Portugal has some different sweet wine: from the famous Port Wine, to Moscatel de Setúbal, to Madeira Wine, to the Late Harvests.
The last one is the most recent type of sweet wine in Portugal.
Its grapes, almost raisins, are carefully selected and are harvested later than normal wines.
Why to harvest it later?
The point is to give more time so that the grapes can be affected by Botrytis Cinerea, also know as the noble rot. It is a fungus that covers the grape skin and allows it to keep its taste. It normally responds to the humidity, which results in grape dehydration.
Why are the wines so sweet?
This phenomenon provokes various chemical reactions that modify parameters like acidity and sugar levels. So aromas of honey, flours and tangerines rapidly start to intensify in the grapes and get better during the vinification process, creating sweet long aromatic wines
Are Late harvest wines cheap?
These are very famous wines, with a considerable demand and might cost small fortunes. It is not that rare to see a bottle of Chateau D´Yquem Late Harvest being sold at 1100 pounds.
In Portugal, we have very high quality Late Harvest wines with much better prices. You can find them here:
How should it be served?
Late Harvests, despite being know for its longevity, should be appreciated fresh (10-12ºC).
On the other hand, they provide a great gastronomical experience. It is a great aperitive (with cheeses, for example), with deserts and even with oriental food.
Cheers!
