Amazing ", the headline should finish. Dessert wines are amazing, I agree.
I just responded on the " comment " section to Dave McIntyre's response to my blog entry here on his last article on Virginia wines last Wednesday in the " Food " section of the Washington Post newspaper's edition. So go to that to read a more full accounting.
However, here I want to repeat what I said in that comment : I lifted from Dave's article today the following :
" These are the most under-appreciated wines , " says Jim Law, owner and winemaker of LINDEN Vineyards near Front Royal. " They are amazing. But they demand your attention and they come at a point in the meal when no one wants to pay attention."
I agree completely with this and am as guilty of this as anyone. I have so many great dessert wines but do not often serve them knowing this to be true. Why bother when no one is going to appreciate them or pay attention to them? Fortunately they age beautifully and one can hold onto them for quite some time. That's the saving grace for them, really : otherwise they would spoil well before being served and that would be a real crime!
My recommendation: serve a small taste before the meal gets started. Make it a time before you sit down to the table and give everyone a very small taste of these wonderful dessert wines to get their palates thinking, hopefully craving for more so that they both make time and save a place for them at the end of the meal either on their own or with something else to add to the pleasure and the moment.
I like these articles on Virginia wines and am a " wee bit " jealous of all the time that you are able to spend at the vineyards and tasting and talking with owners and wine-makers alike. I wish I were there by your side. Tell them to come visit me at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 Tel:202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com on Facebook at : clevelandparkwines&spirits ) : their visits will be greatly appreciated. Not many of the 180 vineyards come to visit me and I do like selling them, especially from those that do make the effort to stay in touch, put me on their email lists and that visit from time-to-time. Strike while the iron is still hot, keep plugging away here in Washington D.C.!!!!
Today, for example, Mark Congdon of Seig Selections will stop by with the " Fletcher " Chardonnay of LA GRANGE and I can hardly wait! I have known Fletcher now for years and got to know him really well when he worked with David Bryant's portfolio of excellent Italian and Spanish wines that are still sold through Country Vintners Imports in Ashland, Virginia ,home of my fond alma mater Randolph-Macon College.
Cheers and I look forward to more of your Virginia and local wine articles. TONY
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