Redmond, Pastora Amontillado Sherry, Stay Rad, Sweet
Stay Rad 
September 27, 2011 at 10:11 am |
My mom drinks it occasionally. A couple years back she’d take a drink of it every time the Sharks scored a goal. We’ve since graduated her to more appropriate sports alcohol.
September 27, 2011 at 6:11 pm |
Thanks Evan.
So far I got zero youngsters and hella old folks.
September 28, 2011 at 7:45 am |
im 22 and still have never tried sherry and have only tried port twice!!!
January 29, 2012 at 5:48 pm |
I picked this up the other day. It’s not a bad ‘monty for the price. Drink it well chilled. The fino is better.
January 29, 2012 at 6:36 pm |
Thanks, Reg.
March 24, 2013 at 3:25 pm |
I’m 47 and have been drinking sherry regularly for about a decade.
But what I really got hooked on was Montilla-Moriles, which is related to sherry — and which I often have found to be more complex (and a little less expensive) than the corresponding sherry (be it amontillado, dry oloroso, or what have you) at the comparable price point.
Unfortunately, Montilla can be difficult to track down. I was a little spoiled, when I was living in New York, to have a wine shop that kept it in stock. Since moving to San Francisco in 2010, I’ve not been able to repeat the luck — and, in fact, the Pastora amontillado sherry that you highlight here (which always is on the shelf at my local Trader Joe’s) has become my substitute go-to.
Alas, it’s not *nearly* as good the Montilla-Moriles amontillado — from the maker Alvear — that I’d been drinking in New York. In mouthfeel, richness, nuttiness, and general complexity, the profile of the Alvear was somewhere between the amontillado and the dry oloroso sherries made by Lustau. And the 750 ml bottle — this was three years ago — was only $13, compared to the Lustau’s, which were $17-$19.
For all that, the Pastora amontillado sherry still was a very decent sip for $5 a bottle. Unfortunately, Pastora now has repackaged this as “blend of amontillado,” which — judging from the taste — seems to mean that it’s being tempered with fino.
This probably makes it a more flexible dinner pairing. But — to my palate — it’s much less enjoyable now as an after-dinner or late-evening drink. It no longer has the level of sweetness and viscosity that one wants in a sherry at that time of day.
March 24, 2013 at 4:37 pm |
By the way: My wife is 9 years younger than me, so she started drinking sherry in her late 20s. 😉