Acetaldehyde

Produced naturally during FERMENTATION, acetaldehyde is a colorless volatile component with a pungent ODOR. It is an asset in flor-based (see FLOR, Spanish Glossary) wines, such as Sherry, but a detectable amount in table wine is considered a flaw. Also occurs in coffee and ripe fruit.

When pairing a dessert with a sweet wine, the dessert should be sweeter than the wine to enhance the latter’s flavor.

Answer: False.

The best dessert and dessert wine marriages are usually based on pairing a not-too-sweet dessert with a sweeter wine. Desserts that are sweeter than the wine they accompany can make the wine taste blank and dull. Essentially, the sweetness of the dessert knocks out the character of the wine. Super-sweet wedding cake, for example, will diminish anything in a glass. But something like a not-very-sweet fruit or nut tart enhances the complexities and nuances of the sweeter wines around them.

170

Amount (in millions of U.S. dollars) that Auction Napa Valley has donated to support community health and children’s education since the famous auction’s creation in 1981. This year, among the 200 e-auction lots available are… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed