Most wine lovers understandably eschew sweetness in their table wines. Sugar is for dessert.
Or it's for fans of those retro German brands, Blue Nun and Black Tower, which in spirit are closer to soda pop than to the refined adult beverages most Canadian wine consumers prefer today.
Generally, I'm not big on sugar either. But sweetness in quality German white wines can be magical. It's not about the draw of saccharine sweetness per se. A modicum of sugar in a good German white wine provides a counterbalance to natural acidity.
And there's often firm spine of refreshing acidity in the wines from northern Europe, where grapes struggle to reach full ripeness in the cool climate. Some German vineyards lie at 50 degrees latitude, the northernmost extreme for quality grape varieties.
That's considerably farther from the equator than Niagara, which lies at about 43 degrees, and comparable to Kelowna at the top of British Columbia's Okanagan Valley.
Sweetness diminishes perception of acidity, and vice versa. It's a yin-yang thing, and the tension between the two can support heaps of flavour.
A lot of German wine derives its sweetness from the addition of unfermented grape must to the naturally tart base wine. This stands in contrast to most other sweet wines, like relatively simple white zinfandel, which are made by arresting fermentation before the yeast can convert all the fruit sugars to alcohol.
That's an important difference, because unfermented grape must contains a more complex mix of sugars than must that has been subjected to even partial fermentation. It's sort of like adding fresh parsley to a bowl of pasta at the last minute rather than cooking the parsley in the sauce. It's a different flavour.
A hint of sweetness in a wine also will tame the heat of spicy food better than any cold, dry beer. If you're a fan of Thai food, for example, do yourself a favour and bypass the dry lager for a slightly sweet German white, such as Darting Gewurztraminer Kabinett 2008 from the Pfalz region ($16.95 in Ontario, product No. 944181), released last week through Ontario's Vintages stores.
The white gewurztraminer grape, more commonly associated with the nearby French region of Alsace, tends to have a conspicuous flavour reminiscent of lychee or white table grapes along with notes of rose petal and ginger-like spice.
The Darting is a veritable fruit salad in a glass, rich and luscious, with enough acidity and pleasant bitterness on the finish almost to convince you it's dry. There's also a mere 10-per-cent alcohol in this beauty. A compelling case for moderation, in case you needed one.
And the monster standout of this past week's Vintages release is Dr. Nagler Rudesheim Riesling Auslese 2002 ($22.95, No. 161646). Positively fat, it shows mesmerizing balance, complexity and length of flavour, with a finish that will last longer than some marriages (hopefully not yours). Nuances of apricot nectar, flowers and petrol intermingle in this gloriously layered white. It would improve with age for up to eight years or so. And, like the Darting above, it's relatively moderate in alcohol, at 11 per cent.
Moscato d'Asti, a slightly effervescent white from Piedmont in northwest Italy, is another moderately sweet, low-alcohol white style that's anything but saccharine or cloying. Too delicate for spicy food, the style is better suited to low-sugar desserts, such as biscotti and spongy cakes. Cristina Ascheri Moscato d'Asti 2008 ($17.95, No. 746479) put me in mind of white table grapes and bitter apple peel, showing a fine, lightly sparkling mousse and just the right level of balancing acidity. It's a consummate outdoor, summer-weather white and weighs in at just 5.5-per-cent alcohol.
From the Burgundy spotlight in this week's Ontario release, my top choices include a dry bubbly, two still chardonnays and two pinot noirs, respectively: Bailly Lapierre Reserve Brut Crémant de Bourgogne ($17.95, No. 991561); William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru 2007 ($29.95, No. 169805); Roux Pere & Fils Clos des Mollepierres Rully 2007 ($23.95, No. 169193); Domaine Daniel Rion & Fils Les Grandes Vignes Nuits-St-Georges 2007 ($44.95, No. 981548); and Domaine Besancenot Bressandes Beaune 1er Cru 2006 ($31.95, No. 166181).
And my bargain domestic suggestion of the week is available only in B.C. and Alberta. White Bear Pinot Blanc 2008 from the Okanagan Valley ($12.95, visit www.whitebearwines.com for more information) is a deftly engineered white from Artisan Wine Co., the value-oriented operation associated with Mission Hill proprietor Anthony von Mandl that also makes the fine brands Wild Horse Canyon and Ganton & Larsen. Part of the proceeds from the White Bear brand support ecosystem conservation, but this pinot blanc is worth the money and then some on the basis of taste alone. Plenty of concentration here, with nuances of spiced pear and citrus. Bottled under screw cap, it's a good choice for picnics.
Picks of the Week
The deal
Darting Gewurztraminer Kabinett 2008 from the Pfalz region ($16.95 in Ontario, No. 944181) is a veritable fruit salad in a glass, rich and luscious with enough acidity and bitterness on the finish to convince you it's dry.
The splurge
Dr. Nagler Rudesheim Riesling Auslese 2002 ($22.95, product No. 161646) shows mesmerizing balance, complexity and length of flavour with a lasting finish. Nuances of apricot nectar, flowers and petrol intermingle in this gloriously layered white.
The domestic
Available only in B.C. and Alberta, White Bear Pinot Blanc 2008 from the Okanagan Valley ($12.95, visit www.whitebearwines.com for more information) is a deftly engineered white with nuances of spiced pear and citrus.
