NZ & International Sweet Wines

October 28, 2023 (Cuisine magazine Issue 220)

MARY-THÉRÈSE BLAIR hopes we are not calling time on dessert wine just yet.

I read an article recently that started with the confronting statement, “The death knell is tolling for dessert wine”. This made me sad. The rest of the article didn’t reveal anything I didn’t already know: sweet wines no longer sell as they once did, particularly in restaurants. We are feeling the pressure of the cost of living crunch and the addition of another seemingly decadent and pricey wine at the end of a meal may seem like a bridge too far for most consumers.

They’re expensive to produce, too, so common sense dictates that it’s foolish for wineries to invest in the production of a costly wine that isn’t going to sell.

Perhaps the demise of dessert wine is a sign of the times and shows that these wines aren’t recession proof. My hope is that when we return to a time of fiscal affluence, dessert wines will return to vogue. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

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