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Halloween: a night to enjoy sweet wines

26/10/2020 Breaking news

Halloween is a modern celebration known all around the world. It is celebrated everywhere on the night of October 31 and, although it is mainly a feature of English-speaking countries, it has been catching on all over Europe and Latin America. There’s one part of this celebration that only happens on this one day every year that children particularly love: “Trick or treat”. Children dress up and go from door to door asking for a treat, ending up with bags full of sweets from their neighbours. When they get home, all that’s left to do is enjoy what they’ve collected. What better excuse for the adults to have a bit of extra sugar by opening a nice sweet wine and pair it with their favourite desserts or dishes.

halloween wines

A sweet wine is a delicious speciality of the winemaking world that contains over 45 grams of sugar per litre. This sugar can be from the sweetness of the grape itself or by using special production methods. At Decántalo, we have a wide range of sweet wines from Spain, Germany, France, Hungary and more, to give you plenty of choice. However, when we think of sweet wines we shouldn’t just associate them with dessert. These wines are also great for pairing with a varied dishes like foie gras, cold meats, blue cheese and nuts. To get you started, here are five of our top recommendations. Five sweet wines that are perfect for opening on one of the most magical nights of the year. So, if you have the chance, make sure you try them and tell us what you think!

Sweet wines to die for

Disznókö Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 

diznoko

Made from grapes affected by botrytis cinerea (also known as aszú), Hungarian sweet wines from the Tokaj region are popular around the world. One of nature’s works of art where the amount of sugar is identified by the number of puttonyos (baskets of botrytis affected berries) the wine is made with. The more puttonyos, the sweeter the wine. The hundred-year-old Disznókö winery, classified as “Premier Cru”, has produced this 5 puttonyos wine that is sweet and fresh in equal parts. A delightful wine with an incredible aging potential.

Château Rieussec 

kracher

From within the Bordeaux wine region comes the Sauternes French sweet wine. This wine, like the Tokaji, is made with grapes affected by botrytis cinerea or noble rot. This Château Rieussec wine comes from a Premier Grand Cru owned by Domaines Barons de Rothschild. The key to this wine is the ripeness of the grapes, and the harvest, which is entirely manual, can easily last between 6 and 8 weeks. As a result, they produce this sweet wine with great aromatic complexity and elegance that it gets from its long aging in oak barrels. Class and freshness in a glass.

Kracher Auslese Cuvée 

kracher

One of the main producers of Austrian sweet wines made with the special “noble rot”, Alois Kracher and then his son Gehrard have gained a great reputation around the world with their fantastic wines. Sweet noble wines that are made under the direct influence of Lake Neusiedl, in the Burgenland wine region. Hot summers and cold winters cause the lake to evaporate, creating fogs that encourage the development of botrytis fungus. Made with the Chardonnay and Weischriesling varieties, these wines are characterised by a succulent elegance and well-integrated acidity. Noble and exuberant sweetness.

East India Solera 

east india

This sweet wine made with the Palomino and Pedro Ximénez varieties is one of the great icons of Lustau. This wine has a present but moderate sweetness with 140 grams of residual sugar. It undergoes an oxidative aging process in soleras and criaderas, mirroring the aging process that took place on transatlantic voyages in the seventeenth century. Power, complexity and freshness from one of the leading wineries in the D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry.

Ekam Essència 

Ekam

In Castell d’Encús, a winery situated in one of Spain’s highest points, 1,000 metres above sea level, the prestigious winemaker Raül Bobet makes this sweet wine in the Catalan Pyrenees within the D.O. Costers de Segre in the style of German Riesling wines. This is a very small production made from botrytis-infected grapes, with a high percentage of sugar, fruit acids and mineral touches. These characteristics combined with a 36-month bottle aging before being sold, result in a rare wine not to be missed. 

If you love sweet wines, it’s likely you’ve tried a few of these recommendations or have at least heard of them. On the other hand, if you’re not usually a fan of this type of wine, well, now is the perfect opportunity to give them another try. So, how about it? Trick or wine?

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