Moxie Vino

What is dessert wine?

Dessert wine is any wine sweet enough to stand up to dessert, like Port, Sauternes, ice wine, late-harvest Riesling and sweet sparkling wines, usually served in small pours after dinner.

The rule with dessert is simple: the wine has to be at least as sweet as the food, or it will taste sour and thin. Dessert wines are made to win that fight. They are rich, often a bit stronger, and usually sold in smaller bottles, because a little goes a long way.

Main types
Port, Sauternes, ice wine, late-harvest, Moscato d'Asti, Brachetto
Price range
About $15 to $40; ice wine more
Pour size
About 2 to 3 ounces
Serve at
Cool to chilled, depending on the type
Bodylight → big
Sweetnessdry → sweet
Zingsoft → zippy
Gripsmooth → grippy

The main kinds of dessert wine

Fortified: Port from Portugal has grape brandy added partway through fermentation, which stops the yeast and leaves it sweet and strong, around 19% to 20% alcohol. Ruby Port is fruity; tawny Port is nutty and caramel-like.

Late-harvest and ice wine: grapes are left on the vine until they shrivel or freeze, concentrating their sugar. Sauternes from Bordeaux is made from grapes affected by a helpful mold that does something similar. These taste like honey, apricot and marmalade.

Light and fizzy: Moscato d'Asti and Brachetto d'Acqui are low in alcohol and gently sparkling, perfect after a big meal.

What to pair with which dessert

Chocolate and Port are a classic. Ruby Port with dark chocolate or brownies; tawny Port with pecan pie, caramel or crème brûlée.

Fruit desserts, cheesecake and pastries suit Sauternes, late-harvest Riesling or Moscato d'Asti. Brachetto is lovely with chocolate-dipped strawberries. And Port or Sauternes with salty blue cheese is a pairing worth trying once in your life.

How to serve and store it

Pour small, about two or three ounces in a regular wine glass. Chill the light whites and fizzy ones well. Port is best slightly cool, about 15 minutes in the fridge.

Port and other fortified wines last for weeks after opening thanks to the extra alcohol, especially tawny. Sauternes and ice wine keep about a week in the fridge with the cork in.

Dessert wines worth buying

  • Fonseca Bin 27 Port

    about $20

    Port blend

    Rich, plummy ruby Port for under $20. Open it with brownies and keep the rest for weeks.

  • Graham's Six Grapes Port

    about $22

    Port blend

    A little deeper and more chocolatey than Bin 27. Great on a cold night or with a cheese plate.

  • Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Old Tawny Port

    about $35

    Port blend

    Nutty, caramel and dried fig. The one to buy for pecan pie, and a lovely holiday gift.

  • Banfi Rosa Regale

    about $20

    Brachetto

    Sweet, fizzy, ruby-red and only about 7% alcohol. Smells like roses and raspberries, and made for chocolate.

  • Inniskillin Vidal Icewine

    about $55

    Vidal

    Canadian ice wine, sold in a small 375ml bottle. Honeyed and intense, a true special-occasion treat.

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Last checked 2026-10-04.