DWACON wrote:
> Went to the store to stock up on some wines and saw this tiny bottle of
> white wine that went for $90 (but was on sale for $79.99). It was called
> Dolce and labeled as "Late Harvest Wine," a descriptor that I was not
> familiar with.
>
> Curiousity got the best of me and I purchased a bottle. Pleasant... but
> incredibly sweet -- almost TOO sweet. Now, I generally prefer dry wines --
> my older brother is the sweet wine drinker (and plunks every bottle I bring
> to his house in a tub of ice... to my horror!) Still, I think this might be
> a new favorite.
>
> Pleased that my experimentation yielded such results, I googled to find out
> what the characteristics of late harvest wines were and what made them so
> thick and sweet. After reading the wikipedia entry, I realized I had a
> similar (albiet red) wine while visiting a friend in Germany.
>
> I was a kid at the time and my palate was not quite where it is now. All I
> remember was that it was like drinking alcoholic Aunt Jemima syrup that made
> the ground spin at varying angles.
>
> The only question that I still have -- are these type wines always so
> expensive?
>
> This was the only late harvest wine in the store and the dearth of
> knowledgeable clerks left my interrogatories unanswered. I plan on
> searching for some other varieties and will add the occasional bottle as a
> change of pace from my usual libational habits.
>
>
>

Dolce is a sweet wine produced by Far Niente winery in Napa, an outfit
not known for their value pricing ;-) Dessert-type wines are generally
more expensive than table wine because they are usually made from very
ripe or dried grapes that are harder to obtain. The richest source of
sweet wines is generally considered to be Germany, but their labeling
often puts customers off. Sweeter German wines are usually labeled as
"Spätlese," "Auslese," "Trockenbeerenauslese" or "Eiswein." The last
two, however, are almost always quite expensive owing to their rarity.
One can often find less expensive Auslesen made from Scheurebe or
Sylvaner rather than the more prestigious Riesling variety.

In France, the most famous (and expensive) sweet wine is Sauternes, but
there are also Barsac, Monbazillac and Coteaux du Layon, which generally
sell for less (but are still expensive and harder to find).

The one problem with sweeter wines is that they need to have an
increasing amount of acidity to avoid coming across as sickly sweet to
most people. The better wines will have this, of course, but you run the
risk with cheaper dessert wines of getting one that is unbalanced and
cloyingly sweet. This is where having a knowledgeable retailer can pay
big dividends: they can steer you to good examples.

HTH
Mark Lipton