Sweet Wine For A Sweet Lady

The Wine Guy and his stepmother Mary

    The lady pictured at the right has been stepmother to The Wine Guy for nearly 40 years.  It should come as no surprise that she now and then enjoys a nice glass of wine.  She regularly gets that opportunity when she comes to visit.   And, of course, she is always receptive to whatever wine we pour.  I have to confess, however, that her preferences and mine do have a degree of difference.  While I enjoy almost every type of wine made, I prefer big bold reds and if they are Italian, that’s even better. 

Mary with a good book and
a good glass of wine before retiring.

      Mary also prefers red but there the similarity probably ends.  She has a definite sweet tooth and also believes you can’t cram too much fruit flavor into her glass of vino.   It’s not that she has a limited palate, she recognizes and identifies the components of many of my older, bolder selections and even enjoys some of the pairings she’s exposed to at dinner in our household.   It is just simply a fact that Mary likes her wine to be very fruit forward and with a fair hint of sweetness.  She’s also a sipper, enjoying a glass of wine pretty much on its own, at most accompanied by a good book or perhaps even a good friend to converse with.  I, on the other hand, generally prefer my wine paired with great food and treat it as a culinary experience.

    Here are a few of the sweeter style red wines that Mary has tried and reported back that she has enjoyed:

  Kokopelli Sweet Lucy:   This is the number one seller from from Arizona's largest winery.  Kokopelli focuses on fruity sweet wines and Sweet Lucy lives up to its name.  No oak aging here in order to let the fruity jamminess come through.  This is Mary's favorite, especially when she's sharing a glass of wine with her good friend Ruth.
  Funf Sweet Red:  A new brand (funf means five in German) from Schmidt Sohne, the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer producer known for their sweet riesling  Full of fruit and generally under 10% alcohol. Mary liked it.
  Wise & Heimer Sweet Red:  Another import using the fruity Dornfelder grape that is a native of Germany and has become its number one red wine grape.   Raspberry, Strawberry and cherry fruit flavors here with just a hint of tartness underlying the sweetness.  After sharing some of this wine Mary's friend Ruth wanted to take the empty bottle home to joke with her husband that there was a wine named after him (perhaps they may have had one glass too many).
  Il Conte D'Alba Stella Rosa:  (At least it's Italian!)  From the Piedmonte region comes this very low alcohol wine that's produced from partially fermented grape must.
Partially fermenting the must leaves some residual sugar, adds a slight yeasty taste and a light spritzing.
  Ca d Medici Lambrusco Dolce:   Lambrusco is referred to by some as the Coca-Cola of Italian red wines.  This brand is one of the better representations. It's more fruity than sweet and it's sparkling effect comes from fermenting the Lambrusca grape with the charmat method.
 Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d.Acqui:  There's a hint of rose petals in the aromas, a deeper richer fruity flavor full of raspberry and strawberry but some definite sweetness.  This aperitif style wine is one of the best pairings you can make with dark or bitter chocolate.  It's alcohol by volume is in the 7% range.

Mary does enjoy some drier red wines and she is partial to one of The Wine Guy's favorites:  Allegrini's Palazzo Della Torre.  She'll continue to be exposed to those kinds of wines when she comes to visit, but she'll also always continue to get an opportunity to enjoy her favorites:  those wines that are slightly on the sweet side and full of fruit.   As the title of the blog says:  "Il vino dolce per una signora dolce".  Salute!